The politics of invasion: defining and defending the natural, native and legal in the Galápagos Islands of Ecuador

This dissertation analyzes contemporary politics and practices designed to manage species invasions and human population impacts in the Galápagos Islands of Ecuador. Due to the high connectivity and movement of people around the world, non-native species are often introduced into protected areas, where human activity is also viewed as an invasion into nature. In the Galápagos, population growth and more recently, tourism, have been linked to an increase in invasive species that pose threats to the local biodiversity. As a result, in 2007 Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa declared an ecological crisis in the islands, which continues to intensify with record tourist numbers (over 180,000 in 2009), a population growth rate of 6%, and new species introductions via air and sea. Through the lens of political ecology, this research uses case studies to describe how invasion, writ large, is understood and experienced differently across stakeholder groups and the landscape. Remote sensing analysis of vegetation cover in an area of the Galápagos National Park that was invaded by feral goats shows landscape-level vegetation decline during the invasion, and regrowth following eradication, but not necessarily in areas where goats were heavily concentrated. The long-term environmental effects of large-scale eradication programs also call into question claims of ecosystem restoration, and naturalness itself. Interviews among highland landowners and participation in land management practices show that the recent agricultural decline found on Isabela and Santa Cruz Islands is the result of interrelated environmental, economic and political factors, including species invasions, market instability, park-only policies and labor shortages. Participatory remote sensing further illustrates that different highland user groups have divergent perceptions of landscape productivity and degradation due to invasive species. Since the late 1990s, legislation has been implemented to control unlawful environmental behavior and illegal migration, but economic disparities perpetuate old tensions between residents of the islands and the Ecuadorian mainland. Cluster analysis of survey data finds that Galápagos residents have diverse stakes in island conservation and economic growth related to the booming tourism industry, while interviews among temporary and illegal migrants characterize the everyday vulnerability associated with migrant legal status in their own country

A Century of Drought in Hawaiʻi: Geospatial Analysis and Synthesis across Hydrological, Ecological, and Socioeconomic Scales

Drought is a prominent feature of Hawaiʻi’s climate. However, it has been over 30 years since the last comprehensive meteorological drought analysis, and recent drying trends have emphasized the need to better understand drought dynamics and multi-sector effects in Hawaiʻi. Here, we provide a comprehensive synthesis of past drought effects in Hawaiʻi that we integrate with geospatial analysis of drought characteristics using a newly developed 100-year (1920–2019) gridded Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) dataset. The synthesis examines past droughts classified into five categories: Meteorological, agricultural, hydrological, ecological, and socioeconomic drought. Results show that drought duration and magnitude have increased significantly, consistent with trends found in other Pacific Islands. We found that most droughts were associated with El Niño events, and the two worst droughts of the past century were multi-year events occurring in 1998–2002 and 2007–2014. The former event was most severe on the islands of O’ahu and Kaua’i while the latter event was most severe on Hawaiʻi Island. Within islands, we found different spatial patterns depending on leeward versus windward contrasts. Droughts have resulted in over $80 million in agricultural relief since 1996 and have increased wildfire risk, especially during El Niño years. In addition to providing the historical context needed to better understand future drought projections and to develop effective policies and management strategies to protect natural, cultural, hydrological, and agricultural resources, this work provides a framework for conducting drought analyses in other tropical island systems, especially those with a complex topography and strong climatic gradients

Climate challenges, vulnerabilities, and food security

This paper identifies rare climate challenges in the long-term history of seven areas, three in the subpolar North Atlantic Islands and four in the arid-to-semiarid deserts of the US Southwest. For each case, the vulnerability to food shortage before the climate challenge is quantified based on eight variables encompassing both environmental and social domains. These data are used to evaluate the relationship between the “weight” of vulnerability before a climate challenge and the nature of social change and food security following a challenge. The outcome of this work is directly applicable to debates about disaster management policy

Climate change, health, and migration : profiles of resilience and vulnerability in the Marshall Islands

For more about the East-West Center, see http://www.eastwestcenter.org/This report summarizes a two-part analysis of survey data from 199 households in the RMI about their past migrations and expectations to migrate in the future. Using hierarchical clustering analysis and logistic regression, it identifies groups among those surveyed with significantly different profiles of vulnerability, health outcomes, and migration agency. We find that climate change and its impacts are not experienced evenly across the population, but have differing associated health and migration outcomes. Furthermore, migration within and beyond the RMI may be related to a changing climate but is also a complex composite of many factors. The report opens with a summary of the findings, and recommendations for policymakers.Summary for policymakers -- Introduction -- Study background and research questions -- Methods -- Results -- Discussion -- Conclusion -- Appendix A: Survey instrument -- Appendix B: Supplementary tables and figure

COVID-19 pandemic prompts a new look at ecological security

For more about the East-West Center, see http://www.eastwestcenter.org/Resilient and healthy ecosystems help prevent wildfires, flooding, and other natural disasters. As the COVID-19 crisis illustrates, the unsafe exploitation of the natural environment can also have a lasting impact on population health and economic growth. Today, we need a reassessment of how societies prioritize the preservation of healthy ecosystems to support human health and wellbeing. This concept, often called "Planetary Health" or the "One Health" framework, views biodiversity management, land-use practices, and food production systems as dynamic interconnections among the plants, animals, and people that make up an ecosystem

Simulating Land Cover Change Impacts on Groundwater Recharge under Selected Climate Projections, Maui, Hawaiʻi

This project developed an integrated land cover/hydrological modeling framework using remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) data, stakeholder input, climate information and projections, and empirical data to estimate future groundwater recharge on the Island of Maui, Hawaiʻi, USA. End-of-century mean annual groundwater recharge was estimated under four future land cover scenarios: Future 1 (conservation-focused), Future 2 (status-quo), Future 3 (development-focused), and Future 4 (balanced conservation and development), and two downscaled climate projections: a coupled model intercomparison project (CMIP) phase 5 (CMIP5) representative concentration pathway (RCP) 8.5 “dry climate” future and a CMIP3 A1B “wet climate” future. Results were compared to recharge estimated using the 2017 baseline land cover to understand how changing land management and climate could influence groundwater recharge. Estimated recharge increased island-wide under all future land cover and climate combinations and was dominated by specific land cover transitions. For the dry future climate, recharge for land cover Futures 1 to 4 increased by 12%, 0.7%, 0.01%, and 11% relative to 2017 land cover conditions, respectively. Corresponding increases under the wet future climate were 10%, 0.9%, 0.6%, and 9.3%. Conversion from fallow/grassland to diversified agriculture increased irrigation, and therefore recharge. Above the cloud zone (610 m), conversion from grassland to native or alien forest led to increased fog interception, which increased recharge. The greatest changes to recharge occurred in Futures 1 and 4 in areas where irrigation increased, and where forest expanded within the cloud zone. Furthermore, new future urban expansion is currently slated for coastal areas that are already water-stressed and had low recharge projections. This study demonstrated that a spatially-explicit scenario planning process and modeling framework can communicate the possible consequences and tradeoffs of land cover change under a changing climate, and the outputs from this study serve as relevant tools for landscape-level management and interventions

Alpine environments under threat in Hawai'i and New Zealand

For more about the East-West Center, see http://www.eastwestcenter.org/Of all the earth's environments, alpine regions are arguably the most vulnerable to climate change. This is especially true for alpine areas on islands. In both Hawai'i and New Zealand, about 11 percent of the land area is above the tree line, the definition of an alpine environment. In addition to climate change, these island ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to damage from human activity and the invasion of alien species

A changing climate and its implications for health and migration in the Pacific : examples from the Marshall Islands

For more about the East-West Center, see http://www.eastwestcenter.org/Climate change impacts--temperature and rainfall changes, extreme events, sea-level rise, and ocean acidification--are amplifying health risks in vulnerable populations throughout the Pacific Islands, and also influence their mobility. This nexus of climate change, health, and migration is evident in the experience of the Marshall Islands. The nation and its population are dispersed over almost two million square kilometers of ocean, with sizeable diasporas in the United States. Climate impacts in the Marshall Islands exacerbate ongoing health threats, such as limited drinking water supplies, inadequate nutrition, and poor infrastructure. The out-migration of Marshallese is largely motivated by health, economic, education, and environmental reasons; therefore, planning for migrant movements should include adaptation strategies that also reduce health risks. A better understanding of how health, mobility, and climate change interact will help shape policy responses and provide useable climate information for focused, timely interventions that maximize health and well-being among populations in motion

Three new strategies for improving biosecurity and invasive species management to build resilience in Pacific Islands

The inaugural Pacific Ecological Security Conference (PESC) was held in October 2022, bringing together over 100 island leaders, policy-makers, natural resource managers and global and regional invasive species experts to prioritise the critical issue of invasive species in the Pacific Islands Region. Participants confirmed that invasive species are a major threat to building and maintaining climate resilience and adaptability of Pacific Island ecosystems, as well as food security, biodiversity, sustainable livelihoods and the protection of cultural resources and way of life. Three region-wide strategic action plans were developed to guide interventions focused on the topics of invasive ants, coconut rhinoceros beetle and the use of biological control as a pest and weed management tool. These plans were the major outcome of the PESC and, when implemented, will result in coordinated activities that take a “whole-of-Pacific” approach to invasive species biosecurity and management. Here, we briefly describe the background, planning and engagement process for the three plans, summarise any country- and territory-level data obtained through the process and detail what is planned to occur over the next few years. In addition to the adoption and implementation of the strategies as a result of this inaugural PESC, we anticipate that the PESC will become the premier regional conference aimed at reducing the entry and impacts of invasive species to improve sustainability of environments and peoples of the Pacific