Shoreline experts are sharing their knowledge about protection of Hawai'i's beaches at a series of free public workshops in each county. The first was yesterday on Kaua'i.

The seminar explains how rising sea levels contribute to increased storm surge, flooding and damage to coastal infrastructure, a release from the Hawai'i Sea Grant College Program said. It also focuses on disaster management and response strategies.

Presentations include:

• Threats to Hawai'i's Beaches, by Charles "Chip" Fletcher, chair, Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Hawai'i-Manoa.

• Hawai'i's Coastal Communities: Integrating Resource Protection, Disaster Management and Community Development, by India Clark, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Pacific Services Center.

• Hawai'i's Coastal Protection Policies and Guidelines, by Dennis Hwang, UH Sea Grant College Program.

• Hawai'i's Beach Management Plans: Recent Initiatives and Implementation Challenges, by Dolan Eversole, Zoe Norcross-Nu'u, and Jim O'Connell, UH Sea Grant.

• Hawai'i's Coastal Lands Program: Beach Conservation Efforts for the Future, by Sam Lemmo, state Department of Land and Natural Resources Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands.

Upcoming seminars:

• Big Island: 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at the King Kamehameha Hotel, Ballroom 1, Kailua, Kona.

• Maui: 2 to 5 p.m. Nov. 14 at Maui Community College, Pilina Building (formerly Student Center), Multipurpose Room.

• O'ahu: 1 to 4 p.m. Nov. 20 at the Mission Memorial Auditorium (next to Honolulu Hale), Honolulu.

For more information, contact Dolan Eversole at 808-587-0377 or dolan.eversole@hawaii.gov.