The workshops, put on by the Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands, are intended to encourage discussion on regulatory issues and address commonly asked questions regarding coastal land use.

The next workshops are:

i 2 to 4 p.m. May 4 at the Hilo County Council Chambers, Ben Franklin Building, 333 Kilauea Ave.

i 3 to 5 p.m. May 15 at the Honolulu Mission Memorial Auditorium, 550 S. King St.

i 3 to 5 p.m. May 24 at the King Kamehameha Hotel, Island Room, 75-5660 Palani Road

The workshops are free and open to the public.

Topics include shoreline certifications, landscaping, dune restoration, beach nourishment, hazard mitigation and county shoreline setbacks.

"With the recent release of projections for global climate change and the resulting sea level rise, it is clear we must begin to consider these implications in present-day coastal land use decisions," said Dolan Eversole, a University of Hawai'i-Manoa Sea Grant coastal geologist and workshop coordinator, in a news release. "At the same time we are undergoing tremendous development pressure in the coastal areas. We need to initiate proactive and progressive planning efforts in these areas in order to protect Hawai'i's valuable coastal resources and reduce the risk of these hazards to our communities."

For more information visit www.hawaii.gov/dlnr/occl or call Eversole at 587-0337.