THE Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) and the United States Agency for International Development for the Eastern and Southern Caribbean (USAID)/ESC launched the Climate Change Adaptation Programme (CCAP) last week at the CCCCC’s headquarters in Belmopan, Belize.
The CCAP, which will be implemented by the CCCCC, commits US$25.6 million over four years to boost climate-resilient development and reduce climate change-induced risks to human and natural assets in 10 countries.

According to a release by the centre, the beneficiary countries are Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname. USAID’s Chief of Mission, Christopher Cushing, the wide array of stakeholders in attendance at the programme launch stated that, “this partnership seeks to reduce the risks to human and natural assets resulting from climate variability in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean. We will work together with the 5Cs to create an integrated system to sustainably adapt to climate change in the ECS.

The climate-resilient development initiative contributes to a coherent regional effort to tackle climate change-induced challenges in the Caribbean. It builds upon both USAID’s Eastern and Southern Caribbean Regional Development Cooperative Strategy, which is addressing development challenges in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean, and the CCCCC’s Regional Framework for Achieving Development Resilient to a Changing Climate and its associated Implementation Plan that were unanimously endorsed by Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads. “Our helping communities and government manage their water sources or sometimes, the lack thereof, is encouraging the private sector and others to adopt renewable energy approaches, while working with governments so they can develop the right frameworks and policies to encourage the uptake of renewable,” states Cushing.

The Executive Director of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre, Dr. Kenrick Leslie, added that the programme shows the value of partnership for capacity-building and realising tangible outcomes. He noted that “donor countries stand with us side by side because they recognised the need for an institution that would help lead the way to address the issues of climate change and sea-level rise. “While CCAP is a programme to help the Eastern and Southern Caribbean countries, it is helping the Centre to have the skills that will help us to propel the needs of our region in developing programmes to meet our obligations.”

The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre coordinates the region’s response to climate change. Officially opened in August 2005, the Centre is the key node for information on climate change issues and the region’s response to managing and adapting to climate change. We maintain the Caribbean’s most extensive repository of information and data on climate change specific to the region, which in part enables us to provide climate change-related policy advice and guidelines to CARICOM member states through the CARICOM Secretariat. In this role, the Centre is recognised by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the United Nations Environment Programme, and other international agencies as the focal point for climate change issues in the Caribbean. The Centre is also a United Nations Institute for Training and Research recognised Centre of Excellence, one of an elite few.