• Climate change and disaster
  risk reduction
  
  
• Forests and Livelihoods

Assessing the impacts of climate change on community based sustainable use of forest resources in the Caribbean

Background

In 2009, the Caribbean Regional Unit for Technical Assistance (CARUTA) project, which is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Barbados and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), in collaboration with the CARICOM Secretariat, partnered with CANARI towards a collaboration in the field of sustainable use and management of natural resources (including forestry) and climate change in the Caribbean region. The CARUTA project is aimed at strengthening the national regional capacities in the agricultural sector.

CANARI conducted a study to inform policy-makers about the impacts of climate change on community use of forestry resources, and potential interventions for adaptation in the Caribbean.  The study sought to identify forest-based livelihood activities in communities, actual and projected climate change impacts on these activities, and possible interventions to increase the communities’ resilience to climate change, in the 10 countries participating in the UNDP-CARUTA project, namely Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Objectives

• To identify existing and planned interventions (including changes in policy and practice) for adaptation of forest-based livelihoods in the Caribbean to the impacts of climate change.
• To raise awareness of policy makers and other stakeholders on the potential impacts of climate change on community livelihoods based on the use of forest resources.
• To highlight the need for and identify opportunities to address the impacts of climate change on community livelihoods based on the use of forest resources to policy makers and others.
• To identify potential interventions for improving community resilience to climate change, and adaptation of forest-based livelihoods in the Caribbean, including the potential livelihood opportunities that forests can support to aid adaptation and participation in the UN-REDD initiative.
• To make recommendations to policy makers about improving community resilience and supporting forest-based community livelihoods in the context of climate change impacts on the Caribbean.
• To identify key areas for further research and awareness building on climate change and forest-based livelihoods.

Outputs

Final project report: Assessing the impacts of climate change on community-based sustainable use of forest resources in the Caribbean