Federal funding cuts threaten safety, resilience for Hawaiʻi coastal communities

A $3 million grant supporting coastal research from the Office of Naval Research to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa has been cut due to recent federal funding reductions.

The grant was awarded to Chip Fletcher, interim dean of the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, for the Coastal Research Collaborative. This initiative provided data and high-resolution modeling of sea-level rise impacts, heat exposure, and precipitation extremes. These are critical tools that inform decisions made by state and county agencies, urban planners, infrastructure designers, and emergency managers.

“The loss of federal funding for Hawaiʻi’s climate and sea-level rise research will have devastating consequences for the state’s ability to plan, adapt, and protect its people and resources,” said Fletcher.

According to Fletcher, the Coastal Research Collaborative develops models and their supporting databases that underpin key pieces of Hawaiʻi’s climate legislation and coastal permitting regulations. This includes assessments of flood risk, groundwater inundation, coastal erosion, coastal construction setbacks, and public safety.

“Without sustained federal investment, Hawaiʻi will lose its capacity to provide accurate climate projections tailored to island topography, severely hampering our preparedness for compound hazards such as king tides, rain-at-high-tide flooding, and storm-driven flooding,” Fletcher said.

The Coastal Research Collaborative employed 15 people, including graduate students, climate researchers, policy experts, and geospatial analysts. To prepare for and adapt to the growing threats related to climate change in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific region, this team gathered data and developed new modeling tools that reduce vulnerabilities to the community and infrastructure on the island of Oʻahu.

Specifically, the team has been modeling the impacts of sea level rise, including flooding, coastal erosion, drainage failure, wave impacts at higher sea levels, and groundwater pollution with higher sea levels.

Various state laws and policies rely on the Coastal Research Collaborative’s data and models such as:

• Construction setbacks on Kauaʻi, Maui, and Honolulu.
• Kauaʻi County sea-level rise constraint district.
• Mandatory disclosure of sea-level rise impacts in real estate transactions.
• Special Management Area designations on Maui and Oʻahu.
• Required analysis of sea-level rise impacts under the State Environmental Policy Act, including environmental impact statements and environmental assessment permits.

“The loss of these data systems will undermine the scientific foundation of climate resilience policies, stall progress on community adaptation, and increase the vulnerability of coastal populations, public infrastructure, and cultural heritage,” Fletcher said. “Maintaining federal support is not just about sustaining science—it is about safeguarding Hawaiʻi’s future.”