Three areas at risk from climate change on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii island will get special attention from federal agencies to help protect reefs and shorelines and prepare for rising sea levels, the White House and three agencies announced Tuesday.
The Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will team up to help community efforts in southwestern Florida, Washington state and the Great Lakes region, as well as in West Maui, West Hawaii island and the He‘eia Watershed on Oahu — producing progress reports that are due in October.
There is no additional money. So the agencies are expected to combine efforts to help nonprofit and community groups with research and climate-change models to help them preserve and restore areas in the face of environmental changes.
“If we’re not getting new money, we need to rely on existing efforts and partnerships,” said NOAA spokesman Brady Phillips in Washington, D.C.
Several nonprofit groups are working around the He‘eia Watershed on stream and wetland restoration, invasive species eradication and restoration of an 800-year-old fishpond.
“At times government can be difficult to navigate,” said Hi‘ilei Kawelo, executive director of the nonprofit group Paepae o He‘eia, which is working to restore the fishpond in Kaneohe Bay. “If government could figure out ways to streamline or pull together resources to benefit those of us on the ground, we very much welcome that.”
The He‘eia Watershed is among “the selected lands and waters (that) face a wide range of climate-related impacts, including sea level rise, drought, wildfire and invasive species,” said White House press secretary Josh Earnest. “This is an example of how the administration can continue to advance what we consider to be and what the world considers to be a top priority, which is dealing with the impacts of climate change in a way that makes communities more resilient in the face of climate change.”
In Hawaii the federal effort will be led by the Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative, which is working in West Maui and West Hawaii island with state officials, the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, private landowners, community groups and individuals on a wide range of projects.
“The nature of this initiative is building on what’s already there,” said Jeff Burgett, who is leading the way as science coordinator for the Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative. “Since there’s no money, let’s tie together things that are going on and use them as examples and teaching tools for how this should be done. We’re not going to be starting a huge number of new things. We’re helping to coordinate efforts and infuse them with relevant climate change information.”
Groups working on the He‘eia Watershed are using NOAA’s Sea Level Rise Viewer modeling tool, along with reef studies and reef and invasive species removal techniques. The online Sea Level Rise Viewer is used to zoom in on any coastal location and look at what would happen if ocean levels increase.
“Both the taro and wetland restoration and the fishpond people are very concerned about sea level rise,” Burgett said. “There’s no sense building something that’s going to be inundated in a short period of time.”
On Maui the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, NOAA, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, community groups, landowners and individuals are looking at ways to protect “a nice coral reef with a lot of urban use and tourism and agriculture that’s in transition and problematic for coral reef conservation,” Burgett said. “There’s a lot of sediment from ag lands that are fallow, along with the injection of nutrients from the sewage disposal system. When the bad stuff runs downhill, it hurts the reef.”
Also, West Maui’s “Ridge-to-Reef” effort has used the Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative’s analysis of projected vegetation changes.
In West Hawaii island, agencies are working with Native Hawaiians who want to “understand the climate and how to adapt to it,” Burgett said. So the Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative sponsored research to help residents with a seasonal calendar.
“That’s new,” Burgett said. “It’s not like an agency told them what’s important. In this case the community incorporated their traditional knowledge with Western science.”
At the He‘eia Watershed, Kawelo welcomes any help from federal agencies but said Native Hawaiians have dealt with climate change for centuries.
“The government researchers are really good at coming up with models to forecast the implications of climate change, and that helps guide us,” she said. “As native peoples we’re very much aware that our climate’s been changing for eons. As people of the land, we’re predisposed to adapt to those changes. If residents of Hawaii are more attached and in tune to our surroundings and environment, then we’ll be better able to adapt.”
