Coastal Adaptation
ISR research on Coastal Adaptation assesses ways to adapt Hawai‘i's coastlines to sea level rise that preserves sandy beach ecosystems and supports coastal communities.
Public Views on Sea Level Rise in Hawaiʻi: Results from a Statewide Survey (2026)
This statewide survey of Hawaiʻi residents is the first systematic effort to measure public beliefs, risk perceptions, and policy preferences related to sea level rise across all four counties. Conducted from July to August 2025 with a representative sample of 1,314 adults, the survey provides a baseline for understanding how Hawaiʻi residents view sea level rise and the kinds of adaptation strategies they are prepared to support.
The results show near-consensus that sea level rise is happening, widespread concern about its impacts, and strong support for immediate government action. At the same time, many residents report feeling poorly informed about sea level rise and a large majority doubt that the State and counties are prepared.
Just Beach (2026)
This project quantified the financial realities of managed retreat across forty beaches to address the threat of coastal erosion under sea level rise. The analysis estimated a total adaptation cost of $3.1 billion, revealing that public infrastructure (specifically roads and utilities) accounts for the majority of the financial burden rather than private property. These findings equip policymakers with the granular beach-scale data needed to navigate complex trade-offs and implement proactive beach preservation strategies. The report was published in Climate Risk Management in 2026.
Hawaiʻi Sea Level Rise Policy & Resource Tracker
This policy landscape dataset includes some 450 state and county-level laws, plans, white papers, assessments, reports, studies, websites and tools related to sea level rise in Hawaiʻi. The excel-based dataset will be of use to those researching or working in SLR Policy in Hawaiʻi. It is organized by state, county, and federal laws; state resources and tools; county resources and tools; and plans. A PowerPoint overview of the tracker is also available below.
(The current version includes all assets created through June 13, 2025)
Assessing the Risks of Sea Level Rise: Knowledge and Policy Preferences Among Hawaiʻi’s Civil Servants
Sea level rise presents a significant threat to Hawaiʻi’s economy, built environment, natural environment, and cultural heritage. This study assesses how a key set of actors—Civil Servants—view the risks of sea level rise, and which policy options they prefer. The survey captures civil servants from across state- and county-level agencies. (Forthcoming, Dec. 2025)
Adaptive Pathways for Waikīkī
ISR is developing scenarios for adaptation pathways in Waikīkī, with an emphasis on adaptation triggers and subsequent costs through the year 2100 under varying levels of sea level rise. This is ongoing work funded by NOAA's Adaptation Sciences Program.
(Un)Managed Retreat? Perspectives on Biophysical and Social Dynamics of Coastal Retreat on O‘ahu, Hawaiʻi (2024)
Hawaiʻi’s coastal managers face significant challenges in the face of sea level rise. Shoreline laws have recently been updated to limit further shoreline hardening, making Hawaiʻi a salient case study to understand the challenges and opportunities around managed retreat. We interviewed private sector, civil society, and government actors involved with coastal governance and anchored our conversations to three distinct communities on O‘ahu.
The Risks of Sea Level Rise: Perceptions and Policy Preferences among Hawaiʻi's Elected Officials (2023)
Hawaiʻi was among the first states to officially recognize the climate crisis and has played a leading role in combating climate change. The State is still developing plans to implement coastal adaptation policies that address the predicted impacts of SLR. This survey explores the views of Hawaiʻi’s elected representatives regarding the risks of SLR and their favored approaches to adaptation.
Managing Retreat for Sandy Beach Areas Under Sea Level Rise (2023)
This study assesses the cost of retreating coastal development at an iconic beach in Hawai‘i that is experiencing severe erosion. Utilizing detailed sea level rise modeling projected to the year 2100, we estimate the public and private costs of three types of retreat (all-at-once, threshold-based, and reactive) and the amount of increased beach area.
Sea Level Rise Risk Interactions with Coastal Property Values: a Case Study of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi (2023)
This study assesses the extent to which current and expected sea level rise is impacting residential property values on O‘ahu. We find that exposed properties have already experienced declines in transaction prices, at 9 to 14%, attributed to expectations of exposure to chronic inundation. The market response of residential properties to O‘ahu has important implications for coastal management strategies, in particular the viability and timing of programs for retreat.
Managing for Diverse Coastal Uses and Values under Sea Level Rise: perspectives from Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi (2022)
Effective and equitable coastal decision-making under sea level rise (SLR) requires managing for multiple coastal uses and values. This study explores how coastal decision-makers in Hawaiʻi perceive diverse uses and values of beaches and coastlines to be important and how they see recognition of these uses and values ideally shaping sea level rise response.
Sea Level Rise Learning Trip
The “SLR Learning Trip” was organized between the Institute for Sustainability and Resilience (ISR) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and the Hawaiʻi Philanthropy Forum, with funding from the Harold K.L Castle Foundation and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. In the fall of 2019, the trip took a delegation of Honolulu City & County and Hawaiʻi State officials to Miami, Charleston, and Boston for a tour organized around the theme of adaptation to chronic flooding.