Caribbean Matters: Building hurricane resilience in Antigua and Barbuda
When looking at the impact of climate change on the Caribbean, it is important to pay attention to and support local efforts to mitigate it. Our news agencies tend to cover climate disasters only as they are happening—then they move on, rarely returning to see how people are faring, coping, or recovering. The Caribbean countries are no exception to this rule. That’s the reality for the dual-island Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda. You may remember that Hurricane Irma virtually wiped out Barbuda (not to be confused with Barbados) in September 2017; you may not know that nearly seven years later, tiny Barbuda—comprising just 3% of the nation’s 101,489 residents—and its larger sibling Antigua have been facing multiple challenges ever since. Caribbean Matters is a weekly series from Daily Kos. If you are unfamiliar with the region, check out Caribbean Matters: Getting to know the countries of the Caribbean. I was elated to see the BBC featuring a group of young women in Antigua and Barbuda who are addressing climate change. Gemma Handy in St. Johns, Antigua, wrote: 'I want to erase my own footprint': The women looking after an island paradise Kih'Nyiah McKay may be just 11 years old, but she is keenly aware of the climate crisis. She knows the loss of trees reduces oxygen and that dumped garbage kills the sea turtles that keep the ocean around her healthy. "Young people need to save the Earth," she says with a solemnity that belies her age. It is only March, but the sun outside is already blisteringly hot, posing a challenge for the electric fans battling valiantly to keep Kih'Nyiah's classroom cool. In Antigua, like the rest of the Caribbean, the impacts of climate change are a daily reality, evidenced in receding beaches, worsening hurricanes, debilitating droughts, and increasingly suffocating summers. Some islanders, however, are fighting back. Kih'Nyiah is one of more than 60 girls and young women who have been trained as coastal stewards, tasked with planting indigenous trees to slow coastal erosion, protecting the nesting sites of critically endangered turtles, and making and managing beach bins. ABS-TV Antigua covered Adopt-A-Coastline and the Planet Versus Plastic Earth Day theme in an interview with Adopt-a-Coastline's executive director Kat Byles and Kaiesha Joseph, who is featured in the BBC story. YouTube Video There are ongoing efforts in Antigua and Barbuda to prepare for future hurricanes. The Antigua and Barbuda Department of Environment has been working with the United Nations Environment Programme to institute low-interest revolving loans. How communal loans are helping Antigua and Barbuda brace for hurricanes The Caribbean island of Barbuda still bears the battle scars of its most brutal encounter with climate change. In 2017, Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 leviathan of unprecedented power, roared across its pristine turquoise waters. The island’s only storm shelter collapsed, with 300 people hiding inside. Around 95% of Barbuda’s buildings were wrecked, including homes, schools, and critical infrastructure. “I have just witnessed a level of devastation that I have never seen in my life,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres following a visit to the island. [...] The latest science shows that climate change is accelerating faster than previously thought, and the need for reliable adaptation solutions has never been more urgent, especially in the developing world, where communities are generally more vulnerable to climate shocks. According to UNEP’s Adaptation Gap Report, the current adaptation finance flows to developing countries are 5 to 10 times below estimated needs, which are around US $160 to $340 billion by 2030 and US $315 to $565 billion by 2050. [...] Traditional home insurance is practically out of reach due to escalating climate risks. [...] Addressing this, the Antigua and Barbuda Department of Environment has been working with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to roll out a revolving loans program, which allows residents to obtain low-interest loans for hurricane-proofing their homes. Once repaid, the funds assist another family, perpetuating a cycle of community resilience. In November, UNEP posted this short video, talking with recipients about how the loans empowered them to change both their houses and their lives. YouTube Video Diann Black-Lane, director of Antigua and Barbuda’s Department of the Environment, explains that the program “offers the homeowner a very long period of time to pay back” the collateral-free loans. “The default rate is very low in this community-run system.” Join me in the comments for more on climate projects throughout the Caribbean, and for the weekly Caribbean News Roundup. Campaign Action
JoriPress
When looking at the impact of climate change on the Caribbean, it is important to pay attention to and support local efforts to mitigate it. Our news agencies tend to cover climate disasters only as they are happening—then they move on, rarely returning to see how people are faring, coping, or recovering. The Caribbean countries are no exception to this rule.
That’s the reality for the dual-island Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda. You may remember that Hurricane Irma virtually wiped out Barbuda (not to be confused with Barbados) in September 2017; you may not know that nearly seven years later, tiny Barbuda—comprising just 3% of the nation’s 101,489 residents—and its larger sibling Antigua have been facing multiple challenges ever since.
Caribbean Matters is a weekly series from Daily Kos. If you are unfamiliar with the region, check out Caribbean Matters: Getting to know the countries of the Caribbean.
I was elated to see the BBC featuring a group of young women in Antigua and Barbuda who are addressing climate change. Gemma Handy in St. Johns, Antigua, wrote:
'I want to erase my own footprint': The women looking after an island paradise
Kih'Nyiah McKay may be just 11 years old, but she is keenly aware of the climate crisis.
She knows the loss of trees reduces oxygen and that dumped garbage kills the sea turtles that keep the ocean around her healthy. "Young people need to save the Earth," she says with a solemnity that belies her age.
It is only March, but the sun outside is already blisteringly hot, posing a challenge for the electric fans battling valiantly to keep Kih'Nyiah's classroom cool.
In Antigua, like the rest of the Caribbean, the impacts of climate change are a daily reality, evidenced in receding beaches, worsening hurricanes, debilitating droughts, and increasingly suffocating summers.
Some islanders, however, are fighting back.
Kih'Nyiah is one of more than 60 girls and young women who have been trained as coastal stewards, tasked with planting indigenous trees to slow coastal erosion, protecting the nesting sites of critically endangered turtles, and making and managing beach bins.
ABS-TV Antigua covered Adopt-A-Coastline and the Planet Versus Plastic Earth Day theme in an interview with Adopt-a-Coastline's executive director Kat Byles and Kaiesha Joseph, who is featured in the BBC story.
There are ongoing efforts in Antigua and Barbuda to prepare for future hurricanes. The Antigua and Barbuda Department of Environment has been working with the United Nations Environment Programme to institute low-interest revolving loans.
How communal loans are helping Antigua and Barbuda brace for hurricanes
The Caribbean island of Barbuda still bears the battle scars of its most brutal encounter with climate change. In 2017, Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 leviathan of unprecedented power, roared across its pristine turquoise waters. The island’s only storm shelter collapsed, with 300 people hiding inside. Around 95% of Barbuda’s buildings were wrecked, including homes, schools, and critical infrastructure.
“I have just witnessed a level of devastation that I have never seen in my life,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres following a visit to the island.
[...]
The latest science shows that climate change is accelerating faster than previously thought, and the need for reliable adaptation solutions has never been more urgent, especially in the developing world, where communities are generally more vulnerable to climate shocks. According to UNEP’s Adaptation Gap Report, the current adaptation finance flows to developing countries are 5 to 10 times below estimated needs, which are around US $160 to $340 billion by 2030 and US $315 to $565 billion by 2050.
[...]
Traditional home insurance is practically out of reach due to escalating climate risks.
[...]
Addressing this, the Antigua and Barbuda Department of Environment has been working with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to roll out a revolving loans program, which allows residents to obtain low-interest loans for hurricane-proofing their homes. Once repaid, the funds assist another family, perpetuating a cycle of community resilience.
In November, UNEP posted this short video, talking with recipients about how the loans empowered them to change both their houses and their lives.
Diann Black-Lane, director of Antigua and Barbuda’s Department of the Environment, explains that the program “offers the homeowner a very long period of time to pay back” the collateral-free loans. “The default rate is very low in this community-run system.”
Join me in the comments for more on climate projects throughout the Caribbean, and for the weekly Caribbean News Roundup. Campaign Action
