Turks and Caicos Islands

4.6. Sea Level Rise and Storm Surge Impacts on Coastal Infrastructure
and Settlements
4.6.1. Background
Small islands have much of their infrastructure and settlements located on or near the coast, including
tourism, government, health, commercial and transportation facilities. With its high-density development
along the coast, the tourism sector is particularly vulnerable to climate change and SLR. The Turks and
Caicos Islands is one of the Caribbean’s most important tourism destinations, where the threat of SLR has
been identified as a particular concern in both the short and long-term. Turks and Caicos relies on its tourist
industry for much of its national income, and therefore the economic effects of SLR and storm induced
erosion are significant (Daniel, 2001). Of critical importance is the threat of beach erosion to the majority of
existing and expected tourism facilities sited in areas located near the coastline (e.g. historic downtown
Cockburn Town) (Daniel, 2001). This section of the report will focus on the coastal vulnerabilities associated
with ‘slow-onset’ impacts of climate change, particularly inundation from SLR and SLR induced beach
erosion, as they relate to tourism infrastructure (e.g. resort properties), tourism attractions (e.g. sea turtle
nesting sites) and related supporting tourism infrastructure (e.g. transportation networks). These
vulnerabilities will be assessed at both the national (the Turks and Caicos Islands) and local scale (Grand
Turk Cruise Centre, Grand Turk West Shore and Historic Cockburn Town), with adaptation and protection
infrastructure options discussed. Please refer to the Comprehensive Natural Disaster Management section
for climate change vulnerabilities and adaptation measures associated with event driven or ‘fast-onset’
impacts such as hurricanes.
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