This summer, the Hawaiʻi Conservation Alliance hosted the 25th annual Hawaiʻi Conservation Conference in Honolulu. Each year this conference brings together a diverse group of policy makers, scientists, natural resource managers, and students from throughout the Hawaiian and Pacific Islands region to share their experiences and innovations in biocultural preservation and environmental protection. The Hawaiian ʻōlelo noʻeau (wise saying) “Ulu ka lālā i ke kumu” literally means, “The branch grows from the tree trunk” as we learn from conservation lessons of the past to create a desirable, abundant future.
In 2007, the US Department of Defense announced that 4,000 marines stationed in Okinawa, Japan would be relocated to Guam, a process requiring considerable construction, air and sea traffic, and infrastructure upgrades. In response, the Micronesia Chief Executives and the Regional Invasive Species Council(RISC) raised special concerns about the movement of invasive plant and animal species with the build-up and relocation. Species that are not naturally found in a place, and that have negative biological, economic, social, or cultural impacts, are known as “invasive” and pose a longstanding threat in a region that relies on inter-island and international interchange. They are often transported unintentionally from place to place, such as insects that make their way to an island in a shipment of soil. Other species are brought intentionally – as pets, for agricultural crops, or simply for ornamental decoration. To better prepare for the military relocation, the RISC partnered with representatives from various countries at the federal, national, territory, and commonwealth levels, as well as industry and NGOs to prepare the first Regional Biosecurity Plan (RBP) for Micronesia and Hawaiʻi, which was released in 2015. Funded and supported by the US Navy, the comprehensive plan consists of four volumes and covers Hawaiʻi, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
A biosecurity plan consists of inspections, facilities, and protocols for pre-border (before a shipment or a group of passengers departs), at the border (upon arrival to the new location), and post-border (after cargo and passengers have reached their destination). The RBP for Micronesia and Hawaiʻi also contains detailed risk assessments for marine, terrestrial, and freshwaterecosystems, which are critical to regional economies and sustainable livelihoods.
Left: Adult coconut rhinoceros beetle. Right: Coconut rhinoceros beetle damage to palm trees. Images courtesy of the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture.
The members of each jurisdiction covered in the RBP agreed that the plan should be updated every 3 years, and the RISC initiated the first update process this November in Guam. Pacific RISA PI Laura Brewington facilitated the week-long update meeting, during which time the original recommendations and action items were identified, accomplishments and progress to-date were documented, and new concerns were raised. One of the key recommendations for the update is to develop an action plan for invasive species under climate change. As regions of the Pacific warm, precipitation patterns shift, and sea levels rise, invasive species ranges are expected to change as well. For example, outbreaks of the invasive coconut rhinoceros beetle (pictured above) have been reported on Guam and Palau after extreme storm events. High winds damage the palm trees the beetles use as a food source and breeding grounds, and sea level rise weakens palm trees along the coast, making them more vulnerable to predation by the beetle. Dr. Brewington will be working with the RISC members and others to prepare the climate change language for the RBP update, which will be finalized and released in mid-2018.
This meeting is open to the public. Remote access to the session, including remote virtual participation, will be available through GoTo Meeting.
To attend in person or to participate virtually, please RSVP HERE
The Town Hall is an opportunity to provide early input to the 4th U.S. National Climate Assessment (NCA4) about how climate change affects different sectors, livelihoods, and ecosystems in Hawai‘i and the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands. The objective is to convene a wide range of perspectives to inform the development of a regional chapter in NCA4 to ensure that the final product is both scientifically sound and beneficial to communities.
The meeting will feature opening remarks by East-West Center President Dr. Richard R. Vuylsteke and presentations by Dr. Fred Lipschultz of the U.S. Global Change Research Program and the regional chapter lead authors.
The Town Hall is also an excellent opportunity to meet the lead authors of our region’s chapter.
Monday, March 6, 2017 from 6pm-8pm
Hawai‘i Imin International Conference Center Garden Level 1777 East-West Road Honolulu, Hawai‘i
$6 parking available in non-reserved stalls (pay at kiosk upon entry to campus)
We hope that you can join us – and please distribute this to anyone interested! If you have any questions, please reach out to Zena Grecni at grecniz@eastwestcenter.org.
The Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment (PIRCA) has launched its new website at PIRCA.org. The website provides a wealth of information and resources about climate change in Hawai‘i and the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI).
The new website makes it easier to access the 2012 PIRCA Report, Climate Change and Pacific Islands: Indicators and Impacts and its findings, case studies, and figures. More than 100 scientific experts and practitioners contributed to the report, an integrated regional assessment that serves as technical input to the Third U.S. National Climate Assessment. The 2012 PIRCA report examines climate change impacts in Hawai‘i and the USAPI and assesses the adaptive capacity of Pacific Island communities.
In addition to showcasing the 2012 assessment report, the new PIRCA website hosts updated information, including the latest observed climate trends and projections for Hawai‘i and the USAPI from the scientists and federal agencies who work with PIRCA. Key features enable anyone to view climate-related content by topic or location. This content includes, for example, charts and illustrations, animated data visualizations, maps, videos, presentations, and case studies that highlight real-world examples of impacts and adaptation in a variable and changing climate. The News section operates much like a blog, providing updates and announcements about regional climate assessment activities and the U.S. National Climate Assessment.
“Now, more than ever, a regional source of climate information is essential for making informed decisions about the future,” said Dr. Victoria Keener, a hydrologist, East-West Center fellow, and lead author of the 2012 PIRCA report. “With President Obama’s recent visit to the islands highlighting a growing need for climate change adaptation, decision-makers are looking to PIRCA, and the scientists involved, for up-to-date analysis and resources. The website makes this two-way communication easier.”
The PIRCA website is supported by funding from the East-West Center, the Department of Interior’s Pacific Islands Climate Science Center, the Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration through the Pacific Research on Island Solutions for Adaptation (RISA) Program.
Date and Time: Saturday, September 3 from 3:30-4:30pm
Location: Hawai‘i Convention Center, 1st floor Exhibit Hall
Cost: FREE!
Sometimes called the “Olympics of Conservation,” information about the World Conservation Congress, which is being held in the United States for the first time, can be found here.
The Hawai‘i-Pacific Pavilion will host island nations, states, cities, and communities from across the region, featuring cultural, political, and scientific sessions, with an overall focus on community resilience in the face of climate change. Moderated by Pacific RISA PI Laura Brewington, the East-West Center is organizing this Pavilion event in collaboration with the Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Pacific Islands Climate Science Center, the Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative, the University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant program, and other regional partners along with IUCN members to present initiatives from resource management agencies that address how to best incorporate climate science into planning frameworks. The event is designed for natural resource managers, agencies, planners, and decision makers in the region and beyond who are interested in contributing to and learning from best practices for adaptation in the diverse and changing environments of the Pacific. We’ll be focusing on top-down and bottom-up planning strategies for adaptation to climate change, using the Hawai‘i Interagency Climate Adaptation Committee and the Aloha+ Challenge as forward-looking frameworks for multi-sectoral engagement.
The view of Maui Nui from Makena State Park: Laura Brewington
For more information, visit our event webpage, and don’t forget to mark your calendars for Saturday, September 3 at 3:30pm!
On February 3rd, Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) President, Dr. Hilda Heine, declared a state of emergency in response to intensifying drought conditions across the country. President Heine’s declaration anticipates that the drought will worsen, based on what is known about how El Niño affects rainfall in RMI. The climate outlook for a continued strong El Niño means the drought is likely to last through May 2016. As a result, RMI faces potentially serious consequences for public health, food supply, and economy.
The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which is driving the drought, is an ocean-atmosphere climate cycle in the equatorial Pacific Ocean that is characterized by El Nino and La Nina phases, which recur approximately every three to seven years. Since December 2015, the Pacific has experienced an El Niño event that is among the three strongest on record. A recent policy analysis paper from the East-West Center and the University of Hawaii’s IPRC explained the ENSO phenomenon and this year’s El Niño impacts and opportunities for preparation in greater depth.
Periods of low rainfall have different impacts in different parts of the world. On small atolls, such as those of Northern RMI, the impacts of drought can become severe quickly. Residents of the atolls of RMI depend highly on rainfall harvesting and storage for drinking water, and water used in the household and bathing.
The last very strong El Niño event, in 1997-1998, brought severe drought to RMI. Local crops were damaged, causing a food shortage. In addition, bacterial infections, dehydration, and other drought-related illnesses were reported, particularly on the northern atolls, which were most impacted by the drought. Droughts in RMI have mobilized military and international aid organizations to deliver food, water, and medical supplies, but the impacts are still disruptive to RMI’s society and economy.
The current drought has already depleted household water catchment supplies and other water storage on at least 13 atolls, and communities have run out of water. The declaration signals to international partners and aid organizations that the drought could become a major crisis for RMI. Heine’s state-of-emergency declaration aims to address immediate drought-related problems communities are already facing, but also to coordinate a wide range of government ministries in their efforts to provide relief through a National Disaster Committee.
The freshwater reservoir on Majuro Atoll. Source: Majuro Water & Sewer Company
The fact that this drought comes on the heels of a string of other stresses to RMI’s economy and environment may signal a particularly dire situation for the country, and recovery may be slow. The country recently experienced political turmoil, which ended with Dr. Heine’s recent election. A string of climate-related disasters, too, have hit the island nation, including destruction from an unusually active hurricane season earlier this year, also related to the El Niño. This drought comes not long after another severe drought in 2013.
While RMI is already coping with the drought, the El Niño event is producing low rainfall across the entire Pacific Islands region and could impact 4.7 million people by May 2016, according to the International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). Countries should take measures to help communities prepare for and cope with the drought conditions associated with the El Niño.
The Pacific RISA Program and the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawai‘i are pleased to welcome the new Sustained Assessment Specialist for the Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment (PIRCA). Zena Grecni, MEM, joined the East-West Center in January. As Sustained Assessment Specialist, she will coordinate regional contributions to the National Climate Assessment and facilitate interactions within Hawaii and the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI) and with NCA agencies to expand and fill gaps in the assessment of regional climate knowledge, impacts, and adaptation strategies. The Sustained Assessment Specialist will develop an independent, dedicated website for PIRCA to house the 2012 PIRCA outputs, provide the latest research and products, offer updates for the development of future PIRCA products, and serve as a valuable resource for stakeholders on the current status of regional climate and observed and anticipated trends. Additionally, working with researchers at the East-West Center, Pacific RISA, and other regional entities, the Sustained Assessment Specialist will support the establishment of a set of biophysical and social indicators of climate change impacts and management responses, assessed on an ongoing basis to inform decision-making at the local, state, and national levels. Initial funding for extending the reach and scope of the PIRCA process through an inclusive assessment is provided by the Pacific Islands Climate Science Center and the East-West Center.
Ms. Grecni brings to the Sustained Assessment Specialist position experience analyzing management strategies in human-environment systems and communicating with a wide range of Pacific Island decision makers. She received a master’s degree in environmental management (2015) from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (F&ES). Her program of study centered on climate change adaptation and freshwater and coastal governance, with a particular focus on small islands. At Yale F&ES, She completed a fellowship with the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA) and an internship with the Secretariat for the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in Apia, Samoa, where she worked with member countries to build institutional readiness for climate adaptation finance. She served as Research Assistant for two years at the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication, managing digital media and analyzing nationally representative survey data about people’s climate change beliefs and attitudes. Ms. Grecni previously worked at the East-West Center as Communications Coordinator for the Pacific Research on Island Solutions for Adaptation (RISA) program, a NOAA-funded regional climate research partnership for the U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands. In her role as Communications Coordinator, she managed media outreach for the release of the 2012 PIRCA report, which received more media hits than a report for any other U.S. region. From 2010-2012, she served as Program Associate at the University of Hawai‘i’s Center for Island Climate Adaptation and Policy.
The Sustained Assessment Specialist will expand the capacity of PIRCA to deliver timely, decision-relevant assessments of climate change impacts and indicators. The position will ultimately contribute toward sustaining momentum generated during the 2012 PIRCA and Third National Climate Assessment and responding to the need for knowledge about climate change and adaptation options in the Pacific Islands region.
PIRCA Project Specialist Zena Grecni (center) at the arrival of the Hōkūleʻa at the United Nations Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Conference in Apia, Samoa (August 2014)
Pacific Island Fact Sheets Released on El Niño and Sectoral Impacts
There is currently a strong El Niño event, for which there are significant impacts around Hawaii and the Pacific Islands, including extended drought conditions, enhanced risk of damaging tropical cyclones, increased risk of coral bleaching, and possible spread of vector borne disease and illness.
The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a recurring climate pattern involving changes in the temperature of waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean and the patterns of sea level pressure, lower- and upper-level winds, and tropical rainfall across the Pacific basin. This irregular oscillation between warm and cool patterns, referred to as the ENSO cycle, directly affects rainfall distribution in the tropics and can have a strong influence on weather across the Pacific basin.
The following El Niño fact sheetsfor Hawaii and the Pacific Islands were created by the NOAA Hawaii and Pacific Islands ENSO Tiger Team, and are immediately available for download and distribution to policy makers, natural resource managers, community members, and interested stakeholders. For more information, please contact the Pacific Region Climate Officer of the Pacific ENSO Applications Climate Center (peac@noaa.gov).
2015 El Niño and Pacific Islands Fact Sheets
American Samoa
Guam and the CNMI
East FSM (Pohnpei and Kosrae)
West FSM (Yap and Chuuk)
Hawaii
Palau
RMI
Cover image: Sea surface temperature anomaly on 11/12/2015, visualization from http://earth.nullschool.net/ by Cameron Beccario, Real Time Global SST from MMAB / EMC / NCEP
Resilient and sustainable Pacific Island communities using climate information to manage risks and support practical decision-making about climate variability and change.
New technologies at the 25th annual Hawaiʻi Conservation Conference
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Posted on July 31, 2018 by Laura Brewington
This summer, the Hawaiʻi Conservation Alliance hosted the 25th annual Hawaiʻi Conservation Conference in Honolulu. Each year this conference brings together a diverse group of policy makers, scientists, natural resource managers, and students from throughout the Hawaiian and Pacific Islands region to share their experiences and innovations in biocultural preservation and environmental protection. The Hawaiian ʻōlelo noʻeau (wise saying) “Ulu ka lālā i ke kumu” literally means, “The branch grows from the tree trunk” as we learn from conservation lessons of the past to create a desirable, abundant future.
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Updating the Regional Biosecurity Plan for Micronesia and Hawaiʻi
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Posted on November 28, 2017 by Laura Brewington
In 2007, the US Department of Defense announced that 4,000 marines stationed in Okinawa, Japan would be relocated to Guam, a process requiring considerable construction, air and sea traffic, and infrastructure upgrades. In response, the Micronesia Chief Executives and the Regional Invasive Species Council (RISC) raised special concerns about the movement of invasive plant and animal species with the build-up and relocation. Species that are not naturally found in a place, and that have negative biological, economic, social, or cultural impacts, are known as “invasive” and pose a longstanding threat in a region that relies on inter-island and international interchange. They are often transported unintentionally from place to place, such as insects that make their way to an island in a shipment of soil. Other species are brought intentionally – as pets, for agricultural crops, or simply for ornamental decoration. To better prepare for the military relocation, the RISC partnered with representatives from various countries at the federal, national, territory, and commonwealth levels, as well as industry and NGOs to prepare the first Regional Biosecurity Plan (RBP) for Micronesia and Hawaiʻi, which was released in 2015. Funded and supported by the US Navy, the comprehensive plan consists of four volumes and covers Hawaiʻi, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
A biosecurity plan consists of inspections, facilities, and protocols for pre-border (before a shipment or a group of passengers departs), at the border (upon arrival to the new location), and post-border (after cargo and passengers have reached their destination). The RBP for Micronesia and Hawaiʻi also contains detailed risk assessments for marine, terrestrial, and freshwater ecosystems, which are critical to regional economies and sustainable livelihoods.
Left: Adult coconut rhinoceros beetle. Right: Coconut rhinoceros beetle damage to palm trees. Images courtesy of the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture.
The members of each jurisdiction covered in the RBP agreed that the plan should be updated every 3 years, and the RISC initiated the first update process this November in Guam. Pacific RISA PI Laura Brewington facilitated the week-long update meeting, during which time the original recommendations and action items were identified, accomplishments and progress to-date were documented, and new concerns were raised. One of the key recommendations for the update is to develop an action plan for invasive species under climate change. As regions of the Pacific warm, precipitation patterns shift, and sea levels rise, invasive species ranges are expected to change as well. For example, outbreaks of the invasive coconut rhinoceros beetle (pictured above) have been reported on Guam and Palau after extreme storm events. High winds damage the palm trees the beetles use as a food source and breeding grounds, and sea level rise weakens palm trees along the coast, making them more vulnerable to predation by the beetle. Dr. Brewington will be working with the RISC members and others to prepare the climate change language for the RBP update, which will be finalized and released in mid-2018.
Please join us for a special meeting: 4th National Climate Assessment Town Hall for Hawai‘i and the Pacific Islands Region
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Posted on February 28, 2017 by pacrisa
Please join us Monday, March 6, 2017 from 6pm-8pm for a special meeting: 4th National Climate Assessment Town Hall for Hawai‘i and the Pacific Islands Region.
This meeting is open to the public. Remote access to the session, including remote virtual participation, will be available through GoTo Meeting.
To attend in person or to participate virtually, please RSVP HERE
The Town Hall is an opportunity to provide early input to the 4th U.S. National Climate Assessment (NCA4) about how climate change affects different sectors, livelihoods, and ecosystems in Hawai‘i and the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands. The objective is to convene a wide range of perspectives to inform the development of a regional chapter in NCA4 to ensure that the final product is both scientifically sound and beneficial to communities.
The meeting will feature opening remarks by East-West Center President Dr. Richard R. Vuylsteke and presentations by Dr. Fred Lipschultz of the U.S. Global Change Research Program and the regional chapter lead authors.
The Town Hall is also an excellent opportunity to meet the lead authors of our region’s chapter.
Monday, March 6, 2017 from 6pm-8pm
Hawai‘i Imin International Conference Center
Garden Level
1777 East-West Road
Honolulu, Hawai‘i
$6 parking available in non-reserved stalls (pay at kiosk upon entry to campus)
We hope that you can join us – and please distribute this to anyone interested! If you have any questions, please reach out to Zena Grecni at grecniz@eastwestcenter.org
Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment (PIRCA) launches new website
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Posted on September 15, 2016 by pacrisa
The Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment (PIRCA) has launched its new website at PIRCA.org. The website provides a wealth of information and resources about climate change in Hawai‘i and the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI).
The new website makes it easier to access the 2012 PIRCA Report, Climate Change and Pacific Islands: Indicators and Impacts and its findings, case studies, and figures. More than 100 scientific experts and practitioners contributed to the report, an integrated regional assessment that serves as technical input to the Third U.S. National Climate Assessment. The 2012 PIRCA report examines climate change impacts in Hawai‘i and the USAPI and assesses the adaptive capacity of Pacific Island communities.
In addition to showcasing the 2012 assessment report, the new PIRCA website hosts updated information, including the latest observed climate trends and projections for Hawai‘i and the USAPI from the scientists and federal agencies who work with PIRCA. Key features enable anyone to view climate-related content by topic or location. This content includes, for example, charts and illustrations, animated data visualizations, maps, videos, presentations, and case studies that highlight real-world examples of impacts and adaptation in a variable and changing climate. The News section operates much like a blog, providing updates and announcements about regional climate assessment activities and the U.S. National Climate Assessment.
“Now, more than ever, a regional source of climate information is essential for making informed decisions about the future,” said Dr. Victoria Keener, a hydrologist, East-West Center fellow, and lead author of the 2012 PIRCA report. “With President Obama’s recent visit to the islands highlighting a growing need for climate change adaptation, decision-makers are looking to PIRCA, and the scientists involved, for up-to-date analysis and resources. The website makes this two-way communication easier.”
The PIRCA website is supported by funding from the East-West Center, the Department of Interior’s Pacific Islands Climate Science Center, the Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration through the Pacific Research on Island Solutions for Adaptation (RISA) Program.
Contact: Zena Grecni, (808) 944-7242, grecniz@eastwestcenter.org
Save the Date! Pacific RISA at the World Conservation Congress
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Posted on August 22, 2016 by Laura Brewington
Come learn about natural resource management and climate change at the International Union for Conservation of Nature World Conservation Congress! On September 3 at 3:30pm, we’ll be hosting a Pavilion event that’s free and open to the public, titled “Incorporating Climate Adaptation into Agency-Level Planning in the Pacific Islands Region.”
The Hawai‘i-Pacific Pavilion will host island nations, states, cities, and communities from across the region, featuring cultural, political, and scientific sessions, with an overall focus on community resilience in the face of climate change. Moderated by Pacific RISA PI Laura Brewington, the East-West Center is organizing this Pavilion event in collaboration with the Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Pacific Islands Climate Science Center, the Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative, the University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant program, and other regional partners along with IUCN members to present initiatives from resource management agencies that address how to best incorporate climate science into planning frameworks. The event is designed for natural resource managers, agencies, planners, and decision makers in the region and beyond who are interested in contributing to and learning from best practices for adaptation in the diverse and changing environments of the Pacific. We’ll be focusing on top-down and bottom-up planning strategies for adaptation to climate change, using the Hawai‘i Interagency Climate Adaptation Committee and the Aloha+ Challenge as forward-looking frameworks for multi-sectoral engagement.
For more information, visit our event webpage, and don’t forget to mark your calendars for Saturday, September 3 at 3:30pm!
Leave a Comment
Posted on February 8, 2016 by pacrisa
RMI Declares Drought State of Emergency
On February 3rd, Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) President, Dr. Hilda Heine, declared a state of emergency in response to intensifying drought conditions across the country. President Heine’s declaration anticipates that the drought will worsen, based on what is known about how El Niño affects rainfall in RMI. The climate outlook for a continued strong El Niño means the drought is likely to last through May 2016. As a result, RMI faces potentially serious consequences for public health, food supply, and economy.
The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which is driving the drought, is an ocean-atmosphere climate cycle in the equatorial Pacific Ocean that is characterized by El Nino and La Nina phases, which recur approximately every three to seven years. Since December 2015, the Pacific has experienced an El Niño event that is among the three strongest on record. A recent policy analysis paper from the East-West Center and the University of Hawaii’s IPRC explained the ENSO phenomenon and this year’s El Niño impacts and opportunities for preparation in greater depth.
Periods of low rainfall have different impacts in different parts of the world. On small atolls, such as those of Northern RMI, the impacts of drought can become severe quickly. Residents of the atolls of RMI depend highly on rainfall harvesting and storage for drinking water, and water used in the household and bathing.
The last very strong El Niño event, in 1997-1998, brought severe drought to RMI. Local crops were damaged, causing a food shortage. In addition, bacterial infections, dehydration, and other drought-related illnesses were reported, particularly on the northern atolls, which were most impacted by the drought. Droughts in RMI have mobilized military and international aid organizations to deliver food, water, and medical supplies, but the impacts are still disruptive to RMI’s society and economy.
The current drought has already depleted household water catchment supplies and other water storage on at least 13 atolls, and communities have run out of water. The declaration signals to international partners and aid organizations that the drought could become a major crisis for RMI. Heine’s state-of-emergency declaration aims to address immediate drought-related problems communities are already facing, but also to coordinate a wide range of government ministries in their efforts to provide relief through a National Disaster Committee.
The fact that this drought comes on the heels of a string of other stresses to RMI’s economy and environment may signal a particularly dire situation for the country, and recovery may be slow. The country recently experienced political turmoil, which ended with Dr. Heine’s recent election. A string of climate-related disasters, too, have hit the island nation, including destruction from an unusually active hurricane season earlier this year, also related to the El Niño. This drought comes not long after another severe drought in 2013.
While RMI is already coping with the drought, the El Niño event is producing low rainfall across the entire Pacific Islands region and could impact 4.7 million people by May 2016, according to the International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). Countries should take measures to help communities prepare for and cope with the drought conditions associated with the El Niño.
Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment Hires Specialist
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Posted on January 19, 2016 by pacrisa
January 12, 2016
Ms. Grecni brings to the Sustained Assessment Specialist position experience analyzing management strategies in human-environment systems and communicating with a wide range of Pacific Island decision makers. She received a master’s degree in environmental management (2015) from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (F&ES). Her program of study centered on climate change adaptation and freshwater and coastal governance, with a particular focus on small islands. At Yale F&ES, She completed a fellowship with the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA) and an internship with the Secretariat for the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in Apia, Samoa, where she worked with member countries to build institutional readiness for climate adaptation finance. She served as Research Assistant for two years at the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication, managing digital media and analyzing nationally representative survey data about people’s climate change beliefs and attitudes. Ms. Grecni previously worked at the East-West Center as Communications Coordinator for the Pacific Research on Island Solutions for Adaptation (RISA) program, a NOAA-funded regional climate research partnership for the U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands. In her role as Communications Coordinator, she managed media outreach for the release of the 2012 PIRCA report, which received more media hits than a report for any other U.S. region. From 2010-2012, she served as Program Associate at the University of Hawai‘i’s Center for Island Climate Adaptation and Policy.
The Sustained Assessment Specialist will expand the capacity of PIRCA to deliver timely, decision-relevant assessments of climate change impacts and indicators. The position will ultimately contribute toward sustaining momentum generated during the 2012 PIRCA and Third National Climate Assessment and responding to the need for knowledge about climate change and adaptation options in the Pacific Islands region.
Pacific Island Fact Sheets
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Posted on November 12, 2015 by pacrisa
Pacific Island Fact Sheets Released on El Niño and Sectoral Impacts
There is currently a strong El Niño event, for which there are significant impacts around Hawaii and the Pacific Islands, including extended drought conditions, enhanced risk of damaging tropical cyclones, increased risk of coral bleaching, and possible spread of vector borne disease and illness.
The evolution and duration, strength and impacts of individual El Niño events can vary, in some cases greatly. This makes constant monitoring and awareness extremely important for decision makers across multiple sectors. Impacts also vary by island, and these seven fact sheets outline different physical impacts on different sectors and projected trends in relevant climate variables for Hawaii, American Sāmoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, the eastern and western Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a recurring climate pattern involving changes in the temperature of waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean and the patterns of sea level pressure, lower- and upper-level winds, and tropical rainfall across the Pacific basin. This irregular oscillation between warm and cool patterns, referred to as the ENSO cycle, directly affects rainfall distribution in the tropics and can have a strong influence on weather across the Pacific basin.
The following El Niño fact sheetsfor Hawaii and the Pacific Islands were created by the NOAA Hawaii and Pacific Islands ENSO Tiger Team, and are immediately available for download and distribution to policy makers, natural resource managers, community members, and interested stakeholders. For more information, please contact the Pacific Region Climate Officer of the Pacific ENSO Applications Climate Center (peac@noaa.gov).
2015 El Niño and Pacific Islands Fact Sheets
Cover image: Sea surface temperature anomaly on 11/12/2015, visualization from http://earth.nullschool.net/ by Cameron Beccario, Real Time Global SST from MMAB / EMC / NCEP
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Resilient and sustainable Pacific Island communities using climate information to manage risks and support practical decision-making about climate variability and change.
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