#climate resilience

In 2024, US Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) helped secure more than $6 billion in federal funding for Hawai‘i as he led efforts to deliver resources to support Maui’s recovery from last year’s fires and advance a range of other priorities for the state.

The application to become an Ocean Guardian Youth Ambassador is now open. The program by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provides a new level of engagement for youth committed to ocean conservation and stewardship.

The Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Forestry and Wildlife will receive $4.9 million for forest restoration work in areas with high values for carbon sequestration and the highest potential to provide habitat for rare species. The project seeks to plant 80,000 native trees and remove invasive weeds from 1,200 acres.

The Department of the Interior announced Monday a $20 million investment through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to bolster climate resilience in Hawaiʻi.

US Sen. Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) announced more than $18.9 million in funding for the Honolulu Board of Water Supply’s “Kalaeloa Seawater Desalination Project.” The funding for this project will go toward designing and building a desalination facility that will remove dissolved mineral salts in seawater to obtain fresh drinking water, creating a new sustainable water source on Oʻahu.

The County of Maui Office of Innovation & Sustainability (OIS) invites the public to join the Mayor Sustainability Series today, April 30, at 5 p.m., featuring Dr. Charles “Chip” Fletcher, Interim University of Hawaiʻi SOEST Special Advisor for Climate and Resilience.

The County of Maui Department of Agriculture will host Community Talk Story sessions in communities throughout Maui County starting this week through March to obtain residents’ input on solutions they want to see included in the Maui County Food and Nutrition Security Plan. 

The new Kapapahuliau Climate Resilience Program aims to enhance climate change mitigation efforts for the Native Hawaiian community.

US Representative Jill Tokuda (HI-02), along with House Natural Resources Ranking Member Raul Grijalva, and Rep. Ed Case sent a letter to Secretary Deb Haaland requesting that the Department of Interior provide support for the environmental recovery and cultural preservation efforts on Maui and Hawaiʻi Island. 

NOAA is investing $17 million from the Inflation Reduction Act in Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary to improve the climate resilience of the Kīhei, Maui visitor and community center. The facility’s beachfront location makes it vulnerable to climate change impacts, including upland flooding, powerful storms and sand inundation.

The National Science Foundation has awarded the University of Hawaiʻi’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research a five-year, $20-million grant to fund research and capacity building in support of actionable climate science through a collaboration called Change HI.