- Oceanit partnered with OPSD CZM to showcase over forty coastal adaptation strategies successfully employed in Hawai’i and around the world.
- The new resource was launched to raise awareness of options to address pressing climate- related changes to Hawaii’s communities and coastal environment.
- Oceanit’s Resilient Sustainable Engineering (RiSE) team has over 38 years of experience in responsible coastal resource management and stewardship.
Honolulu, HI July 27, 2023 | The Hawai’i Office of Planning and Sustainable Development (OPSD) launched the new ‘Guide to Coastal Hazard Adaptation Strategies’ resource website this week. The new website is a comprehensive resource that shares a range of coastal adaptation strategies for addressing climate change and sea level rise specifically for Hawaii’s unique conditions. The strategies include measures that have been used in Hawaii and in other coastal communities for shoreline protection, sea level rise accommodation, and managed retreat measures.
Some of Hawaii’s coastlines are facing chronic erosion and flooding from sea level rise. The state is unique from any other in the US – a state that lives with and respects the ocean – with no single point on land that is more than 30 miles from the ocean. This means the entire state is classified as coastal zone, from mauka (mountains) to makai (ocean) and stretching out into the territorial sea. The ocean is in Hawaii’s DNA, embedded in the culture, lifestyles, and values.
Proximity to the coastline makes Hawaii’s communities especially vulnerable to coastal hazards, such as big waves, storm surges, tidal flooding, and coastal erosion. The changing climate brings with it accelerating sea level rise, increasingly frequent and powerful storms, and heightened stress on aging infrastructure and resources. The new website was developed to engage all stakeholders on strategies for Hawaii’s dynamic coastal zones, from policymakers and professional engineers to homeowners and ocean recreation users.
“We were excited to collaborate with the State Office of Planning and Sustainable Development to develop this coastal adaptation resource,” said Dr. Patrick Sullivan, Oceanit’s CEO. “Our belief is that we’re not doomed by climate or sea level change if we work together and deploy healthy doses of science, technology and imagination. For nearly 40 years, Oceanit has been dedicated to supporting healthy ecosystems, where natural habitats and ecosystems work in concert with our communities and society.”
The Coastal Adaptation Strategies website presents the complex issue of coastal adaptation in an easily accessible format that is digestible for all audiences, including those that are new to, or unfamiliar with, coastal processes and/or the coastal zone regulatory system. The site provides basic information and hyperlinks to resource references, including authority agencies, that will enable stakeholders to learn more about old, new, and evolving coastal adaptation strategies. The site emphasizes that, when it comes to coastal adaptation, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. This resource is not an exhaustive list of ideas, nor does it incorporate every technology, like biomimicry-inspired reefs and advanced materials.
Coastal adaptation in Hawai’i pivots on the collaboration of federal, state, and local agencies – and the various parts of our local community. Cooperation is crucial to Hawai’i’s collective ability to preserve, protect, develop, and—where possible—to restore or enhance the resources of the coastal zone for current and future generations.
The new site builds off an already-existing framework for statewide collaborative management of Hawai’i’s ocean resources, known as the Ocean Resources Management Plan (ORMP). You can also learn more by visiting https://planning.hawaii.gov/czm/.
Click here to visit the Hawai’i Coastal Adaptation Strategies website.
About Oceanit
Founded in 1985, Oceanit is a “Mind to Market” company that creates disruptive technology from fundamental science. Utilizing the unique discipline of Intellectual Anarchy, Oceanit reimagines innovation to break the bonds of normal and solve the impossible — delivering technologies to the market that impact humans and society. Oceanit’s diverse teams work across aerospace, healthcare, energy, and industrial/ consumer technologies, as well as on environmental and climate matters. Through engineering and scientific excellence, Oceanit transforms fundamental science into impactful, market-focused technologies used around the world.
