ST. KITTS AND NEVIS STANDS TO BENEFIT FROM CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION PROJECT

Basseterre, St. Kitts, January 20, 2017 (SKNIS): St. Kitts and Nevis is one of ten (10) countries in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean that stands to benefit from the Climate Change Adaptation Project (CCAP) project, which was launched late 2016 by the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

A technical team comprising of six (6) persons from the CCCCC and the USAID, visited the federation from January 19-20, to sensitize the country, as well as initiate the implementation of the CCAP. The project amounts to approximately US$25.6 million and will be implemented over a four year period, ending in September, 2020.

Cheryl Jeffers, Conservation Officer in the Department of Environment, said that the project is extremely important to St. Kitts and Nevis.

“The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC), as well as collaboration from the USAID, has recognized the importance of Caribbean countries such as St. Kitts and Nevis in building their resilience as it relates to climate change,” said Ms. Jeffers. “St. Kitts and Nevis is recognized as a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) and the projected impacts of climate change, even though the contribution towards greenhouse gas inventory is miniscule, the adverse impacts as it relates to climate change are projected to be devastating and as such it is important that we as a people develop our resiliency in combating the adverse impacts of climate change.”

Joseph McGann, Project Manager, said that the project was developed with global warming in mind.

“The programme was developed with the understanding that climate change is real and that there are a number of challenges that have been created for the Eastern and Southern Caribbean in particular and for the Caribbean region on a whole as a result of global warming,” said the project manager. “As a region, we emit very miniscule amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, nevertheless, global warming is affecting the region and therefore we have to first identify the challenges, come up with means to address the challenges and then implement actions to help to bring us closer to adaptation to the impacts of climate change.”

This project will implement various activities under three technical components, which include upgrading and expanding the country’s climate-related data management processes, identifying and testing the feasibility of innovative adaptation approaches and ensuring climate finance for the scaling-up and replication of cost effective, sustainable adaptation initiatives.