Authored by: Sigourney Joyette 19/02/2014
This paper was written toward the citizens of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the Global community. Solely for education and enlightenment. We as a people need to realize the severity of climate change and the impacts on our daily lives. It is important to develop adaptation and mitigation skills. This artifact has been created to be part of the Final Project for the MOOC "Turn Down the Heat: Why a 4°C world must be avoided", offered by the World Bank and Coursera.
This paper was written toward the citizens of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the Global community. Solely for education and enlightenment. We as a people need to realize the severity of climate change and the impacts on our daily lives. It is important to develop adaptation and mitigation skills. This artifact has been created to be part of the Final Project for the MOOC "Turn Down the Heat: Why a 4°C world must be avoided", offered by the World Bank and Coursera.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a small Eastern Caribbean island state consisting of 30 islands, inlets, and cays with a total land area of 345 Km². These islands are part of the Windward Island chain of the Lesser Antilles. Most of the land area and 91 percent of the country’s population of 111,105 are on the main island, St. Vincent. The Grenadine's extend south for 45 miles.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines, is well aware of the consequences of the extensive injections of Green House Gases into the atmosphere. Being a small island state with most of its infrastructure along the coast, it is particularly vulnerable to accelerated sea-level rise due to global warming. A coastal vulnerability pilot project under the CPACC programme projected an average sea-level rise for the region of 5.0 mm/year with an uncertainty range of 2.0-9.0 mm/year. These projected figures are two to five times greater than the rate experienced over the last 100 years. An increase in sea-level rise will be costly for the island of St. Vincent. Significant problems also exist for the Grenadines, where they have fragile ecological systems.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines, is well aware of the consequences of the extensive injections of Green House Gases into the atmosphere. Being a small island state with most of its infrastructure along the coast, it is particularly vulnerable to accelerated sea-level rise due to global warming. A coastal vulnerability pilot project under the CPACC programme projected an average sea-level rise for the region of 5.0 mm/year with an uncertainty range of 2.0-9.0 mm/year. These projected figures are two to five times greater than the rate experienced over the last 100 years. An increase in sea-level rise will be costly for the island of St. Vincent. Significant problems also exist for the Grenadines, where they have fragile ecological systems.
The increase in the rate of global warming will affect temperatures, carbon dioxide concentrations and precipitation.
For agriculture, soaring daily temperatures destroy fruits and foods at premature stages. Given the importance of agriculture to the country’s economic base, further work is warranted to assess climate-change-related impacts in agriculture and to identify appropriate adaptation measures.
Particular importance is placed on the changes in the precipitation patterns, that causes relatively wet areas to become dry, with substantial impacts on agriculture. St. Vincent though relatively wet, with an abundance of surface water from rivers and streams, The Grenadines still continue to experience severe shortages of both surface and ground water.
For agriculture, soaring daily temperatures destroy fruits and foods at premature stages. Given the importance of agriculture to the country’s economic base, further work is warranted to assess climate-change-related impacts in agriculture and to identify appropriate adaptation measures.
Particular importance is placed on the changes in the precipitation patterns, that causes relatively wet areas to become dry, with substantial impacts on agriculture. St. Vincent though relatively wet, with an abundance of surface water from rivers and streams, The Grenadines still continue to experience severe shortages of both surface and ground water.
Main sources and sectors of Green House Emissions?
St. Vincent and the Grenadines although it's relative contributions to global warming are low- 0.00% - It's energy sector accounts for 42% of total CO2 emissions, transport accounts for 36% total using 19942, while residential, manufacturing and other sectors account for under 10% of total emissions.
Types of Mitigation in place to reduce emissions?
Types of proactive adaptation?
What can be done....what can we do?
References:
1 http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/natc/svgnc1.pdf
2 http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/natc/svgnc1.pdf
http://www.cbd.int/doc/world/vc/vc-nr-04-en.pdf
St. Vincent and the Grenadines although it's relative contributions to global warming are low- 0.00% - It's energy sector accounts for 42% of total CO2 emissions, transport accounts for 36% total using 19942, while residential, manufacturing and other sectors account for under 10% of total emissions.
Types of Mitigation in place to reduce emissions?
- The importation of used vehicles is a major concern, given their lower operating efficiency. During the fiscal year 1998-99, government imposed a tax on aged vehicles to discourage importation.
- The Forestry Division is aggressively pursuing the replanting of forests.
- Consideration of more use of islands hydroelectric capacity.
Types of proactive adaptation?
- Agricultural reform that promotes a strong, viable agricultural base able to adapt to changing climatic
- Protection of water-supply sources and improved harnessing and distribution systems to accommodate competing uses with increasing water demand and water supply variability.
- The enhancement of water quality, addressing municipal and industrial discharges and urban and agricultural runoff.
- An expansion of the country’s environmental education programme that speaks to climate change, vulnerability, sustainability , human health, and safety.
- The provision of incentives for investment in renewable energy, including solar and wind energy and hydrogen-fuel-based transportation
What can be done....what can we do?
- More funding should be made available for SIDS to implement action research to determine the impacts and benefits of biodiversity conservation to improving resilience to global climate change.
- Citizens must be educated about the downsides of burning fossil fuel and improperly dispose of waste, along with knowledge concerning the use of chemicals and the danger it presents to marine lives and animals.
- Similarly, the government must pursue renewable energy sources in an effort to, over time, eliminate or reduce the use of conventional fossil fuel required to generate energy. Coupled with this, reservoirs and a rainwater harvesting system must be developed and implemented to aid in the irrigation process during droughts.
- Additionally, infrastructure upgrade is vital. Buildings worldwide are contributing approximately one third of greenhouse gas emissions considering that investing in thicker insulation and other cost-effective, temperature-regulating initiatives can save money in the long run. While power demands continue to rise electric grids are at capacity. Although some vehicles are fuel efficient, bad roads can reduce the fuel economy. Henceforth, investing in new infrastructure, or radically improving existing roads, could help in the reduction of greenhouse gas emission and prompted economic growth.
References:
1 http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/natc/svgnc1.pdf
2 http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/natc/svgnc1.pdf
http://www.cbd.int/doc/world/vc/vc-nr-04-en.pdf