THE vibrancy of the Caribbean is slowly melting away. The culprit: climate change.

In fact, on the heels of a World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) warning that the region will become the “most at-risk tourist destination” in the world between 2025 and 2050, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has urged countries in the Caribbean to take climate change adaptation more seriously.

This year alone, Caribbean nationals have seen some bizarre weather occurrences — the apparent realities of a wounded Mother Nature — including record-breaking heat, the eruption of La Soufrière volcano in St Vincent and the Grenadines which sent ash as far as Barbados, and a busier than usual 2021 Atlantic hurricane season.

In Haiti, widespread deforestation and unmaintained drainage infrastructure have been identified as factors that have increased the French-speaking Caribbean country’s vulnerability to hurricanes, flooding, increasing temperatures, and worsening climate impacts.

According to Junior Brice, CEO of non-profit organisation LAVI/AYITI, who is from Carrefour, Haiti, more needs to be done to shield the country from the wrath of climate change.

“Haitian citizens are aware of global warming, since they have information related to it that is being shared,” the 35-year-old, who is at the helm of an organisation dedicated to promoting a better quality of life for Haitians through education and sensitisation, told the Jamaica Observer. “Some organisations in the civil society, like mine, are involved in the sensitisation of communities, but it is not enough.

“Of course, deforestation is still going on. I’m actually educating people to stop this, but it is very difficult as it is the means for them to provide for their families and send children to school. They cut trees to make charcoal and sell them,” he said.

Brice said that a lack of alternatives means they will continue.

“Regarding drainage, things that have been done are not significant. There is more to do,” he said.

In 2019, Haiti’s then Environment Minister Joseph Jouthe said the country was struggling to deal with climate change and compared it to a violent act. He also described it as a “very big terror” in Haiti.

In the interview with the Observer, Brice also recounted the catastrophic 7.0 magnitude earthquake that rocked Haiti on January 12, 2010, killing approximately 250,000 people and displacing five million.

“It was a bad experience. I pray that I will never experience it again. It was like the world was over, seeing people dying and you are powerless. [You are] willing to help but you have to protect yourself — thinking about your family, whether they are alive,” he said, linking the crippling earthquake to environmental stressors associated with climate change.

Brice also pointed to category five Hurricane Matthew, which lashed the country six years later.

“This was the most devastating hurricane. The [southern] part of the country was most affected. The losses were very bad… people died, and agricultural fields destroyed,” he said of the 2016 hurricane, which also greatly impacted the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and The Bahamas, causing US$434 million, US$2.58 billion and US$580 million in damage, respectively.

Shellicia Small of St Vincent and the Grenadines experienced two of the big “terrors” this year. The first occurred on April 9 when La Soufrière volcano erupted twice, sending blasts of ash up to six miles high and resulting in reduced visibility in many areas. A third eruption followed three days later. Then two weeks later, heavy rains lashed the country for hours, with some areas receiving up to five inches of rainfall.

“Most persons in St Vincent aren’t aware of what goes on, nor of the impact of global warming, but the Government does a lot of advertisements on the TV, radio, et cetera,” Small told the Observer.

“In my 30 years on this Earth, that [the volcanic eruption] was the worst disaster I’ve ever experienced. The volcano took a toll on us. Few persons have returned home from shelters… more are returning every day. Persons from the North Windward part of the island have yet to return home due to the extensive damage to roads, and water and electricity have yet to be returned to that part of the island. There’s a village called Sandy Bay that was badly damaged by the volcano and [the rains] made it even worse,” Small added, noting that her family had to evacuate their community of Owia, which was regarded as a danger zone.

In a budget debate earlier this year, Southern Grenadines Member of Parliament Terrance Ollivierre argued that climate change topics must be introduced in schools to appropriately address the issue.

“We must start with our young people. They must learn. Knowledge is power,” he said.

In Jamaica, at least one organisation believes that water adaptation, which involves water efficiency, resiliency and security, is the most serious threat to sustainable development.

“In the case of Jamaica, drought and shifting patterns of rainfall will increase the serious challenges already impacting the country’s water supply and distribution system. This climate adaptation approach must also involve the practice of water-use efficiency and conservation. Together, these will reduce the demand for water so that it is in line with supply,” Water Project Jamaica advised.

But Wanton Miller of Spring Gardens, Portland, told the Observer that water is poorly distributed in his community and surrounding areas.

“Where I am, the stream is there but no pipe water for years. I have to use river water or go to other communities that have pipe water to catch water. It’s bad distribution because certain sections have running water and certain sections don’t have any. They need to do something before it get worse,” he lamented.

And when heavy rains from tropical storms Eta and Zeta thrashed the island last year, Miller said the supply of water from the river was muddied.

“We couldn’t use the river water. It did dutty. I had to go to Bull Bay to catch water and carry down,” he said, noting that it’s an almost two-mile journey.

“And is that we are going to have to do again if hurricane or storm come and the river contaminated.”

The same issue exists in New Longsville, Clarendon. Everald Smith, who resides in Soursop Turn in the community, said he hasn’t had piped water since 2011. He shared that he has to journey long distances with multiple containers just to source water.

“I’ve been carrying water for 10 years. I have no running water — none at all. When the water do come a some people pipe, it gone before the day done. So, we have a big problem with water. It is terrible, especially for those who have kids to go to school. You have to get water for them to bathe and everything,” Smith said.

But Environment and Climate Change Minister Pearnel Charles Jr said Jamaica is at the forefront of the global discussion on climate action. In his 2021/2022 Sectoral Debate presentation, he said more is being done to address climate change.

“We are going to work assiduously to ensure Jamaica is in tune with all the work being done by our Climate Change Division. Climate change threatens the very economic base on which we seek to build our country. Cognisant of this, my ministry is moving to advance progress in building the country’s resilience to climate change,” the minister said.

Also, the World Meteorological Organization reported that September 2020 saw Dominica, Grenada and Puerto Rico breaking their national temperature records. On September 15, Canefield in Dominica recorded a temperature of 35.7°C. One day later, Point Salines in Grenada recorded 34°C, and on September 17, Aguirre in Puerto Rico recorded 37.8°C.

Meanwhile, the Meteorological Service of Jamaica reported that June 20 was the hottest day of the year so far for southern parishes, including Kingston and St Andrew, where the Shortwood Teachers’ College station recorded a high of 36.1°C.

And over in Antigua and Barbuda, heat is also a worry.

Garfield Gonsalves told the Observer that the days have got unbearably hotter in his country.

“It has been raining at least twice a week lately, so rainfall has been pretty steady. It is definitely hotter, which has made the land dryer [and that] has negatively affected the agriculture industry. Compared to previous years, currently, it is the hottest Antigua has ever been. It has been so hot lately that three weeks ago we experienced a couple wildfires.

“The beach is a safe haven on the island and keeps us hydrated, of course. Although the rain has helped somewhat, it still isn’t significant enough to make an exponential difference. When it comes to global warming measures, the Government has implemented solar-powered streetlights and buildings. The citizens have reacted positively to these advancements. They have definitely welcomed these changes. I do think most Antiguans are aware of the impact of global warming,” he said.

Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Browne said climate change is “the most significant threat facing our one planet and our one humanity”, at the ‘Summit of 40 Leaders’ on Climate Change organised by President of the United States of America Joe Biden in April.

Like the WTTC, the Inter-American Development Bank has also issued a warning for the region. It said that climate change poses a serious threat to all Caribbean nations, despite their low contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions.

“Due to their size and location, Caribbean SIDS (small island developing states) are particularly susceptible to the impacts of climate change. As developing economies relying on sectors vulnerable to climate patterns such as tourism, agriculture and fishing, Caribbean nations would be greatly affected by the ongoing rise in sea levels, changes in rain patterns and temperatures, and increasing intensity of natural disasters identified by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,” the IDB said.