Summary

A subcommittee of the Invasive Species Advisory Committee (ISAC) conducted a review and gap analysis of 26 U.S. federal Climate Change Adaptation Plans for references to invasive species and how they affect climate adaptation processes and goals. The plans were mandated by U.S. Executive Order No. 14008 (Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, 2021) to enhance the nation’s resilience to climate change, and the subcommittee was specifically interested in identifying areas where agencies and departments could strengthen their climate objectives by considering how invasive species could impact them.

Results

Of the 26 plans reviewed, only 8 directly referenced invasive species and their impacts. And of those 8, just 4 (Departments of Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, and Defense) meaningfully linked invasive species as a threat to climate preparedness and resilience efforts. Results from the gap analysis were used to create five recommendations for integrating invasive species into the federal government’s climate adaptation planning and processes. Specifically, to ensure that climate adaptation goals are met, agencies should:

• Incorporate invasive species into their federal climate change adaptation guidance.
• Increase support for networks and programs, like the Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change (RISCC) Management Networks, that are already working at the intersection of climate change and invasive species.
• Integrate invasive species science and prevention into climate-related treaties, agreements, conventions, and policy.
• Ensure that Early Detection, Rapid Response (EDRR), and safeguarding strategies are informed by the best available climate science.
• Increase investments in long-term invasive species management.

Take Home Points

• Invasive species pose significant challenges to achieving U.S. federal climate adaptation preparedness and resilience goals.
• Failing to account for the detrimental impacts of invasive species will slow or even prevent U.S. agencies and departments from meeting climate adaptation goals. On the other hand, successful invasive species prevention and management benefit biodiversity conservation, economies, human health, and more, while also building resilience to the impacts of climate change.
• Although they were developed based on federal plans, the priority actions recommended by this paper may be applicable in other jurisdictions, such as for U.S. states developing climate action plans (33 U.S. states have released a plan as of 2024).

This year, we featured the successful Pacific Ecological Security Conference, which Pacific RISA led last October in the Republic of Palau. Outcomes from the conference, which included Strategic Action Plans that highlight how the failure to adequately address invasive species in Pacific Island ecosystems weakens the resilience of communities and ecosystems to cope with the impacts of climate change, are already being used to drive legislative and policy outcomes, and are being referenced in regional and international calls for action and funding around invasive species.

“The Pacific is at the frontline of the climate crisis, and invasive species only further undermine the resilience of our ecosystems. Now more than ever, addressing invasive species should be at the forefront of our priorities and this meeting was a positive step forward to jointly ensure there is a strong regional coordinated approach to these critical threats.” ~ Gibson Susumu, Programme Lead for Sustainable Agriculture, The Pacific Community

The report covers some of Pacific RISA’s new research projects, including PI Dr. Kirsten Oleson’s ecosystem-based adaptation work on Kaua‘i that is forging connections with local community groups and the county Planning Department. Ongoing research related to climate early warning systems, peer-to-peer knowledge exchange, and hydrologic modeling for compound climate events is also included. The report concludes with an assessment of the team’s adaptation and policy impacts, and our sustained climate assessments work that has most recently produced the Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment report for the Federated States of Micronesia.

Learn more about Pacific RISA’s latest achievements and check out our report today!

Featured image: The Pacific RISA visited Ngkeklau in 2022 to look for remnants of the Beng, a traditional Palauan fishing weir.

At the 14th annual University of Guam Conference on Island Sustainability this April, it was all of the above and much, much more. Featuring hundreds of island sustainability scholars, practitioners, and students from across Micronesia and the world, this year’s conference shared innovations and strategies to collectively move toward a sustainable future under the theme of “Rediscover the Depths of Our Island Abundance“.

The University of Guam 14th Conference on Island Sustainability team, led by Associate Professor and Sea Grant program Director Austin Shelton. Photo credit: Laura Brewington

Conference attendees had the chance to learn more about Guam’s southern ecosystems from the Guam Restoration of Watersheds (GROW) Initiative, which is conducting essential conservation work to protect the island’s drinking water and coral reefs, and is in line with the Guam Green Growth Action Framework for sustainability. After planting over 100 trees in the Ugum Watershed to reduce erosion into the local water supply, participants toured the river below and the reef in Talo’fo’fo’ Bay.

Left: Participants planted over 100 seedlings of an acacia tree to stabilize the soil and reduce erosion in the Ugum watershed. Right: A boat trip down the Talo’fo’fo’ river provided an opportunity to see the importance of protecting southern Guam’s drinking water supplies. Photo credits: University of Guam; Laura Brewington

Farther inland at Chamorro Village, participants also visited the Circular Economy Makerspace and Innovation Hub – the first of its kind – which is supporting Guam’s emerging Green Economy by inviting craftspeople and community members to utilize the facility and training opportunities to create marketable products out of upcycled and recycled waste. Not only will the space help reduce Guam’s reliance on imported goods, it supports entrepreneurs who want to benefit the local economy in a regenerative, transformative way.

Left: Visitors learn about the Makerspace from University of Guam technicians. Right: The Precious Plastics workspace contains tools for creating new products from recycled plastics. Photo credit: Laura Brewington

“[The circular economy] concept is a win-win for our business, academia, our island’s environment, and all of Guam”

~Governor Lou Leon Guerrero

As part of the main conference events, Pacific RISA PI Laura Brewington joined three notable island experts in a panel to discuss sustainable alliances across oceans, moderated by Lieutenant Governor of Guam Josh Tenorio. Along with Kate Brown (Executive Director of the Global Island Partnership), Bob Underwood (former University of Guam President and Guam Congressional Delegate), and Kristin Wilson-Grimes (Research Assistant Professor of Watershed Ecology at the University of the Virgin Islands), PI Brewington shared examples of action being taken to build more resilient and sustainable island communities through Pacific RISA and the Pacific Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change (RISCC) management network.

PI Brewington and panelists discussing cross-ocean island alliances for sustainability. Photo credit: Trina Leberer

Didn’t have a chance to join in the celebration and exchange this year?

Save the dates for next year’s conference on April 8-12, 2024!

Meanwhile, learn more about the University of Guam Center for Island Sustainability.

Featured image: A member of the GROW Initiative looks over Ugum watershed in southern Guam. Credit: Laura Brewington

Climate stressors on coral reefs include sustained high sea surface temperature (SST) leading to coral bleaching, more intense, damaging storms, sea level rise and sedimentation impacts, and the potential to alter ocean currents and increase ocean acidification. Climate stressors on coral reefs in Hawai’i are exacerbated by coastal pollution (runoff, spills, etc), fishing, impacts from tourism and vessel traffic. This combination of stressors also makes them more vulnerable to coral disease, loss of genetic diversity, and decreases their resilience to future impacts.

One of the most visible impacts of climate change on Hawai’i’s coral reefs has been coral bleaching. The most recent widespread coral bleaching event in Hawai’i occurred during the 2019 El Niño, a year of record heat for Hawai’i and during the arrival of a massive ocean heatwave called “the Blob.” As climate change continues, scientists project that these heatwave events and warmer sea surface temperatures (SSTs) may result in more frequent and more intense El Niño events. Reducing man-made impacts on coral reefs before, during, and after these events gives them a better chance at recovering from climate-induced stressors like coral bleaching. Coral restoration activities can include introducing regulations or promoting education to reduce pressures from recreational and commercial vessels, eliminating point source pollution and minimizing runoff, hands-on coral restoration and research, and keeping our beaches and oceans clean.

Pacific RISA Project Assistant Krista Jaspers recently participated in a reef cleanup with Captain Max Boat Tours, a snorkel tour company out of Kewalo Basin Harbor in Honolulu. The boat took volunteer freedivers to Turtle Canyons, named for the Hawaiian green sea turtles often found feeding and resting on the finger reefs below the surface. Directly offshore in Waikiki, this dive site sees dozens of tour boats and hundreds of tourists everyday – items collected in the clean up included plastic drink cups, snorkel masks, clothing items that were smothering entire coral heads, fishing gear, and even a fake flower lei (see featured image). Some of these items are blown off or fall from tour boats, and many more come from the thousands of tourists that pack the beaches everyday. Other popular dive sites are littered with discarded fishing gear that pose entanglement hazards for marine mammals like the endangered Hawaiian monk seal and the Hawaiian green and hawksbill turtles.

What can you do? Although Pacific RISA does not currently offer volunteer opportunities, there are many local non-profit organizations in Hawai’i that do!

Beach/Underwater Clean-ups:
Sustainable Coastlines: https://www.sustainablecoastlineshawaii.org/
Surfrider O’ahu: https://hawaii.surfrider.org/
808 Clean-ups (native plant restoration and clean-ups):https://808cleanups.org/
Ocean Defenders Alliance: https://www.oceandefenders.org/what-we-do/hawaii.html

Coral Restoration:
The Coral Conservancy: http://thecoralconservancy.org/
Kuleana Coral: https://www.kuleanacoral.com/
Malama Maunalua: https://www.malamamaunalua.org/

Other:
Paepae o He’eia: https://paepaeoheeia.org/volunteer/
Hawai’i Wildlife Fund: https://www.wildhawaii.org/get-involved/volunteer/
HMAR: https://h-mar.org/get-involved/

Learn more about the world’s coral reefs and get real-time analysis of climatic conditions:

NOAA Coral Reef Watch: Utilizes remote sensing, modeled and in situ data to observe, predict, and report to its users on the coral reef environment worldwide. CRW provides the only global early-warning system of coral reef ecosystem physical environmental changes.
Allen Coral Atlas: Worldwide coral reef atlas to assist stakeholders ranging from local communities to regional and national governments to reach their coral reef conservation goals.

HONOLULU (June 8, 2021) – Human health risks, stronger cyclones, coral reef death, and coastal flooding are among the major challenges detailed in a new report on climate change in American Sāmoa. Threatened resources include high-value coastal infrastructure and the millions of dollars that ocean ecosystems add to American Sāmoa’s economy annually, according to the report by the Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment (PIRCA), a consortium of several government, NGO, and research entities.

Climate Change in the American Sāmoa: Indicators and Considerations for Key Sectors is one in a series of new PIRCA reports. Authors from American Sāmoa Community College, the University of Hawaiʻi, and the East-West Center—along with more than 20 technical contributors from local government, NGOs, and research—collaboratively developed the American Sāmoa PIRCA report.

“Places like American Sāmoa are always likely to be among the very first to see environmental impacts. The ocean is a major part of most aspects of Samoan life, and fishing is our chief industry,” said Congresswoman Uifa‘atali Amata, American Sāmoa’s representative in Congress. “A thorough climate report that is specific to American Sāmoa will be an excellent lasting resource. I appreciate all the work that went into this process, as we work to safeguard our beautiful islands, especially issues like promoting reef health, preventing severe wave damage, and preserving shorelines from erosion.”

Key Messages
Climate Change in American Sāmoa lays out the changes the Territory is already experiencing, as well as what lies ahead. The key messages for decision-makers include:

• Temperatures have risen, and hotter days and nights affect human health. Heat waves can exacerbate a range of pre-existing health issues, and hot weather poses a particular threat to children and elderly people.
• Stronger tropical storms and cyclones are expected globally and around American Sāmoa. More intense tropical cyclones mean a greater potential for loss of life, damage, and public health issues from these storms.
• Sea level rise threatens infrastructure, including drinking water, agriculture, housing, and transportation, as well as ecosystems and cultural sites. More frequent and intense coastal flooding and erosion are anticipated as sea level rise accelerates. Continued effects of the 2009 earthquakes magnify local sea level rise in American Sāmoa.
• Oceans are warming, causing coral bleaching that is already widespread and severe. Extensive coral loss is possible within the next few decades if current trends in rising ocean temperatures continue. American Sāmoa has some of the oldest and largest corals in the world, and coral reefs inject millions of dollars annually into the local economy. In addition, American Sāmoa’s fringing coral reefs provide the best natural shoreline protection for the island.
  Photo: Coral bleaching off Tāfuna, American Sāmoa. Credit: Valentine Vaeoso.

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

The PIRCA is funded and supported by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s RISA Program (through the Pacific RISA), the East-West Center’s Research Program, the Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center, and the US Global Change Research Program.

Contact American Sāmoa PIRCA authors:
Kelley Anderson Tagarino, University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program, American Sāmoa Community College, Mapusaga, +1-684-699-3353
Victoria Keener, East-West Center, Honolulu, HI, +1-808-944-7220
Zena Grecni, East-West Center, Honolulu, HI, +1-808-944-7242
Christopher Shuler, University of Hawaiʻi Water Resources Research Center, Honolulu, HI, +1-808-956-7847
Wendy Miles, US Fish and Wildlife Service and East-West Center, Honolulu, HI, +1-808-284-7636

Stronger typhoons, threats to coral reefs, and human health risks are among the major challenges detailed in a new report on climate change in the CNMI. Threatened resources include high-value coastal infrastructure and the millions of dollars that ocean ecosystems add to the CNMI economy annually, according to the 2021 report by the Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment (PIRCA).

Climate Change in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands: Indicators and Considerations for Key Sectors is one in a series of new PIRCA reports. Authors from the CNMI Office of Planning and Development, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office for Coastal Management, and the East-West Center—along with 50 technical contributors from local governments, NGOs, researchers, and community groups—collaboratively developed the CNMI PIRCA report.

“Since 2019, many of our government agencies under the Planning and Development Advisory Council have supported data collection and analysis efforts led by the East-West Center and other federal and local stakeholders to assess how climate change is impacting the Marianas,” said Governor Ralph DLG Torres. “This resulting report provides updated data on impacts to support climate-wise planning and development. The CNMI relies on a clean and healthy environment for our livelihoods and way of life, and I commend the collaborative efforts of our agencies to help us support sustainable development goals and enable us to adapt to our changing climate to protect our infrastructure, communities, and ecosystems. I thank the Office of Planning and Development for comprehensively mainstreaming considerations of smarter, safer growth through this important work. Together, with data-driven policy guidance, we will plan and achieve resilient growth that properly balances economic development and environmental protection.”

Key Messages
Climate Change in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands lays out the changes the CNMI is already experiencing, as well as what lies ahead. The key messages for decision-makers include:

• Temperatures have risen, and hotter days and nights affect human health. Heat waves can exacerbate a range of pre-existing health issues, and hot weather poses a particular threat to children and elderly people.
• Stronger tropical storms and typhoons are expected globally and around the Mariana Islands. More intense tropical cyclones mean a greater potential for loss of life, damage, and public health issues from these storms.
• Sea level rise threatens infrastructure, including housing, businesses, and transportation, as well as ecosystems and cultural sites. More frequent and intense coastal flooding and erosion are anticipated as sea level rise accelerates.
• Oceans are warming, causing coral bleaching that is already widespread and severe. Extensive coral loss is possible within the next few decades if current trends in rising ocean temperatures continue. Coral reefs inject tens of millions of dollars annually into the local economy.

“Climate change is adding new layers of complexity to the economic and environmental challenges we routinely face in the CNMI,” said Robbie Greene, Coral and Coastal Management Liaison with Lynker Tech at NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management. “Resources such as this report provide clear and concise messaging about the impacts of climate change, and the considerations that CNMI decision makers and resource managers will need to account for to adapt in the coming years. Whether we’re talking about something as broad as economic recovery, or simply putting food on the table, a shifting climate warrants a road map for the Commonwealth’s future, and this report is a great start.”

About Climate Change in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

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

The PIRCA is funded and supported by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s RISA Program (through the Pacific RISA), the East-West Center’s Research Program, the Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center, and the US Global Change Research Program.

• Download and explore the CNMI PIRCA

Featured image/cover photo by Erin Derrington, CNMI Office of Planning and Development

Climate Change in Guam: Indicators and Considerations for Key Sectors is one in a series of new PIRCA reports. Authors from the University of Guam and the East-West Center—along with more than 30 technical contributors from local governments, NGOs, researchers, and community groups—collaboratively developed the Guam PIRCA report.

“Climate change is one of the greatest issues this generation is facing, and how we adapt as an island should be based on the best available information and sound science,” said Guam Governor Lou Leon Guerrero. “We are pleased to have this resource to better inform policy and decision-making, so that we may safeguard our critical infrastructure, protect our economy, improve food security, and prepare for increased droughts and wildfires. That is why I have created a Climate Change and Resiliency Commission to provide a strategy for Guam to address the impacts of climate change to our island.”

Key Messages
Climate Change in Guam lays out the changes Guam is already experiencing, as well as what lies ahead. The key messages for decision-makers include:

• Temperatures have risen in Guam, and hotter days and nights affect human health. Heat waves can exacerbate a range of pre-existing health issues, and hot weather poses a particular threat to children and elderly people.
• Stronger tropical storms and typhoons are expected globally and around Guam. More intense tropical cyclones that pack higher wind speeds and more rainfall mean a greater potential for loss of life and damage from these storms.
• Freshwater supplies are at risk. Already, droughts periodically deplete water sources in southern Guam. The combination of possible increased demand for water in hotter weather, more frequent drought, and sea level rise threaten to bring saltwater contamination into wells in northern Guam that supply drinking water.
• Sea level rise threatens infrastructure, including housing and transportation, as well as ecosystems and cultural sites. A 2019 vulnerability assessment forecast that rising sea levels will expose at least 58 percent of Guam’s infrastructure to periodic flooding during this century. Guam and other Pacific Islands will experience sea level rise higher than the global average.
• Oceans are warming, causing coral bleaching that is already widespread and severe. Extensive coral loss is possible within the next few decades if current trends in rising ocean temperatures continue. Coral reefs provide habitat for fish, coastal protection from storms, and inject hundreds of millions of dollars annually into the local economy.

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

The Guam Climate Change Resiliency Commission, the University of Guam, the Pacific RISA, and the US Department of the Interior’s Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center (PI-CASC) jointly held a workshop in October 2019 to gather knowledge that informed the report.

The PIRCA is funded and supported by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s RISA Program (through the Pacific RISA), the East-West Center’s Research Program, the PI-CASC, and the US Global Change Research Program. In conjunction with other regional assessment efforts, the PIRCA provides guidance for decision-makers seeking to better understand how climate variability and change impact the Pacific Islands region and its peoples.

Contact Guam PIRCA authors:

Romina King, University of Guam and PI-CASC, Mangilao, GU, +1-671-735-2874

Zena Grecni, East-West Center, Honolulu, HI, +1-808-944-7242

Wendy Miles, East-West Center, Honolulu, HI, +1-808-690-7932

Victoria Keener, East-West Center, Honolulu, HI, +1-808-944-7220