Friday, May 27, 2011

Columbia Law School Holds Island Nations Climate Change Conference

On May 23, 2011, the Columbia Law School Center for Climate Change Law held a conference entitled, "Threatened Island Nations: Legal Implications of a Changing Climate."

Topics discussed included: statehood and statelessness, resettlement and migration, international and diplomatic options, legal remedies, and adaptation and domestic options.  Papers, research, and other information from the conference can be found at www.law.columbia.edu/centers/climatechange/resources/threatened-island-nations.

The entire conference was recorded and is online at www.law.columbia.edu/centers/climatechange/resources/threatened-island-nations/livestream.

National Ocean Council Holds Public Listening Sessions in Hawaii

The National Ocean Council will hold a public listening session in the Pacific Islands Region on June 16, 2011, to solicit input to develop the strategic action plans that will implement the National Ocean Policy.

The event will be held at the Neal Blaisdell Center in Honolulu from 1:00 - 4:00 pm. Hawaii Satellite locations will be held at the locations below.

  • Maui Community College (Ka’a’ike 103), 310 Ka'ahumanu Ave, Kahului, HI 96732-1617, June 16, 1:00-4:00 pm
  • Kauai Community College (LRC 121), 3-1901 Kaumuali´i Highway, Lihue, HI 96766, June 16, 1:00-4:00 pm
  • UH-Hilo (LRC 344), 200 W. Kawili St., Hilo, HI 96720-4091, June 16, 1:00-4:00 pm
The public is encouraged to attend and provide comments at all locations.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

National Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning Workshop

Last year, I wrote about the Final Recommendations of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force that President Obama adopted by Executive Order on July 19, 2010.

The Final Recommendations included the creation of a Policy Coordination Framework and Implementation Strategy.  Under the Framework, the United States is subdivided into nine regional planning areas.  Hawaii is part of the Pacific Islands Region, which includes Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands, and American Samoa.  The Implementation Strategy identifies priority objectives that our Nation will pursue to address pressing challenges facing the ocean, our coasts, and the Great Lakes.  One of those nine strategies is Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning (CMSP) to implement comprehensive, integrated, ecosystem based coastal and marine spatial planning and management in the United States.  Each regional planning area is tasked with developing a CMSP for its region.

The National Ocean Council (NOC) will hold a National CMSP Workshop in Washington, DC, on June 21-23.  The first day of the Workshop will be a dedicated public and stakeholder session.  This public session will take place on Tuesday, June 21, 2011, from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm, in the Yates Auditorium at the U.S. Department of the Interior, located at 1849 C Street, NW Washington, DC.  For those who cannot attend the session in person or if interest exceeds capacity, it will also be available to the public through a live webcast on June 21, 2011 at www.doi.gov/live.

For more about this initiative, visit the NOC website at www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/oceans.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

June NRS Meeting: OHA's Public Policy Team to Discuss Legislative Updates

On Tuesday, June 7, 2011, the Natural Resources Section (NRS) of the Hawaii State Bar Association (HSBA) will hold its monthly brown bag lunch meeting from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. at the HSBA conference room.

NRS will host guest speaker Sterling Wong, Senior Public Policy Advocate of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, who will present: "Protecting Native Hawaiian resources at the 2011 Legislative Session," in addition to providing commentary on other natural/cultural resource bills introduced during the session. Joining Mr. Wong will be Jeff Kent and Jocelyn Doane of the OHA Public Policy Team.

Non-NRS members welcome on a space available basis.

Friday, May 20, 2011

An Informal Poll on Sea Level Rise

According the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, sea level is rising along most of the U.S. coast, and around the world. In the last century, sea level rose 5 to 6 inches more than the global average along the Mid-Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, because coastal lands there are subsiding.  Land within a few feet above the tides could be inundated by rising sea level.  According to some researchers, sea level may exceed 3 feet above the 1990 level by the end of the 21st century.  How will you respond?