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