Turks and Caicos Islands

The field work components of the research and CARIBSAVE’s commitment to institutional strengthening in
the Caribbean have helped to build capacity in a wide selection of ministries, academic institutions,
communities and other stakeholders in the areas of: climate modelling, gender and climate change, coastal
management methods and community resilience. Having been completed for 15 countries in the
Caribbean Basin, this work allows for inter-regional and cross-regional comparisons leading to lesson
learning and skills transfer.
A further very important aspect of the CCCRA is the democratisation of climate change science. This was
conducted through targeted awareness, tools (e.g. data visualisation, GIS imagery, animated projections
and short films), and participatory approaches (workshops and vulnerability mapping) to improve
stakeholder knowledge and understanding of what climate change means for them. Three short films, in
high-resolution format of broadcast quality, are some of the key outputs. These films are part of the
Partnerships for Resilience series and include: ‘Climate Change and Tourism’; ‘Caribbean Fish Sanctuaries’;
and ‘Living Shorelines’. They are available at www.youtube.com/Caribsave.
Project approach to enhancing resilience and building capacity to respond to climate change
across the Caribbean
Processes and outputs from the CCCRA bridge the gap between the public and private sectors and
communities; and their efforts to address both the physical and socio-economic impacts of climate change,
allowing them to better determine how current practices (which in fact are not isolated in one sector
alone) and capacities must be enhanced. The stages of the CCCRA country profile protocol (see Flow Chart
on following page) are as follows: a) Climate Modelling and Data Analysis (including analysis of key ‘Tier 1’
climate variables linking the climate modelling to physical impacts and vulnerabilities) b) Physical Impacts
and Vulnerability Assessment c) Tourism and Related Sector Vulnerability Assessments (including
examination of the sectors of water, energy, agriculture, biodiversity, health, infrastructure and settlement,
and comprehensive disaster management) d) Development of Vulnerability Profile with stakeholders taking
account of socio-economic, livelihood and gender impacts (including evaluation of ‘Tier 2’ linking variables
and indicators such as coastal inundation) e) Adaptive Capacity Assessment and Profiling f) Development of
Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies and Policy Recommendations (action planning). The final stages
depicted in the flow chart focusing on the implementation of policies and strategies at
ministerial/government level and the implementation of actions at community level, using a communitybased
adaptation approach, are proposed to be implemented as part of the forthcoming CCCRA process as
projects to be funded by other donors post the country profile stage.
The work of the CCCRA is consistent with the needs of Caribbean Small Island and Coastal Developing
States identified in the document, “Climate Change and the Caribbean: A Regional Framework for
Development Resilient to Climate Change (2009-2015)”, published by the Caribbean Community Climate
Change Centre (CCCCC); and supports each of the key strategies outlined in the framework’s Regional
Implementation Plan.
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