The Hawai‘i Ocean Resources Management Plan

There is no one point on land in Hawai‘i that is more than 30-miles from the ocean. The interconnectedness of terrestrial and marine habitats and ecosystems make Hawai‘i unique from any other state in that the coastal zone is defined as the entire state, from mauka (mountains) to makai (ocean) out to the territorial sea.

When ensuring the health of Hawai‘i's coastal zone, understanding the relationship between land and sea is fundamental to the Hawaiian ahupua‘a system that underlies the mauka-to-makai approach of traditional and conventional natural resource management that is appropriate for our island State.

 He‘eia National Estuarine Research Reserve  is one of many mauka-to-makai management examples that support the ecological and cultural restoration of the Ko‘olaupoko moku (or land district) through traditional resource management, research, education and training that promotes healthy and resilient ecosystems, economies, and communities in the area.

A healthy coastal zone offers ecosystem services, or natural benefits, that strengthen shoreline resilience to resist coastal hazards such as sea level rise and more frequent storm surge as a result of climate change.

An ecosystem service provided by our coral reefs, for example, includes their effect of reducing a wave's energy up to 97% before it reaches the shore. High surf and storm surge in areas without healthy coral reefs are known to worsen shoreline erosion that can negatively impact our oceanfront infrastructure and communities.

Honoapi‘ilani Highway (right) is a critical thoroughfare on Maui that is vulnerable to shoreline erosion and rising sea levels.

The Council is responsible for setting Ocean Partnership priorities and providing leadership and direction to the Coordinated Working Group on ORMP implementation. The Council consists of agency cabinet and director-level members.

The Coordinated Working Group (CWG) is comprised of agency administrators and program manager-level members who are responsible for identifying resources and recommending ORMP implementation strategies to the Council, reporting the progress of ORMP implementation to the Council, and serving as the principal venue to communicate, coordinate, and integrate implementation activities across the Action Teams.

Action Teams (ACT) serve as multi-agency groups to implement specific priorities, goals, or actions under any of the three ORMP Focus Areas — Development & Coastal Hazards, Land-based Pollution, and Marine Ecosystems. ACTs are responsible for developing and executing work plans, tracking metrics, and reporting accomplishments to the CWG.

The Management Priorities that have not been identified as Focus Areas generally mirror the objectives and policies described in Hawai‘i's coastal zone law, and include:

• Ocean Economy
• Cultural Heritage of the Ocean
• Training, Education, and Awareness
• Collaboration and Conflict Resolution
• Community- and Place-based Ocean Management Practices

The  Marine and Coastal Zone Advocacy Council (MACZAC)  serves as the CZM Program's public advocacy and advisory body, as required by law, to advocate for a comprehensive management system that restores, preserves, and protects Hawaiʻi's marine and coastal environment. MACZAC consists of 12 members from across the state with diverse professional and community backgrounds.

GOAL: Develop a statewide integrated shoreline management strategy to address the compounding impacts to Hawai‘i's shorelines from coastal development, climate change and sea level rise, erosion, and other chronic coastal hazards.

When the ocean interacts with the built environment, coastal processes can become coastal hazards that threaten coastal structures and community safety. Because much of the urbanization in Hawai‘i has occurred in close proximity to the shoreline, management in our island state cannot address development and coastal hazards separately.

Challenges such as beach erosion, wetland loss, sinkhole formation, and structural damage have already changed the character of Hawai‘i's shorelines, and many management gaps related to Development and Coastal Hazards remain to be addressed in the age of climate change.

Focus Area 1: Coastal Hazards & Development

Contemporary issues that affect the work of many industries and agencies in the coastal zone include shoreline erosion and coastal flooding as a result of intense wave energy and/or high sea level events such as  king tides.  These events are occurring more frequently every year as sea levels continue to rise, and are increasingly disrupting coastal community life.

High surf coupled with a king tide event in 2018 resulted in severe beach erosion at Paumalū (Sunset) Beach on O‘ahu's North Shore. The out-planting of native coastal plants can promote sand dune restoration in areas experiencing beach erosion. Efforts such as this continue to mitigate erosion and naturally maintain Paumalū Beach today.

Photos (right): UH Sea Grant and North Shore Community Land Trust.

Focus Area 1: Coastal Hazards & Development

Sea level rise (SLR) is also an evolving concern in need of ongoing research to provide the best available science to inform appropriate adaptation plans and policies to coastal hazard risks and their impacts on land use in the State.

The State's  Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Report  provides the first statewide assessment of Hawai‘i's vulnerability to SLR and recommendations to reduce our exposure and sensitivity to SLR and increase our capacity to adapt. The  Sea Level Rise Viewer  (right image) supplements this report by visualizing projections for future hazard exposure and other vulnerabilities due to rising sea levels.

For existing development, shoreline management may include the challenging discussions of managed retreat, or shifting infrastructure away from the shoreline. Decision makers are actively working to identify suitable adaptation strategies including managed retreat for our State. A  2019 report  details the feasibility of such adaptation strategies for coastal areas in Hawai‘i.

Increased State and county agency collaboration is imperative to develop and implement land use policies, hazard mitigation actions, and design and construction mid- and long-term strategies that mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change and sea level rise.

GOAL: Design management strategies and programs to recognize and incorporate the connection of land and sea. Facilitating the broad adoption of green infrastructure practices to reduce polluted runoff from within watersheds.

Pollution can come in several forms but this Focus Area highlights polluted stormwater runoff as a pervasive and widespread issue within Hawai‘i's watersheds. Stormwater runoff originates from non-point sources, meaning there is no one point of origin that can be addressed or remediated to stop the flow of polluted waters.

In Hawai‘i, flowing stormwater from rain events picks up pollutants such as sediment, nutrients, bacteria, toxic chemicals, oil, and trash off our roadways and neighborhoods and deposits runoff directly into nearshore waters without treatment or filtration.

This land-based pollution impairs coastal water quality and degrades irreplaceable coastal habitats, threatens human health, limits cultural practices, reduces local sustainability and self-sufficiency, and reduces visitor appeal.

Focus Area 2: Land-Based Pollution

Non-point source pollution's impact on freshwater resources and nearshore ecosystems was the most frequently voiced concern during public outreach, indicating a keen awareness of the impacts of human activities and development practices on coastal resources.

The latest  State of Hawai‘i Water Quality and Assessment Report  found that of the 170 marine water bodies assessed, 92% do not meet water quality standards for one or more pollutants. The 2022 report cites poor water clarity (turbidity) as the leading cause of coastal water quality degradation and attributes this finding to polluted runoff from land-based sources.

In Hawai‘i, the Department of Health-Clean Water Branch  Polluted Runoff Control Program 's mission is to prevent and reduce non-point source pollution. Given the character of non-point source runoff, no one agency is solely capable and responsible for mitigating its impacts.

The lack of regulatory and monitoring capacity has inhibited the State's ability to frequently, expansively, and consistently monitor water quality. Despite the lack of essential resources for coastal and stream water quality monitoring, better cooperation has resulted between the State and citizen science groups.

However, monitoring does not inherently improve coastal water quality. A critical gap exists between establishing regulations and monitoring outcomes—the proactive mitigation and reduction of land-based pollution.

Focus Area 2: Land-Based Pollution

Controlling the many sources of land-based pollution across public and privately owned urban, rural, and agricultural landscapes can only be addressed through wide-spread collaboration. The selection of Land-Based Pollution as a Focus Area is an acknowledgement of the need to concurrently modify the societal practices that contribute to water quality issues in the coastal environment.

Future action in this subject-matter area should seek opportunities to convene diverse stakeholders, remediate lost ecosystem services, and improve upon current practices and hotspots that contribute to polluted runoff. The integration of green infrastructure—an approach to water management that incorporates both the natural environment and engineered systems to protect, restore or mimic the natural water cycle—is one solution by which the State can manage stormwater runoff.

Land-based pollution is a long-standing and chronic issue which will never be completely resolved. However, it is critical that Hawai‘i invest in the mitigation of the most harmful impacts of degraded water quality urgently, with a long-term vision to restore ecological balances in the island's future.

3 GOALS:

1. Promote fishing practices that adopt the wisdom of both traditional ecological knowledge and scientific ecological knowledge to improve fish stocks.
2. Effectively manage networks of healthy coral reefs while improving the health of reef ecosystems at priority sites identified by the  Hawai‘i Coral Reef Strategy (2020-2030). 
3. Minimize the likelihood of aquatic alien species introduction and spread into and within Hawai‘i from sources associated with vessels.

Hawai‘i's beaches and warm tropical waters draw scores of residents and tourists for a multitude of activities, all of which result in a wide range of impacts to the abundance and health of marine life.

These stressors include: marine debris, damage/trampling of coral reef, introduction of aquatic alien species, and unsustainable fishing. In addition to these pressures, development and land-based activities contribute to surface runoff of pollutants and sediment which lead to compromised nearshore water quality, thus degrading nearshore marine ecosystem health.

Meanwhile, ocean warming has led to multi-year, statewide coral bleaching events and ocean acidification may also contribute to increased degradation of marine ecosystems. These declines in marine ecosystem health also diminish the protection coral reefs provide to our coastal infrastructure and may lead to long-term declines in visitor interest in Hawai‘i, a fundamental pillar of the State's economy.

Focus Area 3: Marine Ecosystems

The ORMP will support the State's path towards effective management of Hawai‘i's nearshore water for healthy reefs, fish, and communities. The State is seeking to accomplish this through the effective management of at least 30% of nearshore waters around each main Hawaiian Island by 2030 in their  Holomua: Marine 30x30 Initiative .

The approach is one that looks to place-based planning to build a network of marine managed areas, which minimizes damage to fragile ecosystems and restores areas in need. This initiative is also investing in education with respect to fishing practices and the prevention of aquatic alien species.

Collaboration with State and University partners through the ORMP can raise awareness of the need for expanded programs to stem the introduction of aquatic alien species, such as a program to conduct biofouling risk assessments to reduce threats from the introduction of aquatic alien species.