The University of Hawaii’s Sea Grant program has distinguished itself as the only university-led organization to meet the standards of the U.S. Climate Resilience Regional Challenge. The $68.5 million award will fund Sea Grant and partner groups as they build a “transformational,” long-term climate resilience initiative for Hawaii over the next five years.

The climate award, revealed Friday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will support projects to fortify Hawaii against threats connected to changing weather patterns, rising sea levels and their effects, such as flooding, fire, storm damage and eroding coasts.

These growing threats must not be taken lightly, and it is very much to Hawaii’s benefit that the feds are supporting statewide, solutions-oriented endeavors. NOAA calls the initiative Climate-Ready Coasts, and if any state must work toward building climate-ready coasts, it’s Hawaii.

Now, it’s up to Sea Grant and its partners to develop these inclusive, collaborative projects, and to prepare coastal areas to withstand weather and climate impacts, reducing the risk of severe losses. To fail at this will be to leave Hawaii exposed to the destructive consequences of climate change: beaches and nearshore reefs and fisheries erased or damaged, along with the economies attached to them; homes, roads and infrastructure lost or left unusable.

Sea Grant plans to revitalize areas affected by building on traditional Native Hawaiian concepts of ahupuaa, land segments reaching from the mountains to the sea, incorporating best practices for land use and conservation.

An advantage — and insight — of this approach is that in keeping with the ahupuaa framework, the stability of watersheds and upland forests are recognized as connected to the resilience of coastal areas, and attention to the entirety of the ahupuaa is included in planning.

The new funding will be used to establish new, “green” infrastructure projects to conserve and restore watersheds and forests above sea level to protect communities and habitat. For example, removing invasive species and planting native vegetation reduces wildfire risk and lowers sedimentation, benefiting coastal waters that might otherwise be contaminated, while also creating jobs and educational opportunities.

In coastal areas, projects to restore dune systems and wetlands can create buffers against sea level rise and storm damage. Preservation and restoration of Native Hawaiian fishponds, limu (seaweed) growth and coral reefs creates healthier, more resilient coastal habitats and can increase food stocks.

Across all of the projects, an emphasis will rightly be placed on knowledge sharing and building ties between community organizations, as well as including communities that have been poorly represented and underserved. The effort also will integrate with ongoing projects throughout the state.

Hawaii and its coastal areas are exceptionally vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The grant award acknowledges this, and also significantly, recognizes the global-scale sophistication and capabilities of the Sea Grant partnership, which includes state and county governments, national and local nonprofits, and Native Hawaiian and other local stewards, in addition to scientists and academics.

Project activities will focus on the leeward areas of Kauai and Molokai; Waianae on Oahu; Puali Komohana on Maui; and Kohala on Hawaii island.

The idea here is to “build an enduring program and long-term partnerships in support of vital community governance and aina stewardship,” stated Darren Lerner, Sea Grant director. That’s a vision that must not be cast aside, because this effort cannot succeed without committed partnerships and community trust.