Regional entity eyes resilience in Trinidad & Tobago
Vulnerability assessments ongoing in local communities
THE CARIBBEAN Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) is undertaking a series of assessments of coastal communities in Trinidad and Tobago to better understand the growing challenges from sea level rise, coastal erosion and extreme weather events due to climate change and related disasters.
The assessments are being done under the project ‘Integrating digital technologies and participatory tools to support coastal community resilience in Trinidad and Tobago (Tech4CoastalResilience)’.
The first of five workshops were held in Mayaro on January 30 to assess the community’s vulnerability to climate change and priorities for building their resilience.
“The workshop brought together over 25 community participants, including fisherfolk, rural women producers and communitybased organisations, hotel and tour operators, the Mayaro Village Council and key local and national government agencies in Trinidad,” CANARI said in a release to the media.
CANARI is a regional technical non-profit institute, which has been working across the Caribbean for more than 30 years, promoting and facilitating stakeholder participation in the stewardship of natural resources in the region.
The Mayaro workshop, meanwhile, focused on mapping impacts and assessing vulnerabilities, and strategies to build resilience in the community, including for the fisheries and tourism sectors, using participatory geographic information systems and a historical time-line. Based on these local impacts and vulnerabilities, priorities for adaptation and building resilience at the community level were also identified.
“Oil and gas is the spine of our economy but agriculture, including farming and fishing, that is the heart. It gives us food and nutrition security and livelihoods. We need to find ways to strengthen these livelihoods in the face of climate change and other changes in our community,” said Justin Jarvis, resident and representative of the Trinidad and Tobago Chapter of Disabled Peoples’ International.
Acting senior fisheries officer Recardo Mieux has also welcomed the assessments.
“The adverse impacts of climate change on fishing and coastal communities in Trinidad and Tobago are irrefutable. As such, the Fisheries Division is pleased to partner on the Tech4CoastalResilience project and strives to utilise innovative technologies and provide technical assistance for practical solutions that will impact positively on local livelihoods,” he noted.
Following the Mayaro workshop, four other workshops are planned in coastal communities, including Carli Bay and Matelot in Trinidad and Castara and Scarborough in Tobago.
“The findings from the assessments will inform further work under the Tech4CoastalResilience project to identify priorities for action and build coastal resilience,” CANARI revealed.
The workshops are facilitated by CANARI in partnership with the Fisheries Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries and Department of Marine Resources and Fisheries, Tobago House of Assembly under the Tech4CoastalResilience project.
The project aims to improve the technical capacity and resources of coastal communities and key management agencies to use innovative technologies and tools to address data gaps and enable a more inclusive and informed approach for building resilience.
The project is supported by the ‘Harnessing Innovative Technologies to Support Resilience Settlements on the Coastal Zones of the Caribbean (HIT RESET Caribbean)’programme.
HIT RESET Caribbean is funded by the ACP Innovation Fund, Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States Research and Innovation Programme, which is financed by the European Union.