How Northeastern is helping Caribbean communities combat climate change and extreme weather
The Global Resilience Institute, along with GRRN island members, is partnering with three communities in Barbados and Dominica to develop plans to respond to rising sea level rise and hurricanes—and build sustainable economies.
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“… The goal is to address locations where the impact of climate change is most urgent and to eventually scale the lessons learned across other small island states in the Caribbean and Pacific regions. Lessons learned can also be applied to mainland societies in North America and Europe, Flynn says.
“The Caribbean Islands are essentially a microcosm of the challenges we’re all facing” in terms of climate change, Flynn says. “They also face the most extreme vulnerability. If you’re on a small island like Dominica and a volcano goes off or a major hurricane strikes, you’re stuck.”
It’s important to involve the local community to identify which needs are greatest, what capacities are indigenous to the area and also to get local buy-in, Flynn says.”