One key finding is just how disproportionate the impacts are. Between 1980 and 2019, invasive species caused more than $11.7 billion in damages across US and US-affiliated islands. When adjusted for land area, that’s five times higher per square kilometer than on the US continent. Islands import most of their food and goods, rely heavily on tourism and military transport, and often have limited resources to respond when new pests arrive.

But the paper also shows that the biggest challenges are not about a lack of tools or knowledge. This research, led by Pacific RISA PI Laura Brewington as part of her service on the US Invasive Species Advisory Committee, identifies three lessons that apply not only to US islands, but to island nations around the world. First, local capacity and trust determine whether efforts succeed. Programs that invest in local jobs, training, and community engagement are more likely to detect invasions early, while long-term support of island-led research, workforce development, and implementation supports sustained management as climate extremes intensify. Second, prevention at ports of entry matters. Airports, seaports, and shipping routes are the main gateways for invasive species. When inspections are inconsistent or under-resourced, new pests slip through—and the costs multiply later. Third, long-term control tools are essential but often underused. Islands have successfully applied biological control, targeted chemical treatments, and ecosystem restoration, but these approaches are frequently limited by short-term funding or regulatory delays. Expanding access to conservation-relevant tools and investing in restoration infrastructure also both increase ecosystem resilience following disturbance.

“In many cases, the science exists and the solutions are known,” says lead author Laura Brewington. “The real challenge is making sure systems are in place to prevent invasions in the first place and to act quickly and effectively when they occur.”

The paper also highlights promising examples, from interagency agreements in the Pacific to biofouling controls in Australia and community-driven biosecurity efforts in Mexico. These cases show that coordination and sustained investment can make a real difference. Islands are often described as “sentinels” for environmental change. But in the case of invasive species, they are also shields—protecting surrounding regions from further spread. Strengthening island biosecurity isn’t just an island issue. It’s a global one. Download the paper here.

Featured image: Sunset over Tumon Bay, Guam. Credit: Laura Brewington

]]> 7326 https://www.pacificrisa.org/2025/05/14/new-report-details-climate-change-challenges-and-adaptation-strategies-for-the-marshall-islands/ Wed, 14 May 2025 21:30:02 +0000 https://www.pacificrisa.org/?p=6983 Read More]]> Growing challenges from sea level rise and risks to water and food security and human health are among the major issues detailed in a new report on climate change in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). Considerations for managing threatened resources, including fresh water, fisheries, and infrastructure, are outlined in the report by the Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment (PIRCA), a consortium of several government, NGO, and research entities.

Climate Change in the Republic of the Marshall Islands: Indicators and Considerations for Key Sectors is one in a series of PIRCA reports. Authors from Arizona State University, the East-West Center, the Majuro Weather Service Office, and the University of Hawaiʻi—along with 29 technical contributors from local government, NGOs, and research—collaboratively developed the RMI PIRCA report.

Key Messages

Climate Change in the Republic of the Marshall Islands lays out the changes the country is already experiencing, and what lies ahead. The key messages for decision-makers include:

• Sea level rise threatens infrastructure, food and water security, and important ecosystems and cultural sites. Frequent and extensive flooding, coastal erosion, and saltwater contamination of groundwater are expected as sea level rise accelerates, threatening the long-term habitability of the atoll nation.
• Ocean changes disrupt fisheries and cause coral loss. Coral reefs are key to the Marshall Islands’ fisheries and protection from coastal flooding. Fisheries changes and extensive coral loss are possible within the next few decades if current trends in rising ocean temperatures continue.
• Hotter days and nights and stronger storms affect human health. Temperatures have risen, and heat waves stress water supplies and exacerbate a range of pre-existing health issues. More intense tropical cyclones mean a greater potential for flooding and associated public health and safety risks.
• Collaborations and increased climate finance can bolster resilience. National government, international partners, non-governmental organizations, and local communities can work to expand adaptation strategies and access to climate finance, which is needed to meet the scale of challenges facing the RMI.

About Climate Change in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the PIRCA

The collective efforts of the technical contributors and coordinating authors made the RMI PIRCA report possible. The report builds upon the US National Climate Assessment, offering a closer look at climate change impacts in the RMI and providing information for a wide range of sectors.   

The PIRCA is funded and supported by Arizona State University’s Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s CAP Program (through Pacific RISA), and the East-West Center’s Research Program.

Cover photo: An aerial view of Majuro shows that atolls are primarily covered with forest or agroforest, surrounded by shallow reef. Photo courtesy of USGS project, “‘Vegetative Guide & Dashboard’ relating atoll traditional agroforestry recommendations to predicted climate and sea level conditions in the Marshall Islands.”

SEA technology is also generalizable across geoscience domains, through a framework called an Intelligent Data Exploring Assistant (IDEA), which can be demonstrated by asking it to analyze atmospheric observations from Mars collected by NASA’s InSight Mission (Try it!). By combining LLM capabilities with robust domain-specific customizations, SEA and the IDEA example generate accurate analyses, visualizations, and insights through natural-language prompts. This study highlights the potential of IDEA frameworks to lower technical barriers, enhance educational opportunities, and transform geoscientific workflows while addressing the limitations and uncertainties of current LLM technology. PI Widlansky’s work also highlights how AI can enhance scientific research and communication, and helps us to envision how the creation of similar tools can support scientists in many fields.

SEAinfo page, with several YouTube video demonstrations and presentations by PI Widlansky
https://uhslc.soest.hawaii.edu/research/SEAinfo/
GitHub IDEA page
https://github.com/uhsealevelcenter/IDEA
IDEA manuscript with a plain language summary and abstract
https://uhslc.soest.hawaii.edu/research/SEAinfo/IDEA_manuscript_latest.pdf

However, invasive species pose a significant threat to these islands, causing damage so severe that it is second only to climate change. Invasive species are responsible for nearly 90% of recorded species extinctions on islands and have caused billions of dollars in damages. The economic impact on U.S. and U.S.-affiliated islands is significantly higher than on the continental U.S., partly due to the high burden of invasive species on islands like Hawaiʻi. As an added threat, invasive species on these islands are merely one flight away from continental areas where they are not already established, posing immense risks to agriculture, industry, and biodiversity on the U.S. continent.

“U.S. and U.S.-affiliated islands are strategic strongholds for national security, global biodiversity, and economic stability—yet they remain uniquely vulnerable to invasive species. Federal leadership and investment in biosecurity will ensure these critical regions remain resilient and sustainable.” ~ Laura Brewington, the paper’s lead author

The high costs of invasion

Because many islands are geographically isolated, they are also highly susceptible to invasive species. Indigenous communities historically sustained themselves with minimal external influence, but modern trade and travel have increased the risk of invasive species introductions. The authors found that invasive species have cost U.S. and U.S.-affiliated islands over $16 billion in cumulative damages over the past 40 years. For instance, the State of Hawaiʻi has an almost equal number of nonnative plant species as the entire continental U.S., despite its small size. Invasive species reduce climate resilience by altering ecosystem structure and function, negatively impacting livelihoods, quality of life, food security, and culture.

Recommendations for federal action

The authors outlined four priority action areas where the U.S. federal government could begin to address these challenges to islands: terrestrial biosecurity, marine biosecurity, control measures and long-term impact reduction, and social and capacity conditions. For example, improved prevention efforts and jurisdictional coordination are needed to address terrestrial invasive species. Federal and local agencies should collaborate to enhance prevention at ports of entry. U.S. and U.S.-affiliated islands contain significant marine resources, including coral reefs, which are threatened by invasive species. Improved marine biosecurity measures are essential to protect these ecosystems.

Meanwhile, many islands already suffer from a high burden of invasive species. In these locations, biologically based control technologies and chemical controls are crucial tools for managing invasive species and must be developed with local conditions and capacity in mind. Post-disturbance restoration efforts will also be needed to recover ecosystems affected by invasive species, such as wildfire prone areas in Guam or Hawaiʻi. In all islands, federal agencies need to offer more support local capacity for invasive species management: investments in education, outreach, and professional development are essential to build local expertise and trust.

Federal agencies must address the urgent need for coordinated efforts to manage invasive species on U.S. and U.S.-affiliated islands, and this white paper offers a blueprint for how to do so in ways that are appropriate to the needs and challenges facing islands today. These efforts will be vital for enhancing climate resilience, protecting biodiversity, and supporting the well-being of all U.S. island communities.

Featured image: Pampas grass, an invasive grass in all the main islands of Hawaiʻi and other parts of the Pacific Islands. Image credit: Maui Invasive Species Committee.

After learning during the 2024 climate services dialog in Palau that taro (kukau, in Palauan) is a staple crop of high importance for food security and island sustainability, the team developed a prototype of an early warning dashboard for taro producers, who are primarily women as heads of households. During this visit, the goal was to evaluate ways to improve the draft dashboard and enhance its practicality for users. Information below was primarily gathered through taro patch visits with farmers, but also includes information gathered during meetings with NGOs, as well as government officials. Nearly all taro patches in Palau depend on surface water availability, so knowledge of rainfall amounts and frequency, as well as temperature and duration of hot and sunny weather, is crucial for making planting decisions or other interventions, such as when to cover vulnerable crops. With this information, the team will update the dashboard and integrate other suggested tools, such as a community news page for information exchange.

Through a cooperative agreement with the University of Hawai’i Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation (OVPRI), the U.S. Army Garrison is responsible for ensuring compliance with the Federal Endangered Species Act on more than 50,000 acres of U.S. Army training ground on the island of Oʻahu. The ANPRO manages 90 of the 474 federally listed endangered species in Hawaiʻi, including plants, birds, land snails, and insects. These ecologically and culturally valuable species are often located in remote, mountainous terrain that can only be accessed by highly trained biologists and technicians using 4WD vehicles and helicopters. To attain the program’s goal of balancing the requirements of the Army’s training mission with its natural resource responsibilities, the ANRPO maintains nurseries and a seed bank for rare endemic species, and engages in monitoring and surveying activities, biocontrol research and deployment, eradication of invasive plant and animal species, building fencing to keep out feral pigs and goats, and hosts public volunteer workdays to foster community engagement in conservation.

The Pacific RISA team was most excited to see the highly endangered Hawaiian land snails, known as kāhuli, which through habitat loss, climate change, predator introduction, and over-collection have been disappearing at an alarming rate. There are estimated to have once been up to 750 species across the Hawaiian Islands, but 90% of them are now thought to be extinct. Our hike would take us through forests of native species (many of which are being managed by ANRPO), up to two protected snail enclosures, one managed by the Army, and the other by the State’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) and Snail Extinction Prevention Program (SEPP).

We met ANRPO Conservation Manager Jane Beachy and Rare Plant Program Coordinator Tim Chambers at the ANRPO baseyard where we were briefed, equipped with weeding tools, and fitted with spiked shoes for the steep and often muddy trail. After a 45 minute drive to the trailhead in the Wai‘anae Mountains, we hiked to Kahanahāiki, where we immediately noticed biocontrol on the very pervasive and invasive strawberry guava (Psidium cattleianum), and passed a number of rodent traps and fencing designed to keep out feral goats and pigs. Tim stopped along the way to point out the extensive work ANRPO has done to reintroduce native species, including grasses, ferns, and more well-known species like koa and ʻōhiʻa. ANRPO must not only contend with extreme conditions, predators. and invasives, but also the effects of climate change, which climate models predict will result in higher temperatures and drier conditions in the Wai‘anae Mountains.

We reached the Army snail enclosure, designed to keep out a multitude of predators, and got to work weeding out invasive species throughout the enclosure. The Army snail enclosure was recently invaded by yellow crazy ants (Anoplolepis gracilipes), so the remaining snails have been removed to SEPP’s captive rearing facility.

Our next stop was the State snail enclosure, where we immediately spotted the native tree snail Achatinella mustelina, endemic to the Wai‘anae Mountains and listed as critically endangered by the IUCN Red List Ranking. The snails seem to be thriving there – we found many of them living on the underside of the leaves of the pāpala kēpau (Rockia sandwicensis) and olopua (Notolaea sandwicensis) trees.

The hike back took us along a ridgeline where we had sweeping views of the North and West shores of O‘ahu. It also took us past a very successful plot of reintroduced hāhā (Cyanea grimesiana subsp. obatae), federally listed as endangered and found only in the Wai‘anaes. The hāhā was in bloom and its floral display seemed to surprise even our guides – their enthusiasm was contagious, and we all clambered down a steep hillside to get a closer look. ANRPO collaborates with DOFAW’s Native Ecosystem Protection and Management (NEPM) program to manage this unusual lobelia.

We would like to thank Jane and Tim for sharing their time and mo‘olelo (stories) about the good, the bad, and the ugly of what it takes to restore an ecosystem, and for the incredible job they are doing of managing natural resources in the Wai‘anaes under so much uncertainty.

Army Natural Resources Program Oʻahu
https://oanrp.com/about/

Hawaii Snail Extinction Prevention Program
https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/ecosystems/sepp/

How to Help Native Snails
https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/ecosystems/sepp/howtohelp/

ANRPO and UH
https://research.hawaii.edu/noelo/anpro-and-uh/

Oʻahu Invasive Species Committee (OISC)
https://www.oahuisc.org/

Division of Forestry and Wildlife: Native Ecosystems Protection and Management, Rare Plant Program
https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/ecosystems/rare-plants/

This Communities of Practice gathering marked the second annual convening of technical experts, practitioners, and government leaders from national and subnational islands across the globe. The meeting provided space for island leaders, practitioners, and technical experts to share best practices and lessons learned, receive technical training, collaborate, and exchange knowledge and unique island experiences in a collaborative, peer-to-peer forum. Participants also engaged with the thematic focus areas with place-based learning featuring some of Hawai‘i’s exemplary leaders in sustainability. 

Climate Action Pathway Session: Palau Climate Services and Coordination Workshop

On Day 2 of the convening, Project Specialists Paula Moehlenkamp and Chelsey Bryson led a session with NOAA Climate Services Director Dr. John Marra and Data & Reporting Officer for the Palau Office of Climate Change, Mikayla Etpison, on the Climate Action Pathway – a framework developed to connect in-country high level adaptation goals to actionable data and indicators. The session provided the outcomes of the Climate Services and Coordination workshop recently held in Palau, and explored how to engage the right stakeholders for the successful implementation of climate services to support decision-making in participants’ home islands.  

Dr. Marra kicked off the session with an overview of the Climate Action Pathway and the overarching goals and objectives of the Palau Climate Services workshop – an effort led by NOAA, UH, Pacific RISA, the Palau Weather Service Office, Palau Ministry of Finance, and Palau Office of Climate Change. Mikayla then provided an overview of Palau’s climate priorities, including updating the Palau Climate Change Policy, to illustrate how different project streams are aligning to the established national goals.

Following the structure of the Palau workshop and using its outcomes as examples, Paula then guided participants through different categories of climate indicators and connected them to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Lastly, Chelsey talked through the Climate Services Dialog process, using the development of sector-based Climate Early Warning Systems (CLEWS) as an example. The dialog process is described in the 2021 Pacific Islands Climate Storybook and focuses on the two-way exchange of information between technical patterns and users.

After a presentation providing a contextual background of the Palau workshop, participants were asked to split into four groups to share reflections on a deeper level. In these breakout groups participants had  vital discussions around identifying most important stakeholders in their home islands to engage in the climate action framework. Further, they discussed best practices and strategies to get the community engaged and to break down silos. The global representation of participants from over 42 island economies, including technical stakeholders from various governmental and community entities, fostered a vital exchange of insights and perspectives cutting across cultures and disciplines. Offering a structured approach to bridging high level climate adaptation goals with tangible on-the-ground impacts and data, this session complemented the broader themes of the Data for Climate Resilience CoP, while also fostering peer-to-peer dialogue on breaking down silos, engaging stakeholders, and ensuring conscientious data collection practices.

“The challenges of climate change aren’t coming–we are living them”

~President Surangel Whipps of Palau

The workshop aimed to both facilitate the development and delivery of locally relevant and impact-driven climate early warning products to support sector-based decision-making in Palau and foster increased alignment and coordination of climate projects in country, including within the UNEP CIS-Pac5 as well as across other partners, such as the Local 2030 Islands Network.

To develop Climate Early Warning Systems (CLEWS), Pacific RISA followed the Pacific Islands Dialog process that was developed by NOAA in collaboration with USAID throughout the Pacific Islands region. Participants heard stories about climate events and impacts in Palau and engaged in interactive breakout activities to construct historical timelines and maps: creating a dataset of the “where and when” of those events and impacts that would later serve as a template for creating prototypes of sector-specific CLEWS for agriculture and health.

During the week, the Local2030 Islands Network celebrated the launch of a new Palau Green Growth Dashboard, a public-private partnership to track Palau’s progress toward locally-relevant sustainable development goals. Pacific RISA collaborators from the University of Guam’s Center for Island Sustainability and Guam Green Growth were present for the launch and were central to the development of Palau’s dashboard. Additional workshop sessions were dedicated to presentations by partners in the UNEP CIS-Pac5 program and discussions around how to harmonize data, as a means to support communication, coordination, and collaboration across projects and initiatives within Palau, and elevate the important messages from the week. Throughout the workshop, local artist Janine Tewid created a live graphic interpretation of the CLEWS discussions, which was unveiled at a reception held the evening of February 29.

Featured image: the Rock Islands of Palau. Photo by Krista Jaspers.

“There are many examples—in the Pacific Islands and beyond—of how efforts to prevent and manage invasive species have resulted in more climate-resilient communities, ecosystems, and economies”, said white paper author and Pacific RISA Co-Lead Investigator Laura Brewington

Executive Order No. 14008 mandates that US federal agencies and departments develop Climate Change Adaptation Plans to enhance the nation’s resilience to climate change, but invasive species are also documented to reduce the effectiveness of climate adaptation and mitigation actions. For example, fire-tolerant invasive grasses are supercharging wildfires in many parts of the United States, including Hawaii and the US Pacific Islands, which not only threatens critical infrastructure and ecosystems, but also reduces wildland climate resilience and carbon storage capacity.  In spite of this, only eight of the 26 federal Climate Change Adaptation Plans directly reference invasive species, and just four meaningfully consider the reciprocal impact of invasive species on climate adaptation efforts.

To develop recommendations for addressing this intersection of climate and invasive species, the ISAC author team conducted a gap analysis of the US Climate Change Adaptation Plans and synthesized case studies around the impacts of invasive species on US climate resilience. The five recommendations, if implemented, would transform how invasive species are considered within federal climate change planning, programs, and policies.

“Our research confirmed what we already suspected: federal agencies have not yet actively integrated invasive species management into climate action planning, funding, and implementation—and they must take clear steps to do so in order to meet their own climate goals,” said Leigh Greenwood, TNC’s Director of Forest Pests and Pathogens programs and Chair of ISAC’s Climate Change subcommittee. “Each of the five recommendations is achievable and would help protect both people and nature from the damaging impacts of climate change.”

Download and share the full 2023 ISAC climate change white paper!

Featured image: Water hyacinth, a fast growing invasive weed that clogs waterways and flood control mechanisms in the southeastern United States. Credit: Florida Fish and Wildlife (via Flickr).

Adapted from the East-West Center Press Release 

Among the findings of the Fifth US National Climate Assessment, released by the White House, are that climate change in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific Islands worsens inequities and threatens unique island ecosystems, along with cultural resources, human health, livelihoods, the built environment, and access to clean water and healthy food. The assessment concludes that adaptation strategies incorporating local and Indigenous knowledge can improve the resilience of Pacific Island communities, and that efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit climate change impacts are now underway in every US region, including the Pacific Islands.

The report’s chapter on Hawaiʻi and US-Affiliated Pacific Islands was written by 16 authors, including Pacific RISA’s Abby Frazier, Victoria Keener, Zena Grecni, Kirsten Oleson, and Chris Shuler. The chapter has 41 technical contributors and is backed by nearly 500 citations from published literature.

“Climate change continues to threaten things we care about,” said Frazier, now an assistant professor at Clark University and the Hawai‘i-Pacific chapter’s lead author. “As the devastating hurricane-fueled wildfires on Maui and Typhoon Mawar in Guam made clear, when communities are already hurting from stressors like COVID-19, extreme weather can multiply harms. The sooner we scale up global action to curb threats from climate change, the better. Fortunately, cutting emissions or preparing for new extremes also creates immediate local benefits—improved health, a stronger economy, and more resilient communities.”

The chapter’s key takeaways for the region include:

• Climate change impairs access to healthy food and water. Increasing temperatures, altered rainfall, flooding, pollution, and fisheries decline will further affect food and water availability.
• Climate change undermines human health. Climate shocks and stressors compromise healthcare and worsen long-standing social and economic inequities that contribute to illness, but community strengths and adaptation measures can boost resilience.
• Rising sea levels harm infrastructure and islands’ economies. Sea level rise intensifies loss of territory and disrupts livelihoods, but governments and communities are innovating through renewable energy, green infrastructure, and sustainable economic growth.
• Responses help to safeguard tropical ecosystems and biodiversity. Increased fire risk, severe droughts, and ocean changes have broad negative impacts on native plants and wildlife, and ocean ecosystems. Effective adaptation strategies include ecosystem protection and restoration, invasive species measures, and fire prevention.
• Indigenous Peoples and their knowledge systems are central to the resilience of island communities amidst the changing climate.

New since the Fourth National Climate Assessment, published in 2018, is the chapter’s inclusion of a key message on human health and its emphasis on food security, integration of Indigenous knowledge, and recognition of data inequities for the Pacific Islands and US Caribbean.

About the Fifth National Climate Assessment

Mandated in the Global Change Research Act of 1990, the National Climate Assessment provides authoritative scientific information about climate change risks, impacts, and responses in the US. The assessment reflects the scientific consensus and is widely used for decision-making but does not include policy recommendations nor advocate for any specific policy.

The Fifth National Climate Assessment includes 32 chapters on physical science, national-level sectors (such as water, energy, agriculture, ecosystems, transportation, health, infrastructure, etc.), regional impacts in the US, and responses. The assessment was written by a diverse team of more than 500 authors and more than 250 technical contributors from every state. The report has undergone multiple rounds of review, including three opportunities for public comment, extensive agency review, and an external review by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The Hawai‘i and US-Affiliated Pacific Islands chapter has 16 authors and 41 technical contributors and is backed by nearly 500 citations from published literature.