The Pacific Research on Island Solutions for Adaptation (Pacific RISA) program supports Pacific island and coastal communities in adapting to the impacts of climate variability and change. The newly released Pacific RISA Annual Report covers the final year of the grant cycle, titled “Supporting Integrated Decision Making Under Climatic Variability and Change in Hawai‘i and the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands,” from June 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021.

Despite the physical separation due to the pandemic, the extended Pacific RISA team managed to form new partnerships with a variety of local and state government agencies, non-profits, and other stakeholders.  The Pacific RISA’s newest team member, Paula Moehlenkamp, was hired to facilitate collaboration between the Pacific RISA and Hawai‘i Green Growth (HGG) in adding climate change indicators and metrics of progress to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Dashboards created as part of the UN Local2030 Island Hub network. PI H. Annamalai partnered with the UH Sea Level Center (UHSLC) to assess causes of compound coastal flooding in Hawai‘i, and Dr. Chris Shuler and the UH Water Resources Research Center (WRRC) have entered into a cooperative agreement with the American Sāmoa Power Authority (ASPA) for the purpose of developing a hydrologic monitoring network. In 2020, PI Laura Brewington led the formation of a new Pacific Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change (RISCC) Management Network, which is focused on increasing Pacific Island resilience to the interacting threats of climate change and invasive species.

Research Highlights in this Annual Report include the development of the first high-resolution water budget model for Tutuila, American Sāmoa, by Dr. Shuler, a draft water account for the island of O‘ahu developed by PI Kirsten Oleson’s lab (which has spurred interest from boards of water supply, the Hawai‘i Office of Environmental Quality Control, and operators of wastewater treatment plants), and a study PI Brewington of the Pearl Harbor aquifer on O‘ahu, which demonstrated that improved understanding of the impacts of watershed management on groundwater yields and management costs—particularly in the context of climate and land cover change—is critical to informing water use planning and facilitating integrated land and water management. Another major accomplishment during this time period was the publication of the four 2020–2021 PIRCA reports, which synthesize up-to-date knowledge about climate change impacts and risks and were developed in collaboration with partners from the PIRCA network throughout the Pacific. Climate assessment reports for Palau, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas (CNMI) were released in October 2020, November 2020, and January 2021, respectively, and  for American Sāmoa in June 2021.

The sudden shift to a virtual world due to the pandemic provided Pacific RISA with an opportunity to innovate and expand its online presence and reach stakeholders through virtual workshops, webinars, and events in ways it had not previously explored. Dr. Shuler Co-Chaired the virtual International Tropical Islands Water Conference in April 2021 (Pacific RISA partners also on the conference organizing committee included: PIs Tom Giambelluca and Aly El-Kadi, and collaborators Henrietta Dulai and Kelley Anderson Tagarino), PI John Marra led the formation of the Pacific Climate Change Monitor (PCCM) Steering Committee in 2020, which has regularly been meeting virtually to prepare the PCCM report, and PI Victoria Keener and and fellow Commissioners on the City and County of Honolulu Climate Change Commission, along with the Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency (CCSR) Office’s Climate Resilience and Equity Program, met virtually with focus groups and developed the Honolulu Climate Change and Social Equity Guidance Document. PI Brewington held multiple virtual media appearances, interviews, and briefings to US diplomats working in the region related to Pacific ecological security to reach diverse audiences, and led the preparation for a Pacific Ecological Security Conference (PESC) (date TBD).

Download a copy of the Pacific RISA Annual Report HERE.