The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in collaboration with the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) launched a US$26 million Climate Change Adaption Program (CCAP) at the CCCCC Headquarters in Belmopan on Tuesday, November 22.

The four year initiative is part of the United States Government’s continuing efforts to reduce risks to human and natural assets resulting from climate vulnerability and will support efforts to tackle climate change induced challenges in Eastern and Southern Caribbean countries.

Climate change and climate variability has led to increased intensity of extreme meteorological events including hurricanes, floods and droughts and has adversely impacted the lives and livelihoods of Caribbean citizens and threatened the very survival of vulnerable populations and communities. The CCAP will benefit the 10 Eastern and Southern Caribbean countries in USAID/ESC’s coverage area – Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname.

In addressing the official ceremony, Mission Director for the USAID Eastern and Southern Caribbean Mission, Christopher Cushing, said the United States Government was pleased to enter into a new partnership with the CCCCC, the region’s leading institution in addressing the impacts of global climate change. He noted that after entering in an official agreement with CARICOM in 2015, the parties agreed to work together to develop an integrated system, with the CCCCC being given the mandate for full management and implementation.

Mr. Cushing noted that the CCAP compliments the efforts of five existing USAID projects - USAID’s Rallying the Region to Action on Climate Change Project in Dominica, the Building Regional Climate Capacity in the Caribbean Project, the Water Resilience Climate Change Adaptation Program in Barbados, USAID’s regional Clean Energy Program and USAID’s Caribbean Marine Biodiversity Project.

In terms of the latter, he noted that CCAP’s work in developing coral reef early warning stations will compliment marine biodiversity efforts under its Caribbean Marine Biodiversity Project.

“The data gathered from the early warning network will enable the Marine Biodiversity Project to measure the health of reefs in the Grenadine Bank and design interventions to address any threats to the reef system,” he explained.

Mr. Cushing told the gathering of representatives of the diplomatic corps, international organizations, CCCCC, and US Embassy to Belize that the project was developed after year-long consultations with CARICOM, regional governments, non-governmental organizations, community groups, regional institutions, and other international development partners.

“The Climate Change Adaptation Program recognizes that a cohesive system is needed to sustainably address climate change within the Caribbean region. Expected results include: 1) the production of reliable climate change data that is incorporated into decision making at various levels; 2) innovative and replicable adaptation projects; and 3) the generation of sustainable financing for project scale-up and replication beyond the scope of the USAID funded program”, he said adding: “USAID will invest in activities that build the capacity of regional, national, and local partners to achieve these results, including their ability to access funding from established global funding mechanisms, such as the Green Climate Fund.”

Executive Director of the CCCCC Dr. Kenrick Leslie added that the Program shows the value of partnership for capacity building and realizing tangible outcomes.

“Donor countries stand with us side by side because they recognized the need for an institution that would help lead the way to address the issues of climate change and sea level rise. While CCAP is a program to help the Eastern and Southern Caribbean countries, it is helping the Centre to have the skills that will help us to propel the needs of our region in developing programmes to meet our obligations,” he noted.

The primary objective of the climate-resilient development project is to strengthen an integrated system for the implementation and financing of sustainable adaptation approaches in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean region. It builds on both USAID/ESC’s Caribbean Regional Development Cooperative Strategy and the CCCCC Regional Framework for Achieving Development Resilience to a Changing Climate.