Community Resilience To Climate Change in Hawai`i

2009 Hawai`i Conservation ConferenceHawai`i in a Changing Climate: Ecological, Economic,

and Policy Challenges and Solutions

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Workshop Objectives

• Explore opportunities for enhancing community resilience through climate adaptation in Hawai`i

1. Introduction to Community Resilience to Climate Adaptation2. Understanding Climate Impacts and Risks in Hawai`i3. Planning for Climate Impacts – Exercise in Defining Priorities4. Fundamentals of Climate Adaptation5. Identifying Opportunities for Climate Adaptation in Hawai`i

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Risk• Risk is the probability of harmful consequences, or expected losses (deaths, injuries,

property, livelihoods, economic activity disrupted or environment damaged) resulting from interactions between natural or human-induced hazards and vulnerable conditions.

• Risk = Hazard (Frequency and Severity) x Vulnerability (Sensitivity and Adaptive Capacity)

• Risk management is any action taken to reduce or eliminate risks to human life and a community’s economic, social, cultural, and environmental resources due to hazards.

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Mitigation• Hazard mitigation is any sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate

long-term risk to life and property from a hazard event. Considered one of the four phases of emergency management with preparedness, response, and recovery.

• When used in the climate context, mitigation refers to human intervention to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or removal of gasses from the atmosphere.

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Adaptation

• Adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic changes or their impacts, so as to reduce harm or exploit beneficial opportunities.

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Resilience

• Resilience is the ability of a system or community to absorb shock, recover quickly, and learn and adapt from the experience.

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Resilience

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Resilience

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Enhancing Resilience in Hawai`i• Increase the use of climate and

hazard risk information in decision-making

• Facilitate cross-sector collaboration

• Promote comprehensive, place-based planning approaches to address hazard and climate risks

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Barriers to Adaptation

• Federal Level1. Lack of Federal Leadership 2. Lack of Funding 3. Political Opposition4. Ignorance5. Lack of Intra and Inter Agency Coordination 6. Competing Priorities7. Lack of Adaptation Mandates8. Legal Obstacles

Barriers to Adaptation

• State Level1. Lack of federal guidance2. Lack of state level leadership 3. Lack of state and regionally specific scientific

information4. Budget constraints 5. Reliance on historical conditions6. Lack of public awareness, engagement, pressure

Local Success1. The importance of leadership2. A functional organizational structure3. The need from federal agencies for actionable science 4. The need for downscaled climate change information to relevant scales5. Collaborating with local universities 6. The value of networking for exchange of knowledge and experiences 7. Financial support for regional and local adaptation 8. Addressing the perceived and real competition between mitigation and

adaptation 9. Higher level governments can enable local adaptation action 10.A call for urban climate services and extension services 11.Avoiding regulatory and cross jurisdictional conflicts 12.Exploring policy and regulatory opportunities