Climate change is the most pressing societal challenge of our time, with projected changes likely to result in cascading impacts to species, ecosystems, and ecosystem services. These impacts will exacerbate current resource challenges for the Hawaiian Islands, such as conflict over water resources, land use and degradation, and invasive species. Resource managers and conservation planners are addressing this challenge by revising current plans and practices with increased attention on potential climate impacts to natural resources, communities, and socioeconomic values to better meet long-term goals. We propose to support resource managers and planners of the main Hawaiian Islands in meeting this challenge by developing a comprehensive, science-based synthesis of current and projected future climate changes and impacts on and adaptation options for terrestrial and freshwater resources.
Specifically, our objectives are to:
- Convene an effective science-management partnership involving multiple agencies and organizations to evaluate climate impacts to and adaptation options for Hawaiian biocultural resources and to support integration and implementation of adaptation in management plans and actions.
- Identify climate science available to and used by managers and conservationists, as well as critical needs and gaps that may be filled by this project;
- Identify and synthesize best available climate science to support reliable and timely decision making and stewardship;
- Increase understanding of the climate-related vulnerabilities of biocultural resources of the main Hawaiian Islands, in addition to the compounding effects of non‐climatic stressors;
- Facilitate the creation of adaptation options to reduce these vulnerabilities; and
- Create a climate‐engaged public that can make informed decisions to support sustainable biocultural terrestrial and freshwater resources.
