“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).

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

islands make up just 6% of the world’s total land area but are hotspots of biodiversity. They are also epicenters of biodiversity loss. Over 60% of species extinctions have occurred in islands and of those, more than 80% were caused by invasive species. In addition to reducing biodiversity invasive species also cause habitat loss, which changes the ecosystem services that islands provide such as food, water, recreation opportunities, and cultural practices. Invasive species also impact infrastructure, trade, food prices, jobs, and human health.

Adding to these impacts, islands are already experiencing the negative impacts of climate change. Research has shown that Pacific Island ecosystems and communities are particularly vulnerable to climate-induced threats: sea level rise and flooding are detrimental to freshwater resources, while declines to coral and reef structure, along with ocean temperature increases and acidification, cause marine and fisheries losses. Meanwhile, damage to land and water systems jeopardizes agricultural and subsistence activities, resulting in lost food security.

The effects of climate change are projected to become “catastrophic” for Pacific Islands should global heating exceed the Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Natural resource managers in the region need new solutions to respond to these compound threats, so the Pacific Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change (RISCC) network was created in 2020. Dr. Brewington demonstrated how, as a manager-researcher collaborative, the Pacific RISCC serves diverse science generation and communication needs in the region. On the Island of Maui, for example, water managers are able to prioritize conservation efforts and protect future freshwater sustainability under an uncertain future climate, using results from research that was co-developed with them at relevant scales. Pacific RISCC researchers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands are studying vegetation changes and recovery times from typhoon events between native and invasive forests, which will help them understand if post-typhoon food security is affecting the sustainability of endemic bird populations.

As the Pacific RISCC network continues to expand and evolve, it will become a trusted source for regional information, data, and tools while accelerating sustainability solutions in a region that is uniquely vulnerable to these threats.

Islands are “model systems” for sustainability

There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about” Margaret J. Wheatley

Beyond the twin issues of invasive species and climate change, Summit attendees expressed an undeniable consensus that islands are leading when it comes to sustainability solutions. Dr. Austin Shelton, Director of the University of Guam Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant, described how the US Territory of Guam rediscovered its commitments to sustainability through the Guam Green Growth partnership and initiatives to promote a circular economy, with new community-focused employment opportunities that are dedicated to preserving the island’s natural and cultural heritage.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, which devastated the Galapagos tourism economy that the islands’ residents depend on, the Galapagos Barcode Project created jobs in research and training—which also served to engage and empower local people in science, build skills, and create a more resilient island community.

And as the world emerges from the pandemic, lessons from islands and the expansion of networks like the UN Local2030 Islands Network are helping to advance sustainability solutions globally. At the close of the Summit, Dr. Neil Davies, Director of Gump South Pacific Research Station in Moorea, French Polynesia, reminded participants that the idea that we can be independent is false, and being sustainable involves “imagining a better future together”.

Islands have long been used as model systems in the study of ecology and evolution, but they are also important models for sustainability as we confront wicked problems like climate change, biodiversity loss, and inequality. Dr. Brewington and other featured speakers at this year’s Summit will be authoring several chapters in a forthcoming Springer volume on Island Sustainability, to be published in early 2023, so please stay tuned and contact us for more information!

Featured image photo credit: Laura Brewington