Caribbean countries are in the tropical area between latitudes 11 and 18 degrees north, mainly constitute of island states with small rugged and mountainous areas of plains in coastal areas. Some islands are originated from volcano, while others consists mainly of coral reefs. The Caribbean region is famous for its physical beauty and its unique culture. For a long time, local people make livelihoods mainly relying on the natural resources, ranging from metals and minerals to endemic flora, fauna and marine life. Coastal areas are densely population that approximately 70% of the Caribbean population live in this region and also most of the capital cities are mostly situated along the coast (World Bank, 2013).
The Caribbean area is faced with series of natural risks related to climate change such as sea- level rise; warmer air and surface sea temperatures; frequent extreme weather events, less precipitation and more and severe droughts. The Caribbean Sea has warmed by 1.5ºC over the last century, which could be detected from the increasing number of heavy rainfall events (UNEP, 2008). Besides, the small and low-lying Caribbean states share a series of social and economic challenges, namely, a strong dependence on the natural resource in terms of agriculture, fishing, forestry,tourism, mining and manufacture industry; high transportation and communication costs; vulnerability to natural hazards; land and fresh water scarcity; and ever increasing stress on coastal and marine ecosystem (UNEC, 2011).
Change Temperature (Annual Mean) by 2080s
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% Change Precipitation (Annual Mean) by 2080s
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Figure N° 1 Climate Change by 2080s
From:http://unfccc.int/files/adaptation/adverse_effects_and_response_measures_art_48/application/pdf...
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Source: The Economics of Climate Change of the Caribbean http://www.eclac.org/portofspain/noticias/paginas/0/44160/Final_Caribbean_RECC_Summary_Report%5B1-3%5D.pdf Ø Health. Threats to health posed by extreme weather events in the Caribbean include insect- and rodent-borne diseases, such as dengue, leptospirosis, malaria and yellow fever; respiratory diseases, including bronchitis, asthma and respiratory allergies and infections; and malnutrition resulting from food production or distribution disruptions water-borne diseases, including schistosomiasis, cholera and cryptosporidium; food-borne diseases, including diarrhea,salmonellosis, food poisoning, and typhoid (UNEP, 2008).
Figure N° 2. Caribbean cost of Inaction. From: Stockholm Environment Institute www.sei-us.org/climate-and-energy/climate-economics.html Source:http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/G02498.pdf
The Caribbean has been an unexplained region throughout the test of time because there are many different depictions of what actually is happening. The ranging cultures in the Caribbean bring about many different points of view. A perfect example is how Cliff, Mintz, and Benitez-Rojo describe their version of the Caribbean. They discuss affairs in the Caribbean from the days of slave trading to present day issues. In analyzing their anecdotes and books, one can find not only similarities between them, but discrepancies as well. All three authors express their thoughts vividly, unleashing ideas about the Caribbean. Among the most important themes of these ideas were that of the plantation, identity, and social hierarchy.
The Caribbean, a region usually exoticized and depicted as tropical and similar in its environmental ways, cannot be characterized as homogenous. Each individual island has their own diverse historical background when it comes to how and when they became colonized, which European country had the strongest influence on them, and the unique individual cultures that were integrated into one. The three authors Sidney W. Mintz, Antonio Benitez-Rojo, and Michelle Cliff, all and address the problem of the Caribbean’s identity. They each discuss how the Caribbean’s diverse culture was created and molded by each individual island’s history, how its society was molded by the development of plantations, how the Caribbean dealt with the issue of slavery, and how miscegenation and the integration of cultures, as a result of slavery, contributed to the region’s individualism in regards to culture. Colonialism and acculturation and their impacts on the Caribbean islands were also important issues discussed by Mintz, Benitez-Rojo, and Cliff.
Environment - current issues: sewage pollution of Lago de Valencia; oil and urban pollution of Lago de Maracaibo; deforestation; soil degradation; urban and industrial pollution, especially along the Caribbean coast; threat to the rainforest ecosystem from irresponsible mining operations
The increased temperature created by climate change will affect the surface temperature of the oceans, thus creating changes in the atmospheric water content. This change is what will increase the rate of water-based natural disasters (Friederike, 2015). Since Haiti is an island nation, it is extremely vulnerable to natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes.
Climate scientists project that the detrimental effects of climate change will be most profoundly felt in low-income and tropical regions like Puerto Rico, making the island highly susceptible to climate change effects such as ocean acidification, rising temperatures and sea levels, and increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Puerto Rico’s Climate Change Council (PRCCC) expects that the rising sea levels in Puerto Rico will affect our infrastructure, freshwater resources, agriculture, ecosystems and economic growth. The government needs to decide whether Puerto Rico requires more elaborate strategies for combatting rising sea levels, while taking into consideration what measures are
The geography of Cuba is very diverse, with large mountain ranges spanning the western and south central regions, and a beautiful 2,320 mile coastline that boasts white, sandy beaches to the north. The semitropical climate of Cuba supports lush, agricultural fields in which many species of plants and animals thrive.
...duct research and assessments on the projected impact of climate change in order to increase resiliency, adaptability, improve infrastructure, and implement these type of plans into the National Infrastructure Protection Plan and the Strategic National Risk Assessment (CNA Military Advisory Board, 2014). Strategic planning for the potential impact of climate change should also consider the water-food-energy nexus, which is essentially the linkage between water and energy for food production (agriculture and livestock) and is incredibly important because it increases global food security (CNA Military Advisory Board, 2014). It is also notable that rising sea levels can impact defense infrastructure in many ways including reliance on surrounding communities, transportation, energy, and port facilities, ultimately hindering response (CNA Military Advisory Board, 2014).
Vulnerability of socio-economic and natural systems to climate change, consequences, and adaptation options and also analyse options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
During the period of 1640-1690 the expansion of the Caribbean “economy, was made possible by the expansion of the European colonisation over the Atlantic. However Africans were captured for slave trade to sustain the development of sugar industry, through slave labour to produce sugarcane.” (Grouchier & Walton, 1629: 418-420). The scramble for Africa brought about gender inequality within the African society, the European invasion in the Atlantic introduced some political conflicts regarding the demand for economic control and to take over the Atlantic. (Hornsby & Hermann, 2005: 127). Nevertheless sugar plantation was jointly supported by the cooperate finance and the state. (Stuart, 2004: 3-8). However according to Richards most sugar plantation owners would have to anticipate that their international investors would desire a large amount of raw sugar. (Richard, 1974: 38). nevertheless the attitude of the plantation owners was partly due to an increased amount of “optimism” and partly because of the difficulty of international communications in the 17th century. This shared attitude brought a lot of farmer’s to debtor’s prison while some extremely prospered. (Mints, 44-45). Nevertheless this essay will pay attention to economic, political and social consequences of the sugar revolution in the Caribbean.
According to the World Bank Development Report 2013 there has been an increase in global surface temperature of 0.4 to 0.9 Celsius (C) in the past 100 years. This change in temperature largely caused, according to the IPCC, by the release of GHGs through human activities. There are several effects associated to the change in global temperature, mainly affecting ecosystems and populations worldwide. Among these effects or consequences are sea-level rise, drought, floods, loss of mangroves, and the intensification of storms and climate processes such as El Nino and La Nina. Recent studies have focused on sea-level rise and the global effects. Over the past 100 years, sea levels have increased by 10 to 20 centimeters (World Bank, 2003). Moreover, arctic sea-ice has continued to shrink up to 10 percent or more of its total mass and by 40 percent of its thickness. Glaciers and small ice caps are rapidly melting, causing several changes in the flows of rivers and ecosystems, as well as adding to the increase of sea levels. Sea level rise will most likely severely affect unprepared, developing countries and their populations. Concomitantly, developed industrial countries with higher levels of GDP are likely to cope more efficiently with the effects of sea level rise. This paper will focus on the prognosticated socio-economic costs of s...
In her essay, “Last Resorts: The Cost of Tourism in the Caribbean”, journalist Polly Pattullo presents an inside view of the resort industry in the Caribbean Islands, and how it truly operates. Tourism is the main industry of the Caribbean, formerly referred to as the West Indies, and it is the major part of the economy there. Pattullo’s essay mirrors the ideas of Trevor M.A. Farrell’s perspective “Decolonization in the English-Speaking Caribbean” in which he writes about the implicit meaning of the colonial condition. Pattollo’s essay illustrates that colonialism is present in the Caribbean tourism industry by comparing the meaning of it presented in Farrell’s perspective. In this essay I will explain how these two essays explain how decolonization hardly exists in the Caribbean.
Hardy, J. T. Climate Change: Causes, Effects, and Solutions. New York: J. Wiley, 2003. Print.
West Indian Commission (1992) An Overview of the Report of the West Indian Commission: Time for Action, Barbados: West Indian Commission.
One of the major effects of global warming is the rise of sea level due to thermal expansion of the ocean, in addition to the melting of land ice. Now there are dozens of land areas that sit well below sea level and the majority of those land areas are very well populated. At least 40 percent of the world 's population lives within 62 miles of the ocean, putting millions of lives and billions of dollars ' worth of property and infrastructure at risk. (Juliet Christian-Smith, 2011) This means if the sea level rises to the projected level of 25 meters (82 feet) half of the world will retreat back to the ocean. (Rohrer, 2007) Also rising sea levels means higher tides and storm surges riding on ever-higher seas which are more dangerous to people and coastal inf...
The sea level rising and the warmth of the sea through the global rise in temperature, helps to promote the strength and the frequency of the hurricanes. In just 2017 so far, we have 10 hurricanes and 6 major hurricanes in the Caribbean region. According to Dr. Parham, there are four major effects likely to occur as a result of climate change in the region. He identifies these as warmer temperatures which are already being observed; more natural disasters such as hurricanes, which are formed when sea temperature rises above a certain level; change in rainfall patterns and coastal