‘Care’ is 2021 Hawaiʻi Word of the Year
UH News, December 29, 2021
Communities throughout the state have been resilient throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, not to mention the everyday challenges that we have all persevered through in 2021. With different situations have come a need for additional levels of compassion and support. We all sometimes need that extra helping hand, whether it is from a food or clothing drive, helping to take care of a family member or supporting local businesses. These are some of the reasons why the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Department of English has selected the 2021 Word of the Year for Hawaiʻi as care.
“Care is at the heart of everything that has transpired during the last year—whether in health care because of the pandemic or the kind of care for one another that various social justice movements have called for,” said Department Chair and Professor S. Shankar. “We have had to make sure we engage in self care even as we care for one another. We have had to be both careful and caring.”
In 2021, UH displayed extraordinary care—from providing the most up-to-date health care guidance to its community, to establishing various funds to help students financially during the pandemic, to providing a world-class education despite our students, faculty and staff having to navigate through pandemic challenges.
Merriam-Webster selected vaccine as its 2021 Word of the Year. The 2020 Hawaiʻi Word of the Year was resilience.
‘Care’ is 2021 Hawaiʻi Word of the Year | University of Hawaiʻi System News (hawaii.edu)
Resilience is 2020 Hawaiʻi Word of the Year
UH News, December 28, 2020
An unprecedented year dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged all of Hawaiʻi’s communities to live in a “new normal.” People have gone above and beyond to care for each other, find different ways to provide for their families and continue their children’s education. These are some of the reasons why the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Department of English has selected the 2020 Word of the Year for Hawaiʻi as resilience.
Department Chair and Professor S. Shankar said resilience is much needed and what humans routinely demonstrate in the face of crises. He said that rather than the negative, resilience foregrounds the positive, and rather than the catastrophic, it underscores perseverance.
“Resilience is a word we heard a lot in the midst of the ongoing pandemic—the resilience of first responders, of communities experiencing rampant infection, of families with children at home, of the newly unemployed. But resilience is not just a word linked to the pandemic,” Shankar said. “2020 was also a year in which people were called on to demonstrate resilience in the face of climate change and the accompanying challenges to human communities.”
In 2020, UH displayed remarkable resilience—from students pursuing their learning despite the difficult circumstances, and faculty and staff delivering a quality education while also responding to the challenges they and their students have faced.
Merriam-Webster selected pandemic as its 2020 Word of the Year.
Resilience is 2020 Hawaiʻi Word of the Year | University of Hawaiʻi System News (hawaii.edu)
State of Hawaii Climate Change Portal
The effects of climate change in Hawaiʻi are being felt mauka to makai, from the increasing wildfires ravaging our native forests in the highlands to the eroding beaches and deteriorating infrastructure along our coastlines. Hawaiʻi and other Pacific island nations are extremely vulnerable to climate change impacts for various reasons – isolated geographic locations, extensive coastlines, limited freshwater availability, susceptibility to impacts from natural disasters, and vulnerable food systems – just to name a few.
The floods and landslides that occurred on Kauaʻi, Maui, and Oʻahu in March 2021 are ominous reminders that the State must implement strategies to build a resilient future, sooner rather than later.
A climate emergency reignites. Although the decade started with a pandemic that brought the world to a standstill, 2021 has reignited some hope as we see governments around the globe pushing forward and taking action to tackle the climate crisis. President Biden recently announced an extensive list of climate actions the United States will take to address climate change, several countries announced their climate commitments during the Latin America and Caribbean Climate Week 2021, and this year marks the start of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. National climate commitments aren’t the only inspiring things happening this year – states are doing their part too. In April 2021, Hawai‘i became the first state in the U.S. to declare a climate emergency, and recently came together with six other leading Under2 Coalition state and regional governments to call for ambitious climate action and to align our financial agenda to keep global temperature rises to 1.5°C. As we continue to build momentum in the fight against the global climate crisis, there is one strategy that is gaining recognition as an effective way to build climate resilience: nature-based solutions.
“Green-blue” vs. “gray” approaches to the climate change impacts of sea level rise. The photo on the left shows a living shoreline that hides houses behind it. It is a “green-blue” nature-based solution that uses native flora like Naupaka and ‘Akiʻaki growing on sand dunes. Living shorelines help mitigate coastal erosion and also provides co-benefits such as native species habitat, sediment filtration, and protection against storm and high wave events. The picture on the right shows a seawall, an example of “gray” infrastructure that hardens the shoreline and accelerates beach loss and erodes coasts. Note the amount of beach in areas without a seawall. PC: Anu Hittle; Joshua Rainey photography via Getty Images
An emergency needs a “two-fer” solution. Nature-based solutions (NBS) encompass the use of “green-blue” approaches, such as native forests and living shorelines, to address climate impacts. The International Union for Conservation of Nature defines nature-based solutions as “actions to protect, sustainably manage and restore natural or modified ecosystems that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively, simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits.” NBS can absorb carbon and/or help adapt and build resilience to climate change, often all at once. Such approaches also generally produce more co-benefits than their “gray” counterparts (infrastructure that is engineered), such as artificial sea walls composed of impermeable concrete.
Solutions based in nature are best for Hawaiʻi. Hawai‘i’s forests, agriculture and ranch lands, and coastal and nearshore waters all play an important role in combating climate change and making Hawai‘i more resilient. Relative to other states, our landmass is fairly small, which means utilizing our lands and nearshore waters efficiently is vital to remaining at the forefront in the fight against the climate crisis. Nature-based solutions allow the state to use the power of its lands and nature to address resilience.
Forests can make Hawaiʻi more resilient. Though restoration and conservation of forests contribute to ecosystem resilience by increasing carbon storage, biodiversity, groundwater recharge, and more, the social benefits arising from these are often overlooked. Landscape-level programs utilizing nature-based solutions can help ecosystems that act as carbon sinks and support local communities by providing a pathway to economic recovery. The Puʻu Mali Forest Carbon Project on Mauna Kea is using a NBS approach to restore an agricultural land back into its original native forest state. This project results in an array of benefits – reef protection, wildfire mitigation, a local green economy, and the protection of cultural heritage and traditional practices – all while contributing to the State’s Carbon Neutrality goals by increasing the absorption of carbon from the atmosphere on this land.
Nature-based features along the coast can make Hawaiʻi more resilient. As the state with the 4th longest combined coastline in the nation, managing our coastal lands for resilience will play a big part in making Hawaiʻi climate ready. Implementing NBS can help reduce the impacts of coastal storms, sea level rise, and coastal erosion. Living shorelines and wetland restoration (in Hawaiʻi, this means protecting and restoring the loʻi kalo and loko iʻa) can significantly increase the State’s resilience by protecting coastal infrastructure, increasing food security, and restoring critical habitat for native species. Loko iʻa (Native Hawaiian fishponds) were once a key component in food production and food sustainability for hundreds of years, but declined dramatically after western contact and significant shifts in land-use. Today, there is an expanding movement to restore loko iʻa across the islands, with grassroots organizations like Hui Mālama Loko Iʻa, a network of Hawaiian fishpond practitioners and organizations that collaborate to educate communities about place-based stewardship and establish a knowledge exchange of traditional and contemporary fishpond practices. The Heʻeia National Estuarine Research Reserve is dedicated to practice and promote responsible stewardship and outreach consistent with the principles of the ahupuaʻa management system for the ahupuaʻa of Heʻeia, and works closely with partners like Paepae o Heʻeia, a non-profit organization dedicated to restore and care for Loko iʻa o Heʻeia (Heʻeia Fishpond).
Agricultural and ranch lands can make Hawaiʻi more resilient. Living on an isolated island archipelago, building self-sufficiency through food resilience is vital for the long-term sustainability of the state. Considering the effect a natural disaster could have on the shipments of food and other necessities to Hawai’i – where approximately 90% of the state’s food is imported from overseas – the need to build a resilient food system is clear. Although currently accounting for about 6% of our statewide greenhouse gas emissions , our agricultural lands help offset 13% of these emissions, making them an important sink to mitigate against climate change impacts. NBS in agricultural lands can provide not only benefits through various ecosystem services, but also deliver food security for people worldwide while restoring nature and climate. Well-managed rangelands, like Haleakala Ranch on Maui and Kualoa Ranch on O’ahu , can produce benefits for the surrounding ecosystem and community: watershed protection, carbon sequestration, open space preservation, wildfire mitigation, habitat preservation, noxious weed control, and protecting cultural values.
Climate readiness and nature-based solutions go hand in hand. The above examples illustrate how the efficacy of such solutions comes from the power of both nature and local communities, and in turn, the services produced also benefit both. There is no doubt that NBS will play an important role in creating a climate ready Hawai’i, but a few steps must be taken before we get there. We will need to:
- Define resilience for Hawaiʻi and establish metrics to measure progress;
- Operationalize equity to ensure the burdens brought by climate change do not fall on the shoulders of already vulnerable communities, and that the voices of all communities are heard when developing, implementing, and analyzing climate resilience plans; and
- Develop a knowledge exchange to offer the public, researchers, and other institutions a “one-stop-shop” to learn about and collaborate on climate science, traditional knowledge, and resilience efforts happening statewide.
Building resilience through NBS is further explained in the Climate Ready Hawaiʻi Working Paper on Nature-Based Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Change in Hawaiʻi .
In order to truly adapt and be resilient to the impacts of the climate crisis, many of the solutions we seek can be found if we look to the past. In Hawaiʻi and other Pacific island nations, true sustainability was a lifestyle built out of necessity. NBS build upon that place-based perspective, and emphasize that humans and nature are not separate and recognize the critical role that citizen involvement and social inclusion plays in implementing effective climate solutions, making NBS an ideal strategy for building resilience in Hawaiʻi, and an adaptable solution for the rest of the world.
This blog piece is written under the guidance of Anukriti Hittle, Coordinator for the Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission, from our Climate Ready Hawaiʻi Working Paper on Nature-Based Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Change in Hawaiʻi, which can be found here.
Click HERE for more articles from Hawai’i Climate Change Portal
Returning to the Roots of Community Resilience in Hawai‘i
By Libby Leonard, originally published by YES! magazine
February 9, 2021
There are four things you should know,” says David Fuertes to the youths he mentors. “You should know your origins, because your ancestors have paved the way. You should know your values and connect in those values, because that’s going to drive you to make decisions. You should know your purpose, because that will show the ‘why’ of what you’re doing. And you should envision the ultimate for yourself and your lāhui [or ‘people’].”
Fuertes is the executive director of Kahua Pa’a Mua, an education-focused agriculture nonprofit in North Kohala, on the bucolic northern tip of Hawai‘i Island (also known as the Big Island). It’s one of many organizations that have popped up in the past decade in pursuit of food security and resilience in the Aloha State.
Hawai‘i is “showing the rest of the country how circular and regenerative and local food systems can support the economy, strengthen cultural heritage, and improve the overall health of the community,” according to the Center for Food Safety, a nonprofit advocacy group. Their docuseries, Regenerating Paradise, showcases local farm-to-school programs, community poi harvesting, farm entrepreneurship training programs, and soil health and composting initiatives.
Some of these organizations were founded in the wake of legislation introduced in 2012 that acknowledged that Hawai‘i had become “dangerously dependent” on imported food. At the time, 92% of Hawai‘i’s food was being imported, which meant that in the event of a natural disaster or global catastrophe, the islands would have only seven days to survive.
On the heels of the Food, Energy, and Conservation Act, a $288 billion five-year agriculture policy bill passed by Congress amid the Great Recession, Hawai‘i’s bill called for the expansion of agriculture in order to cut down on expenditures, create more jobs, and keep money within local economies.
However, before the state legislation was even introduced, North Kohala—an area zoned mainly for agriculture—already had a plan to reach 50% food self-sufficiency by 2020. The community has yet to chart their progress, but Kahua Pa’a Mua is one of the smaller nonprofits to help make big steps toward that goal.
Click HERE to learn more about Returning to the Roots of Community Resilience in Hawai‘i.
A cool solution to a hot topic: Community hubs can address climate change, mobility, and resilience in Hawai’i.
By Anu Hittle, Department of Land and Natural Resources
August 20, 2020
Think about how a place that now stores single occupancy vehicles (aka a parking lot) can be transformed into hub of activity that brings options and amenities to all people—not just those who own cars. Imagine how this valuable land could be used for transit, bikes, bikeshare, carshare, e-bike and e-freight parking, electric vehicle charging, drones, AVs, and yes, even kayaks. You’re imagining a multi-modal mobility hub. Now take that further, and make it a place where people can access not just mobility, but amenities—like daycare, laundry, groceries. And in times of disaster events, these could even serve as resilience hubs. This was one of the main points made in HEPF’s first virtual peer exchange organized in coordination with the state’s Climate Change Commission staff to highlight priorities of reducing ground transportation emissions in Hawai’i.
On August 13th, 2020 over thirty peers from various state and city agencies (Department of Transportation Services, Department of Planning and Permitting, Hawai’i Department of Transportation, Office of Planning, Department of Land and Natural Resources, Oahu and Maui Metropolitan Planning Organizations, Hawai’i State Energy Office), U.S. EPA and Ulupono Initiative, collaborated to discuss what are multi-modal mobility hubs, and how they can help Hawai’i achieve its climate change goals, in keeping with the Commission’s focus on “clean, equitable and resilient” strategies for climate action.
Five experts from various design and mobility firms presented a “Multi-modal Mobility Hubs 101” and led the group through some of the innovative designs they have been creating for the past several years in cities all over the country—everything from huge transit hubs, to first and last mile tree-lined walks for urban cooling. The group’s goal was to figure out how these forward-looking concepts could be applied to Hawai’i to transform state parking lots into something that serves all of Hawai’i’s communities and people.
Along with facilitator Asia Yeary (EPA), co-leads Pradip Pant (DOT) and Lauren Armstrong (Maui MPO) guided the group via three randomly assigned breakout rooms. In these “zoom rooms”, each group discussed three main questions:
- What questions do you have and what do you see as the challenges?
- What would you like to see in Hawai’i?
- What are the next steps to making this happen?
Here are the main points of the fast-paced morning discussion:
- Barriers: coordination, inter-jurisdictional and funding. As you’d expect, it’s pretty much what plagues every cross-pollination project. But more importantly, the groups wondered if multi-modal mobility is the “orphan child” that has no parent agency to look after it? And if so, where’s the best home within state and county governments? How to get this topic on the radar of elected officials, and developers? COVID-related challenges were on everyone’s minds, but the group agreed that there exists a ‘seize the pandemic’ opportunity, one that could actually be used to make some headway on the transit-bike-pedestrian nexus with climate change, resilience and affordability.
- Questions: specifics of different types of hubs. Peers were intrigued by the different possibilities that the five design experts discussed. For instance, what about rural hubs, and ones where the function changed throughout the day? Could there be hubs for visitors too, not just residents? This led to thinking about developing typologies for the Hawaiian islands, incorporating different needs. And, instead of calling these multi-modal mobility hubs, perhaps we can call them community hubs? They could include a menu of options, such as active transportation, food access, open-air markets, freight, wifi, etc. and be co-located strategically near libraries, transit, and so on.
- A vision for Hawai’i, and how to get there. What can we do in Hawai’i, and would our next steps be? Generally, peers agreed that we need to develop a few typologies, and consider expanding the use of such hubs to amenities for daily use, as well as in the event of disasters. For such hubs to be truly useful, the discussion needs to originate with community partners, where it is a preferred local solution addressing community needs. That said, one may be left wondering how to involve a community that doesn’t necessarily want to bike, walk or take the bus, especially post-COVID. But what would be the challenge if the answers to such things were already apparent? So, that’s where a community needs assessment comes in. Using the results of such an assessment, a pilot project could be developed to show how this is a cool solution to a hot topic.
Whether random or designed by fate (Pradip calculated the probability of all three DOT participants being randomly assigned to the same “zoom room” at 0.0000539!), peers arrived at some interesting and exciting possibilities for not only addressing the state’s climate goals, but also unclogging a transportation dilemma, while making life better in the Hawaiian islands. How’s that for optimism in the time of COVID?
Note: The State’s Climate Change Commission sought and was awarded grant funds from Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization and other sources to develop a plan for assessment of state parking facilities statewide that will allow for multi-modal use. The HEPF peer exchange will help determine a general focus for the project.
Resilience in Native Hawaiians may lead to better health
UH News, May 26, 2020
Native Hawaiians who have higher levels of resilience may also have better health, according to new public health research from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Researchers led by Mapuana C.K. Antonio, an assistant professor in Native Hawaiian and indigenous health at the Office of Public Health Studies in the Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work, developed a new scale to measure resilience in Native Hawaiians. The scale was included in a survey of 124 Native Hawaiian adults living on Hawaiian Homestead Lands. The researchers compared the participants’ resilience scores with their self-reported health.
The findings are published online in the journal Behavioral Medicine.
“Resilience is complicated to measure,” Antonio said. For the new study, she and her co-authors incorporated scales that expanded on traditional measures of resilience, which look at a person’s ability to overcome adversity and persevere in times of difficulty. Traditional measures have generally looked only at internal traits, such self-reliance.
The researchers developed a new measure that takes into account the indigenous perspective of resilience, which places high value on relationships. “It is important to consider that for Native Hawaiians, health and resilience involves cultural identity and a sense of lōkahi, or harmony between the physical, spiritual, social and emotional self, and extends to include the outside world or environment,” said Antonio.
The researchers tested out their new scale and found it had good validity. They also found that the participants in their survey who scored higher on the resilience scale also reported higher levels of general health, mental health and physical functioning.
Native Hawaiians face much adversity that stems from colonization and historical trauma, including discrimination, health disparities and lower socioeconomic status compared with other racial and ethnic groups. “Our findings suggest that resilience may slightly mediate the effect that adversity has on health,” Antonio said.
The new scales can be used in future research on Native Hawaiian health that uses a strength-based approach, meaning research that focuses on the positive aspects of the community, rather than targeting deficits.
“A multi-faceted measure of resilience is needed to promote better health outcomes for Native Hawaiians,” added Antonio.
Antonio’s co-authors on the study included Earl S. Hishinuma, Claire Townsend Ing, Fumiaki Hamagami and Joseph Keaweʻaimoku Kaholokula of the John A. Burns School of Medicine; Adrienne Dillard, B. Puni Kekauoha and Cappy Solatorio of Kula no na Poʻe Hawaiʻi; Kevin Cassel of the University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center; and Kathryn L. Braun, also of the Office of Public Health Studies.
Resilience in Native Hawaiians may lead to better health | University of Hawaiʻi System News
Building Resilience in Hawai‘i Before the Next Crisis
MAY 20, 2020 By Steve Petranik
A Q&A WITH HENK ROGERS
The City & County of Honolulu last year released Ola: Oahu Resilience Strategy, a roadmap to building resilience from climate events, the rising cost of living and other economic challenges.
This year, the state’s resilience was tested when the coronavirus pandemic choked the local economy and highlighted Hawai‘i’s vulnerabilities as an island community that imports most of its food and energy. Henk Rogers, founder of Blue Planet Energy, discusses the importance of building resilience and how Hawai‘i can develop a more sustainable and self-reliant energy system.
Q: What does building resilience mean in this context?
A: Any time a community faces a widespread crisis or disaster, its ability to bounce back depends on how well it has prepared and what structures and systems it has to restore critical needs like electricity, shelter and water. Island communities are particularly vulnerable to the threat of natural disasters and other outside forces, meaning it’s even more important for us to build resilience before something happens.
In 2017, Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, leaving 95% of its residents without power or mobile phone service, and more than half the population without clean drinking water. The island’s aging power grid was destroyed and three months later, 45% of the people still didn’t have electricity.
Blue Planet Energy has been working with government agencies and the American Red Cross in Puerto Rico to ensure power continuity for critical services like shelters, food and water, particularly in times of crisis and grid outages. We deployed battery systems that store energy generated by solar panels at more than 100 schools, which are emergency shelters during natural disasters. That technology reduces reliance on the grid when another major disaster strikes. These systems will provide electricity and connectivity while the utility works to restore power elsewhere. That’s an example of resilience.
Why is it important for communities to build resilience?
The coronavirus pandemic demonstrated how important it is to build resilience and highlighted some of the weaknesses in island economies.
For example, we import 90% of our food and 70% of our energy in the form of crude oil and coal. If those ships stopped coming, could we generate our own energy to power homes and businesses? Could we produce enough food to feed all our residents? Right now, the answer is no. That makes us vulnerable.
Time and again, we’ve seen the need for greater resilience in Hawai‘i when dealing with natural disasters — lava flows, hurricanes, flooding. Extreme weather events will only increase as we continue to see the local effects of global climate change, so we need to prepare. By creating systems or using technologies that reduce our reliance on external forces, or quickly adapt to a changing environment, we become more resilient as a state.
How can Hawai‘i build resilience?
I predict critical services and essential businesses will prioritize resilience projects in Hawai‘i coming out of this latest crisis. Hawai‘i is already on a solid path toward a more sustainable and self-reliant future. We’ve reached our benchmark goal of 30% renewable electricity by 2020 on our way to the 100% clean energy mandate by 2045 – generating our own power is a huge step toward self-reliance.
We’re also seeing battery energy storage technology advance to the point where microgrids are becoming more affordable and easier to implement. Microgrid systems are a part of the central grid, which provides stability, but they can also operate independently to offer reliable power during an outage. These investments are quick and impactful ways to strengthen our energy resilience and protect us when severe climate events strike.
How can local businesses and nonprofits join in this effort?
To keep supporting our local innovation economy and building resilience as a community, we have to be open to investing in new technology. Businesses and nonprofits can be a part of that by identifying opportunities for partnership that help drive progress. For example, a nonprofit that serves a rural community might see a real need for a microgrid or minigrid to improve reliability of service and provide more resilient energy to areas that are harder hit by storms. Businesses might be able to provide funding, infrastructure or other support. In the long term, we have to look at this as a community issue that requires a community effort.
This article appears in the May 2020 issue of Hawaii Business Magazine.
Building Resilience in Hawai‘i Before the Next Crisis – Hawaii Business Magazine
University of Hawai‘i Sustainability and Resilience
Mar 29, 2019
Center for Coastal & Climate Science & Resilience
The Center Serves To:
- Support research in coastal and climate sciences and promote access to the best available science for decision makers
- Increase coastal community resilience to natural hazards and adaptation to climate change
- Improve conservation and management of coastal resources
Resulting In:
- Resilient coastal communities that are better prepared for the impacts of natural hazards and climate change
Signature Projects
Hawai‘i Climate Adaptation Initiative: Hawai‘i Sea Grant is supporting the development of Hawai‘i’s first Sea-Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Report released in December 2017.
Sea level has risen over the last century on each island at rates varying from 0.5-1.3 inches per decade. As sea-level rise accelerates and climate and ocean conditions change, it is becoming increasingly important for island communities to develop policies and implement strategies that reduce vulnerability and increase resilience to natural hazards.
Building Resilience to Coastal Hazards and Climate Change in Hawai‘i: To help increase resilience and understanding of impacts from sea-level rise, Hawai‘i Sea Grant is completing:
- A web-based Hazard Exposure and Vulnerability Mapping Tool
- Guidelines for ingrating Coastal Resilience into Existing Planning Frameworks
- Guidelines and Training for Post-Disaster Rebuilding and Recovery
Hawaiian Islands Sentinel Site Cooperative: Bringing together science, management, and technology to help communities adapt to climate change.
Hawai‘i and Pacific Islands King Tides Project: Members of the general public, or “citizen scientists,” contribute photographs documenting the impact of King Tides on coastal resources and infrastructure
Please contact us at uhsgcomm@hawaii.edu or (808) 956-7410 if you would like to request a hard copy or pdf of this publication.
University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program
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