BIL 066 Draft 02 2024-2026 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Table 15. Climate Adaptation Opportunities 0 By leveraging the following opportunities'. Hawaii County can build resilience against the impacts of climate change, protect its natural resources, and ensure the well-being of its residents. Water Resources • Protecting and restoring watersheds will improve water quality and availability. Management • Promoting a One Water strategy can create cross -agency collaboration to identify and address overlapping challenges in adapting to sea level rise and building more resiliency into infrastructure across water, wastewater and stormwater sectors. Agriculture & • Encouraging the cultivation of climate -resilient and diversified crops to enhance food security. Food Security Promoting agroforestry practices in agricultural areas can improve soil health and crop resilience. • Regenerative agriculture practices can reduce dependency on external inputs and improve soil health. Infrastructure & Retrofitting or relocating bridges and roads provides an opportunity to reduce GHG emissions by reducing Urban Planning miles traveled. • Retrofitting can be accomplished within existing maintenance schedules of County facilities for increased resilience. • Reducing the risks of flooding, landslides, and fire reduces the cost and GHG emissions associated with the reconstruction of infrastructure and need for alternative routes, which increase emissions during road and bridge outages. • Increasing access to multimodal transportation options can help reduce VMT. • Proactive maintenance of parks and recreational areas can continue to provide equitable access to resources in the face of changing landscapes. • Limiting new development in fire -prone areas would reduce economic loss to landowners and businesses. • Fire risk reduction around communities potentially limits fire spreading into upland areas, reducing fire - driven forest loss. • Build and upgrade infrastructure to withstand increased flooding and sea level rise. • Incorporate green infrastructure solutions such as permeable pavements and urban green spaces to manage stormwater and reduce the urban heat island effect. • Implement zoning and land use planning policies that consider climate risks and promote sustainable development. Social Equity • Engage communities in planning and decision -making processes to ensure that adaptation measures are socially inclusive and culturally appropriate. • Increasing equitable resilience to climate hazards will benefit historically marginalized and frontline communities and those that are vulnerable to climate change impacts. Energy & Invest in renewable energy sources to reduce GHG emissions and increase energy resilience. Transportation Promote energy efficiency in buildings and transportation to reduce overall energy consumption. • Enhance public transit systems and infrastructure for active transportation to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and improve air quality. Biodiversity & • Managed retreat strategies and new shoreline setback regulations would expand open space along the Ecosystems shoreline to support coastal ecosystems such as anchialine pools. • Supporting conservation programs can help protect native species and habitats from climate change impacts. • Strengthening measures to control and eradicate invasive species can help protect local ecosystems. • Enhance habitat connectivity to allow species to migrate in response to changing environmental conditions. Education & • Build capacity for local government agencies by providing training and resources that improve their ability Capacity to plan and implement climate adaptation initiatives. Building • Collaborate and coordinate with the County's Office of Sustainability, Climate, Equity, and Resilience (OSCER). • Support research and monitoring efforts to better understand climate impacts and the effectiveness of adaptation measures. • Develop and implement educational programs to raise awareness about climate change and adaptation strategies. 3.0 Addressing Climate Change for Island -Wide Health I County of Hawaii General Plan 67