50
Climate change is harming St. Vincent and the
Grenadines, i.e. a negative impact regarding how it
affects livelihoods such as its impact on tourism,
agriculture and fisheries.
This view was endorsed by policymaker and
senior official Y1 who highlighted the links
between coral reefs and tourism and fisheries
livelihoods:
Coral reefs are the backbone of the fishing and
tourism industries in the Caribbean. When coral
reefs are dying in large quantities, they would not
be able to produce the amount of food that is normally produced (for younger fishes). This will
reduce the number of fishes on the reefs. Tourists
go to the reefs to see the diversity of the organisms
living on these reefs. Therefore, any decrease in
the diversity of animals living on these reefs will
result in a decrease in the number of tourists visiting St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Youth were able to make similar linkages to
agriculture and tourism. Over three-quarters of
the youth viewed agriculture as an essential livelihood for small island communities. An essential
aspect of the agricultural cropping system is the
fruiting process. A young male from FDG X5
explained the confusion that climate change is
causing:
Climate Change has confused the fruiting seasons
of the crops. Fruits and other crops are not bearing
during the dry season when they typically do
(Climate change ah cars serias confushon fuh e
frootin tyme. E froot crap ah dem nah no wen fuh
senout dem flowa. Me member wen de froot ah dem
use feh bear inah eh deh dry season (pause). Nat
agen, e nah hap’nin).
Half of the policymakers and senior officials
blamed the impact of climate change on the various economic sectors for the high unemployment
among youth in SVG. On the issue on the effect
of climate change on specific livelihood sector,
they linked the high level of unemployment
among youth to the severe impact of climate
change on agriculture and tourism. Compounded
with problems in agriculture, policymakers and
senior officials are of the view that farmers are
involved in poor agricultural cropping practices
on the hillsides which are causing poor soil
fertility.
All the youths were angry and, at times, quite
agitated regarding the issue under discussion.
The youth cogently argued that not all the livelihoods that are available to them are sustainable
under the impact of climate change. They spoke
of the devastating impact of climate change on
agriculture, tourism and fisheries and suggested
that governments and stakeholders should work
together to ensure that resources are provided for
training, education and research to enable the
sustainability of these livelihoods.
The issue of insurance to support microbusiness operators was a primary concern for both
youth and policymakers. Youth recommend that
government should work with local insurance
companies and farmers’ unions to develop an
insurance system to assist farmers and small
business operators in underwriting their businesses from climate change-related transactions. They also request a training in soil
conservation and sustainable farming practices,
research in the production of disease- and
drought-resistant crops and the creation of
marine parks to protect coral reefs and other
ecosystems as strategies for developing sustainable livelihoods in the agriculture, tourism and
fisheries sectors. Youth stressed that policymakers are not listening to the views of young people. They are not learning from the experiences
in developing CCA, and they are not trying different interventions. SIDS depend on agriculture, tourism and fisheries as their main sources
of livelihood (Simpson et al. 2010; CARIBSAVE
2012; Nurse et al. 2014; Chatenoux and Wolf
2013). On the issue of tourism, the Caribbean is
the most tourist-dependable region in the world
(Chatenoux and Wolf 2013) attracting over 22
million tourists annually and providing a livelihood for over 2.2 million workers.
Low Community Capacity
Besides the unsustainable development practices
in communities throughout SVG, over threequarters of policymakers and senior officials are
distressed by the low capacity within the communities to deal with climate change and other
development challenges. Policymaker and senior
official Y2 states:
3 Implementation of the Conceptual Framework for Youth Adaption in Climate Change on SIDS
Climate change is harming St. Vincent and the
Grenadines, i.e. a negative impact regarding how it
affects livelihoods such as its impact on tourism,
agriculture and fisheries.
This view was endorsed by policymaker and
senior official Y1 who highlighted the links
between coral reefs and tourism and fisheries
livelihoods:
Coral reefs are the backbone of the fishing and
tourism industries in the Caribbean. When coral
reefs are dying in large quantities, they would not
be able to produce the amount of food that is normally produced (for younger fishes). This will
reduce the number of fishes on the reefs. Tourists
go to the reefs to see the diversity of the organisms
living on these reefs. Therefore, any decrease in
the diversity of animals living on these reefs will
result in a decrease in the number of tourists visiting St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Youth were able to make similar linkages to
agriculture and tourism. Over three-quarters of
the youth viewed agriculture as an essential livelihood for small island communities. An essential
aspect of the agricultural cropping system is the
fruiting process. A young male from FDG X5
explained the confusion that climate change is
causing:
Climate Change has confused the fruiting seasons
of the crops. Fruits and other crops are not bearing
during the dry season when they typically do
(Climate change ah cars serias confushon fuh e
frootin tyme. E froot crap ah dem nah no wen fuh
senout dem flowa. Me member wen de froot ah dem
use feh bear inah eh deh dry season (pause). Nat
agen, e nah hap’nin).
Half of the policymakers and senior officials
blamed the impact of climate change on the various economic sectors for the high unemployment
among youth in SVG. On the issue on the effect
of climate change on specific livelihood sector,
they linked the high level of unemployment
among youth to the severe impact of climate
change on agriculture and tourism. Compounded
with problems in agriculture, policymakers and
senior officials are of the view that farmers are
involved in poor agricultural cropping practices
on the hillsides which are causing poor soil
fertility.
All the youths were angry and, at times, quite
agitated regarding the issue under discussion.
The youth cogently argued that not all the livelihoods that are available to them are sustainable
under the impact of climate change. They spoke
of the devastating impact of climate change on
agriculture, tourism and fisheries and suggested
that governments and stakeholders should work
together to ensure that resources are provided for
training, education and research to enable the
sustainability of these livelihoods.
The issue of insurance to support microbusiness operators was a primary concern for both
youth and policymakers. Youth recommend that
government should work with local insurance
companies and farmers’ unions to develop an
insurance system to assist farmers and small
business operators in underwriting their businesses from climate change-related transactions. They also request a training in soil
conservation and sustainable farming practices,
research in the production of disease- and
drought-resistant crops and the creation of
marine parks to protect coral reefs and other
ecosystems as strategies for developing sustainable livelihoods in the agriculture, tourism and
fisheries sectors. Youth stressed that policymakers are not listening to the views of young people. They are not learning from the experiences
in developing CCA, and they are not trying different interventions. SIDS depend on agriculture, tourism and fisheries as their main sources
of livelihood (Simpson et al. 2010; CARIBSAVE
2012; Nurse et al. 2014; Chatenoux and Wolf
2013). On the issue of tourism, the Caribbean is
the most tourist-dependable region in the world
(Chatenoux and Wolf 2013) attracting over 22
million tourists annually and providing a livelihood for over 2.2 million workers.
Low Community Capacity
Besides the unsustainable development practices
in communities throughout SVG, over threequarters of policymakers and senior officials are
distressed by the low capacity within the communities to deal with climate change and other
development challenges. Policymaker and senior
official Y2 states:
3 Implementation of the Conceptual Framework for Youth Adaption in Climate Change on SIDS