NEWS

Hawaiʻi and Alaska, despite their geographic differences, share many climate adaptation and resilience themes. Both regions are home to Indigenous communities with a strong connection to land and water through subsistence-based lifeways, a community approach to resilience, and restorative relationships between people and ecosystems. Each region also possesses exciting examples of successful Indigenous-led climate adaptation.

In late July, the Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center (PI-CASC) welcomed Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center (AK-CASC) members to collaborate on a forum at the Hawaiʻi Conservation Conference. Together, the organizations led “Building Pilina across the Ocean: Supporting Indigenous-led Climate Adaptation Research and Planning in Hawaiʻi and Alaska” at HCC. The session explored how practitioners in both regions tackle climate adaptation research, planning, and implementation.

The forum began with roundtable discussions on topics such as Indigenous digital knowledge systems and data sovereignty, community-based data collection in data-poor regions and leveraging baseline data for further funding, Indigenous methodologies for climate adaptation research and planning, and the role of universities in supporting Indigenous sustainability. Each was co-led by a Hawaiʻi and Alaska-based facilitator, which included members of PI-CASC, AK-CASC, and other local organizations.

After the roundtables, four panelists from Alaska led a discussion centered around the challenges and opportunities that Native Alaskan tribes face in planning and land and resource management in partnership with government agencies. Several audience members joined the discussion, sharing similar experiences in the Native Hawaiian communities.

Outside of the conference, PI-CASC and AK-CASC continued cultural exchange with a community work day at Papahana Kuaola, a ʻāina-based education organization located in Heʻeia, Oʻahu. As a way to share Native Hawaiian culture and to connect with the ʻāina, the groups spent the morning learning about the history of the area and cultural practices and then working side-by-side, pulling weeds to clean the loʻi kalo (taro patch). When the work was completed, everyone was invited to fill up their water bottles from a punawai (natural spring) alongside a stream.