A Government Minister is saying that Barbados and other Caribbean nations must tackle the climate change crisis head on through investing in resilient infrastructure.
Minister in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Investment, Marsha Caddle believes that countries should be building a particularly resilient agricultural sector, which is one of those hardest hit by climate change, but is critical to the economy.
Caddle said this is why the Mia Mottley-led administration has launched the Farmer Enfranchisement and Empowerment Drive (FEED) programme to give farmers access to the financing to fund future forward approaches to agriculture including aquaponics and hydroponics.
“It is not only because you need to climate proof the sector, but it is also because the kinds of technologies that are being developed and that young people are interested in go beyond walking into a field and kind of having that traditional approach to agriculture,” Caddle said.
The Minister raised the point as she led a youth panel discussion on “Climate Change and Climate Resilience” hosted by the Rotary Club of Barbados, at the Graduate Studies Conference Room, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, this morning.
Caddle said, as a result of climate change, Barbados was experiencing an extended period of drought causing communities to be impacted by water shortages.
She said the drought has been punctuated by intense rainfall, which is not enough to significantly boost the water supply but yet causes flooding, land slippage and disruption to crops.
“It means that your entire livelihood is now subjected to a much higher level of risk and lack of predictability. It means you don’t know how much money you are likely to make, you don’t know how much insurance you may need, or you may not be able to get any because of the higher levels of risk. It creates higher degrees of uncertainties,” she said.
She also stated that countries must put significant effort into creating economic sectors that are less vulnerable to the climate change crisis.
She also mentioned that as a result of extreme hurricane systems, countries in the region have been experiencing as much as a 300 per cent loss in their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and have been struggling to rebuild their infrastructure and economies.
On that note, Caddle encouraged those young people who participated in the discussion to keep the conversation going even when they leave the room.
During the discussion the participants spoke about climate change issues affecting Small Island Developing States and some even offered suggestions on how governments can put measures in place to tackle these problems.
But Caddle stressed that at the same time, UWI has a critical role to play in helping to guide the concept of international law on climate change issues and to help in developing clear solutions on the matter.
“We think that the University of the West Indies is well positioned to be the ones to lead thinking and research and to say ‘we believe that this body of work we have done should inform your work in these ways.'”(AH)
