Turks and Caicos Islands

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430 km 2 ) of these islands results in limited surface water resources (Bennett et al., 2002). The tourism sector places one of the greatest demands on water resources and sewerage facilities in Turks and Caicos (Bennett et al., 2002). The Turk Islands in the southeast receive low annual rainfall of 533 mm; the north west of the group nearly double this amount of rainfall is received (Kairi Consultants Limited, 2000a). Water is typically sourced from reverse osmosis desalination of brackish underground water on populated islands (DEPS, 2007b), while on less populated islands, household water catchment systems which harvest rainwater or from fresh water lenses beneath some of the islands (ECLAC, 2008). Water demand is rising with increasing development, and improvements in technology and operational efficiency have led to an increasing number of private desalination plants (DEPS, 2007b). Many homes have sizeable cisterns to store water that may be replenished either from rainwater or via truck borne water supplies (Kairi Consultants Limited, 2000a), and form the most common source of water for much of TCI (ECLAC, 2008). Climate change is likely to put stress on existing water infrastructure, with an inadequate maintenance of aging water production and delivery systems leaving them vulnerable; coastal erosion and flooding has already damaged water infrastructure (Byron, 2011). Water resources in the Turks and Caicos Islands are limited, consisting of rainfall, saline water and scarce ground water supplies which have had problems with contamination (Bennett et al., 2002). Occasional droughts and water shortages occur in most islands (Byron, 2011). Changes in rainfall patterns may lead to a decrease in fresh water availability and more frequent and severe droughts, leading to a loss of crops and livestock. As a result, it is likely that the island will increase the dependency on desalinated water, leading to an increase in the cost of water supply (Climate Change Committee, 2011). Drought conditions will also affect the ability of the country to harvest rainwater (Byron, 2011). Among the damages that sea level rise may cause are the loss of agricultural land and coastal fresh water resources through erosion, and salt water intrusion into aquifers (Climate Change Committee, 2011). Sea level rise may also result in damage to infrastructure associated with desalination infrastructure (Byron, 2011). An investment of US $23.6M in water and wastewater is planned between 2008 and 2017 as part of the National Socio-economic Development Strategy, with the bulk of the investment (US $19M) beginning in 2014 (DEPS, 2007a). The institutional and regulatory framework for water management in the Turks and Caicos Islands is limited to water supply management and, to a much lesser extent, wastewater management; water demand management, water supply planning, protection of underground water quality and the monitoring and regulation of desalination are all lacking (DEPS, 2007b). The National Socioeconomic Development Strategy aims to address these deficiencies and deliver a sustainable water supply, as well as addressing previously neglected aspects of water resources management (DEPS, 2007b). The following recommendations are made: 1. Assess the possibility of broad scale implementation of localised waste water recycling schemes and legislation, including for agricultural irrigation. 2. Develop computer models of groundwater flow to account for the impact of sea-level rise on groundwater levels. 3. Water infrastructure should be developed to increase access to sanitation facilities and safe water and reduce vulnerability to climate variability and extreme events including droughts and major storms or hurricanes. 4. Undertake public education in water resources. 5. Develop measures to protect aquifers from surface contamination and protect water quality. 6. Reassess water pricing structures to ensure that the full cost of water is charged. 7. Increase water conservation measures, particularly in the tourism industry. 8. Increase capacity of water desalination facilities and investigate the feasibility of alternative water generation technologies. 182
7.3. Energy Supply and Distribution There can be little doubt that tourism is an important and growing energy-consuming sector in the Caribbean. If this growth continues, vulnerabilities associated with higher energy prices as well as global climate policy will grow concomitantly. Any Caribbean nation’s ambition should thus be to reduce its energy use and to increasingly use renewable energy produced in the region. In practice, this appears to be hampered by the lack of detailed databases on energy use by sub-sectors, which is a precondition for restructuring energy systems. To this end, Francis et al. (2007: 1,231) suggest that: Finally, given the absence of a more detailed database on energy consumption and GDP in Haiti, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago, further research can be directed at two important issues. First, with wider data on energy consumption and GDP (total and sectoral), a decomposition analysis could be undertaken, which can add value by identifying the main drivers, a useful approach to the formulation of effective policies. These insights also apply for other islands. While an energy and emissions database would thus be paramount to the understanding, monitoring and strategic reduction of greenhouse gases, it also appears clear that energy demand in all islands could be substantially reduced at no cost, simply because the tourism sector in particular is wasteful of energy, and because carbon management allows for the restructuring of markets. Furthermore, technological options to develop renewable energy sources exist, and can be backed up financially by involving carbon markets as well as voluntary payments by tourists. In order to move the tourism sector forward to make use of these potentials, it appears essential that policy frameworks focusing on regulation, market-based instruments and incentives be implemented. 7.4. Agriculture and Food Security The state of agriculture and food security in Turks and Caicos as they relate to climate change revolves around several key priorities which include: Developing an agricultural sector Building local farmers’ capacity to increase food production under existing climatic conditions There is a need for a clear policy for agricultural development in the islands with a focus on North and Middle Caicos which offer the most suitable conditions for food production. 7.5. Human Health The vulnerabilities of the health sector to climate include weather related morbidity and mortality and diseases that are affected by changes in temperature and rainfall patterns. A number of emerging and reemerging communicable diseases such as malaria, dengue and influenza present lingering threats to the health sector of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Based on a combination of hard data and grey data used to inform the vulnerability and adaptive capacity sections of this report it is very difficult to make definitive statements about the Health Sector of the Turks and Caicos Islands. However, the data suggests a number of trends which include that the population is vulnerable in a number of ways, most notably to vector borne diseases, potable and accessible water supply related issues and the spread of acute respiratory infections. It is further evident that these factors can have an impact on other sectors, most notably the 183
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Caribbean Regional Headquarters Has
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4.3.4. Women and Youth in TCI Agric
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6.3. Energy Supply and Distribution
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Figure 5.8.2: Relationship status o
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Table 4.1.2: Availability of water
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The CARIBSAVE Part
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The field work components of the re
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
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UKOT ----------------- United Kingd
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Overview Of Climate Change Issues I
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The field study sites include notab
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coastal infrastructure and settleme
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Perceptions of vulnerability in the
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Energy and Tourism Tourism is an in
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Reviewing and considering the feasi
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4. Local watershed management: supp
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Given the importance of tourism to
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Marine and Terrestrial Biodiversity
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terrestrial habitats for the purpos
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1. GLOBAL AND REGIONAL CONTEXT The
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damages from intense climatic condi
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2. NATIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES 2.1. Geog
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Table 2.2.1: Gross Domestic Product
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Figure 2.2.1 shows a decline in per
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oom for expansion of the fin fisher
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The CPA points out that the all-inc
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Table 3.1.1: Earliest and latest ye
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GCM projections of future rainfall
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Table 3.3.4: GCM and RCM projected
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Relative humidity data has not been
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Table 3.6.1: Observed and GCM proje
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Annual Table 3.8.1: Observed and GC
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Annual DJF MAM JJA SON Annual DJF M
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frequency in the last 1,500 years b
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thermal expansion, with only a cons
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particularly affected by higher wat
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Table 4.1.2: Availability of water
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3). Factors which increase the vuln
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4.2. Energy Supply and Distribution
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Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
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Table 4.2.3: Assessment of CO2 emis
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Figure 4.2.3: Evolution of electric
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- Reduce electricity costs and pric
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Figure 4.2.5: Crude oil prices 1869
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Climate policy Figure 4.2.6: Fuel c
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taxes can also be a highly transpar
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number of potential impacts of clim
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4.3. Agriculture and Food Security
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Caicos Islands stems from the fact
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Table 4.4.1: Selected statistics re
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2000). Thus, despite the fact that
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Table 4.4.3: Reported cases of gast
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4.5. Marine and Terrestrial Biodive
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Table 4.5.1: Turks and Caicos Islan
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Status of wetlands Over half of the
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and enforcing adequate coastal setb
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Turtle fishery At least two species
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Vulnerability of coral reefs to cli
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Figure 4.5.4: Unusual amount of Sar
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Figure 4.6.1: Grand Turk, The Turks
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Table 4.6.1: Impacts associated wit
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to identify individual properties,
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Figure 4.6.6: Total beach and land
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the tourism sector as well, since t
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Hurricane Irene (2011) Figure 4.7.2
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4.7.3. Vulnerability of the tourism
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greater burden of care as poorer ho
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CLIMATE CHANGE EFFECTS DIRECT INDIR
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Partnership based on the establishe
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each gender group is of the opinion
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entity. One of the key resources ne
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5. ADAPTIVE CAPACITY PROFILE FOR TH
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The institutional and regulatory fr
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5.1.3. Technology Hydrological and
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equested a rate review to rebalance
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Table 5.2.1: Average weighted emiss
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agree that switching off air condit
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Note: Savings costs of energy effic
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Vast options exist to reduce energy
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5.4. Human Health 5.4.1. Policy The
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Table 5.4.1: Summary effects on the
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weaker social infrastructure. Conti
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end the Turks and Caicos Islands ar
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5.5.3. Technology A high degree of
Page 169 and 170: Table 5.6.1: Summary of adaptation
Page 171 and 172: 5.6.2. Technology - Soft Engineerin
Page 173 and 174: 5.7. Comprehensive Natural Disaster
Page 175 and 176: Table 5.7.1: Enhanced Comprehensive
Page 177 and 178: Related work in needs and vulnerabi
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Page 181 and 182: 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10%
Page 183 and 184: distributions based on the gender o
Page 185 and 186: significant differences in househol
Page 187 and 188: Table 5.8.13: Source of food supply
Page 189 and 190: 45.0% 40.0% 35.0% 30.0% 25.0% 20.0%
Page 191 and 192: Social Protection Provision Table 5
Page 193 and 194: Table 5.8.24: Sample distribution b
Page 195 and 196: Subsistence Agricultural land (16%)
Page 197 and 198: Resource Importance River / Stream
Page 199 and 200: In the event of a hurricane, 90.3%
Page 201 and 202: Event Hurricane Flooding Storm Surg
Page 203 and 204: Table 5.8.37: Household Adaptation
Page 205 and 206: Assessments focussing on the links
Page 207 and 208: Provide gender disaggregated data a
Page 209 and 210: Short Term Actions Reassess water p
Page 211 and 212: Long Term Actions Pursue the concep
Page 213 and 214: Area Management Foundation (C-CAM)
Page 215 and 216: 6.8. Comprehensive Natural Disaster
Page 217 and 218: The Fire Service is government-run,
Page 219: 7. CONCLUSION 7.1. Climate Modellin
Page 223 and 224: 7.7. Sea Level Rise and Storm Surge
Page 225 and 226: REFERENCES Alcamo, J., Moreno, J. M
Page 227 and 228: CAREC. (2008a). Caribbean Epidemiol
Page 229 and 230: Contreras-Lisperguer, R., & de Cuba
Page 231 and 232: http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUA
Page 233 and 234: Government of the Turks and Caicos
Page 235 and 236: Hu, A., Meehl, G., Han, W., & Yin,
Page 237 and 238: Lime Turks & Caicos Islands. (2011)
Page 239 and 240: OECD (2010). Taxation, Innovation a
Page 241 and 242: Stern, N. (2006). The Economics of
Page 243 and 244: Wetherell, G. (2010). Third Quarter
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Turks and Caicos Islands

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