The scientific benefits of a statewide, standardized, coastal wetland monitoring program in Hawaiʻi

Hawaiʻi’s coastal wetlands support endangered waterbirds, invertebrates, plants, Indigenous food systems and the Hawaiian hoary bat, yet monitoring remains fragmented across agencies using inconsistent methods. This viewpoint outlines the scientific need for a statewide, standardized coastal wetland monitoring program with a centralized database. Such a system would improve tracking of restoration progress, conservation‑reliant species, avian botulism outbreaks, coastal salinization and climate‑driven change. Integrating long‑term monitoring with targeted research would fill key knowledge gaps on wetland types, functions, values and biodiversity. Ultimately, coordinated monitoring would strengthen landscape‑scale restoration and adaptive management under accelerating sea‑level rise and climate change.