Managing for diverse coastal uses and values under sea level rise: perspectives from O’ahu, Hawaiʻi
Effective and equitable coastal decision-making under sea level rise requires managing for multiple coastal uses and values. A new publication led by UHERO’s Environmental Policy and Planning Group analyzes how decision-makers in Hawaiʻi perceive diverse uses and values of beaches and coastlines to be important and how they see recognition of these uses and values ideally shaping […]
Read MoreRestoring Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity through Cost-Effective and Resilient Agroforestry Systems
Since September 2018, our project team, composed of University of Hawai‘i faculty and students, Kāko‘o ‘Ōiwi staff, and other partners have worked together to: 1) design, implement, and monitor 10 agroforestry demonstration plots and buffer areas in He‘eia, O‘ahu (objective 1); 2) publish peer-review and practitioner-oriented material on agroforestry, functional traits, and ecosystem services (objective […]
Read MorePutting Suppliers on the Map: Centering upstream voices in water funds outreach
UHERO’s Leah Bremer, in collaboration with a team of international researchers, showcases interactive ways to highlight the perspectives of upstream participants in Payments for Watershed Services programs in Colombia in a special issue on water education and outreach. See also interactive Suppliers on the Map website for more information.
Read MoreRisk to native marine macroalgae from land-use and climate change-related modification to groundwater discharge in Hawai’i
Dr. Henrietta Dulai in collaboration with UHERO and the Department of Life Sciences, sheds light on the links between submarine groundwater discharge and the health of coastal ecosystems. See press on Hawaiʻi Public Radio and UH News.
Read MoreTraditional and novel time-series approaches reveal submarine groundwater discharge dynamics under baseline and extreme event conditions
UHERO’s Peter Fuleky and his team conducted time-series data analysis and machine learning on a long-term, high resolution radon time-series from Kīholo Bay, Hawaiʻi to analyze the dependencies between rainfall, groundwater and ocean-water levels, coastal salinity, and submarine groundwater discharge. The analyses presented in this research are the first step in understanding what to expect […]
Read MoreDetecting religion from space: Nyepi Day in Bali
Daily changes in human activity are difficult to detect using nightlight imagery because many factors that influence nightlights are changing from night to night. We propose using a difference-in-differences methodology for detecting daily changes in human behavior using NASA’s Black Marble product suite. We find that total top-of-atmosphere radiance on the Indonesian island of Bali decreases by […]
Read MoreA density-dependent multi-species model to assess groundwater flow and nutrient transport in the coastal Keauhou aquifer, Hawai‘i, USA.
Fresh groundwater is a critical resource supporting coastal ecosystems that rely on low-salinity, nutrient-rich groundwater discharge. This resource, however, is subject to contamination from point- and nonpoint-sources such as on-site sewage disposal systems (OSDS) and urban developments. Thus, the significance of flow and transport processes near the coastline due to density effects and water circulation […]
Read MoreIdentifying wastewater management tradeoffs: costs, nearshore water quality, and implications for marine coastal ecosystems in Kona, Hawai‘i
Untreated and minimally treated wastewater discharged into the environment have the potential to adversely affect groundwater dependent ecosystems and nearshore marine health. Addressing this issue requires a systems approach that links land use and wastewater management decisions to potential impacts on the nearshore marine environment via changes in water quality and quantity. To that end, […]
Read MoreThe Effects of Utility Revenue Decoupling on Electricity Prices
Revenue decoupling (RD) is a regulatory mechanism that allows adjustments of retail electricity rates for the regulated utility to recover its required revenue despite fluctuations in its sales volume. The U.S. utility data in 2000–2019 reveals that RD is associated with about a 4-percentage point higher growth rate of residential electricity prices within the first year after […]
Read MoreProducing valuable information from hydrologic models of nature‐based solutions for water
UHERO’s Leah Bremer and a group of international collaborators shed light on ways that ecosystem service modeling can better support real-world decision making through attention to the type of decision maker and to the salience, legitimacy, and credibility of information generated.
Read MoreImportance of equitable cost sharing in the Convention on Biological Diversity’s protected area agenda
Principles from social equity literature can be applied to a cost-sharing framework in the CBD’s new protected area strategy.
Read MorePriority watershed management areas for groundwater recharge and drinking water protection: a case study from Hawai‘i Island
Worldwide, water utilities and other water users increasingly seek to finance watershed protection and restoration in order to maintain or enhance water quality and quantity important for drinking water supply and other human use. Hydrologic studies which characterize the relative effectiveness of watershed management activities in terms of metrics important to water users are greatly […]
Read MoreEffects of land cover and watershed protection futures on sustainable groundwater management in a heavily-utilized aquifer in Hawai‘i
Groundwater sustainability initiatives, including sustainable yield and watershed policy protection policies, are growing globally in response to increasing demand for groundwater, coupled with concerns about the effects of climate and land-cover change on groundwater supply. Improved understanding of the impacts of watershed management on groundwater yields and management costs—particularly in the broader context of climate […]
Read MoreSea Level Rise and Home Prices: Evidence from Long Island
Global sea level rise is a known consequence of climate change. As predictions of sea level rise have grown in magnitude and certainty, coastal real estate assets face an increasing climate risk. I use a complete data set of repeated home sales from Long Island in New York State to estimate the appreciation discount caused […]
Read MorePublication: How Will Climate Change Affect Water Demand? Evidence from Hawai‘i Microclimates
The effect that climate change will have on water resource sustainability is gaining international interest, particularly in regions where stocks are strained due to changing climate and increasing populations. Past studies focus mainly on how water availability will be affected by climate change, with little attention paid to how consumer behavior is likely to react. […]
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