Sea-level rise (SLR) is one of the biggest threats to the Hawaiian coastline, and resource managers of coastal wetlands in Hawai‘i must begin planning now for future impacts. The majority of these impacts are expected to occur from 2040 – 2100. PICCC funded research from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa has provided decision makers with tools to assist in adaptively managing the impacts of SLR at three coastal wetland environments in south Maui, north Maui, and James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge. They also ranked threats on the basis of input from wetland management experts to develop maps of SLR impacts and vulnerability. The researchers concluded that decision makers must quickly act to develop and implement adaptation strategies that meet the challenges of SLR in advance of the largest impacts. Adaptation is a process that leads to the reduction of risk or harm from climate change through actions that increase ecosystem or species resilience and benefits. Researchers concluded that coastal decision makers should begin prioritizing conservation actions in response to climate change now. Natural resource managers also need to extend their planning beyond the 15-year horizon they currently use.
