Our home is already experiencing the worst consequences of climate change, with our communities on the frontlines of fires, floods, extreme weather and coastal erosion. With escalating threats to our ecosystems, there is an immediate need to invest in environmental protection for the public safety of our communities. We must invest in natural resource protection and restoration urgently to build resilience across our ecosystems and communities for future generations.
Hawaiʻi’s ecosystems and natural and cultural resources provide over $6 billion in value to our economy each year, supporting our communities, livelihoods, and visitor industry. These vital resources and ecosystems underpin our culture, our livelihoods, and our tourism sector but we underinvest in this “green infrastructure,” by committing only 1% of our state budget each year to our environment.