22 Continued from previous page Some of the significant conclusions put forward in the article are reproduced because of their cogency and relevance. “The projected consequences of climate change for the Caribbean have strong implications not only for today’s economy, but also for the long-term development of the entire region. The sectors at higher risk include tourism, fishery, agriculture, human settlements, and infrastructure (UNDP, 2018). Caribbean islands have diversified their economies away from agriculture and moved into tourism and services. But although tourism makes up for 15 per cent of the Caribbean’s GDP, agriculture is still a major land-use activity. The effect of extreme weather events on countries that dedicate large areas of land to agricultural production for export can be particularly The Bahamas has a high rate of exposure to hurricanes. (Photo by Franklyn Michael) Although tourism makes up for 15 per cent of the Caribbean’s GDP, agriculture is still a major land-use activity. (Photo by Fr. Bowe) devastating. Recent extreme weather events, at times, have wiped out the entire sugar cane production of Cuba, banana plantations in Jamaica, Saint Lucia and Dominica, and decimated nutmeg exports from Grenada. Water temperature increase also poses a particular challenge on Caribbean export fisheries. In Barbados, where yellow fin tuna is the island’s greatest fish export, as surface temperature rises, tuna is forced to move northward to find the oxygen it needs to live. This means fishermen must move deeper to find high quality tuna, adding fuel costs in the sector, but most importantly raising territorial implications in the Caribbean. The same goes for flying fish. In a typical year, flying fish account for around 65 per cent of the total fish catch in Barbados, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. But as flooding increases, changing the direction of surface water current, fishers are forced to travel farther into the ocean going as far as 500 km away from Barbados, reducing catches of an important staple for local residents (St. Lucia Times, 2019). The consequences of inaction also paint a devastating picture for future health and wellbeing. Between 2001 and 2009 there were 211,937 registered cases of dengue fever in the Caribbean. Climate change is expected to increase dengue fever transmission by 300 percent, as increased temperature reduces parasites’ incubation time. Additionally, if climate change is not addressed today, between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea, and heat stress (ECLAC 2011 and Sealy, H. 2018).
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