Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment (PIRCA) 2020: A new framework for collaborative regional scientific assessment

Abstract:

For nearly a decade, partners in the Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment (PIRCA) network have responded to the need for sustained, collaborative assessment of climate change indicators, impacts, and adaptive capacity in Hawaii and the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI). Recently, researchers and practitioners from across the vast region came together to co-author country- and territory-specific assessment summaries consolidating scientific knowledge about climate change. Building on the Fourth US National Climate Assessment, the assessments present trends and future projections for a set of foundational climate indicators and address a critical gap by outlining climate change risks for key sectors in each USAPI jurisdiction. Workshops and meetings were held in 2019 in four island locations to review emerging risks and new understanding on issues such as: (1) reliable and safe water supplies; (2) marine and terrestrial ecosystems; (3) sea level rise and coastal impacts; and (4) human health, livelihoods and well-being, including for Indigenous peoples. Key partners were the Palau Office of Climate Change, the Guam Climate Change Resiliency Commission, American Samoa Community College, the American Samoa Power Authority, the Office of Planning and Development of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the NOAA Office for Coastal Management. A 2013 external evaluation recommended future regional climate assessments increase findings and participants from the USAPI beyond Hawaii. These products address that need and grow the regional network by including local experts as co-authors and technical contributors. The assessment team found the iterative interaction with local experts, policymakers, and managers has resulted in new professional relationships and two-way communication, fundamental to shaping the current assessment and influential for future science products. Early usability is evident in the assessments’ uptake as the scientific basis for adaptation planning and in introduced legislation. When published later this year, the assessments will be integral to funding proposals for adaptation projects, National Adaptation Plans, and governments’ communications at local, national, and international scales.