Case Studies | U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit

Communities, businesses, and individuals are taking action to document their vulnerabilities and build resilience to climate-related impacts. Click dots on the map to preview case studies, or browse stories below the map. Use the drop-down menus above to find stories of interest. To expand your results, click the Clear Filters link.

A Coral Bleaching Story With an Unknown Ending

Changing ocean conditions pose an increasing threat to the health and resilience of coral reefs. Across the two Samoas—American Samoa and the Independent State of Samoa—people are planning to protect these important ecosystems.

Tropical vegetation along white sand beach

Collaborating for Success: Sustaining Water Supply on a Pacific Island

As El Niño can bring severe drying conditions to the islands of American Samoa, groups collaborated to ensure that decision makers have access to the local climate and water data they need to recognize—and prepare for—the threat of drought.

Waves chip away at land below a beachfront home

Confronting Shoreline Erosion on O‘ahu

Each winter, massive waves attract surfers and visitors to the North Shore of O‘ahu in Hawai‘i. Some years, the waves cause severe erosion, and continuing sea level rise will accelerate this issue. Residents and the state are taking steps to preserve homes and beaches.

In the Dark of Monday Morning: Waves Inundate a Pacific Island Community

People who live on low-lying islands are reminded daily of the threat they face from coastal flooding. An unexpected disaster prompted a community in the Republic of the Marshall Islands to consider how to notify people of potential events and help them know how to respond.

Preparing for La Niña

O'ahu's busy construction industry depends on being able to dispose of demolition and construction wastes. Forecasts for a developing La Niña—often accompanied by heavy rains in Hawai'i—alerted managers at the island's main construction landfill to their climate vulnerability.

Protecting Fish to Save Coral Reefs

Coral reefs off the west coast of Maui are readily accessible and heavily used by visitors and locals alike. Managers needed a plan to boost the resilience of the reefs so they could continue providing critical habitat for marine species.

Waves crashing into basaltic rocks from lava flows on Hawai'i Island

Reality Check: Collaborative Research Contributes to Real-Life Policy Decisions

Innovative research efforts combined historic aerial photos, drone imagery, and topographic surveys to characterize coastal change around Hawai'i Island. The results are informing policy makers who are crafting a new setback policy for coastal development.

Dry, brown drought-stricken tropical vegetation

Recognizing and Responding to Drought on Pacific Islands

Compared to other extreme events, drought is a relatively quiet disaster. On Pacific Islands, where water supply depends very directly on precipitation, residents are working to recognize signs of drought and communicate them to others so that they can respond quickly.

The Nature Conservancy — Wetlands Restoration for Ecosystem and Community Resilience in He’eia O’ahu

To restore function in a degraded but historically, culturally, and ecologically important watershed on O‘ahu’s Eastern Coast, The Nature Conservancy worked closely with local partners and used an adaptive management approach to ensure successful wetland restoration.

Pago Pago Harbor, American Samoa with fuel tanks in foreground.

The Pacific Islands Climate Storybook

To empower community climate adaptation in the Pacific Islands, a multi-island coalition expanded upon a 2015 comprehensive template for writing climate stories and the collection of case studies. The new Storybook is a roadmap to predict, prepare, and adapt, to a changing climate.