STAKEHOLDERS at a workshop discussing the impact of climate change on Jamaica said funding agencies have failed to underwrite projects to counter its effects.

Mayor of Portmore Keith Hinds and Jamaica project manager for the second national communication on climate change Clifford Mahlung both noted that proposed projects such as sea walls to battle rising waves in the event of hurricanes have not received the necessary funding from donor agencies.

Making an impromptu presentation at last Tuesday’s workshop looking at the status of Jamaica’s readiness for climate change, Hinds said he received death threats and no funding for his efforts to protect the Hellshire beach and remove squatters from there.

“It is unfortunate that a handful of squatters feel they can hold a whole city to ransom because they want to live on an area that has no facilities to accommodate over 400 persons,” he said, adding that he had received four death threats from people against the removal of the informal settlers.

As mayor for the St Catherine community of an estimated 400,000 people, Hinds feared for the safety of its residents in the event of a massive hurricane. He reminded his audience at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston that New Orleans was partly destroyed by Hurricane Katrina because of a lack of preparation.

“There is only two feet of sand left on some areas of the Hellshire beach. If a hurricane comes in an excessive way, there is going to be no such thing left as Hellshire beach,” Hinds said. “How do I get organisations like United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other stakeholders to understand that close to half a million people would be vulnerable if that kind of a disaster should come?”

The impassioned mayor suggested that conferences on climate change were not achieving practical results.

“We need to come off our verandah chairs and intellectual talk and get serious. Stop the talking. It’s time for some action and the time is now,” he said.

Mahlung noted that although climate change was now getting the international attention it deserves, efforts at funding have remained “largely insignificant”. He said for example that a special climate change fund established in The Hague in 2000 had only received US$40 million out of a pledged US$400 million.

He added that the administrators of the fund had stated that they would not bankroll concrete projects such as sea walls and other sea defences. Mahlung said the national consultation was the place to make the case for such projects on behalf of the region.

The workshop discussed issues such as climate change vulnerability, adaptation assessments and a draft regional strategic plan for building resilience to climate change. It featured several presentations from experts on coastal resources and human settlements; water and agriculture; climate scenarios and human health; tourism and the regional strategy for building resilience to climate change.