Loss & Damage from Slow Onset Events in SIDS

The changes may be gradual but the dangers are potent and real. Sea level rise, higher temperatures, ocean acidification, desertification and salinity, all associated with climate change, take a long time to appear but deserve immediate attention.

There is much that can be done to minimise these “slow onset” events but for many small island developing states the solutions are out of reach – their already limited resources are focused on defending their economies and communities from the damage of extreme weather events and responding to economic, environmental and social losses when they happen.

CARIBSAVE’s 2013 study “Assessing and Addressing Loss and Damage from Slow Onset Events in Small Island Developing States and Vulnerable Countries”, gives vulnerable countries an overview of the pragmatic and realistic responses they can make to slow onset events and the help that’s available to implement them. This project is funded by: the United Nations Development Programme, Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.

Slow onset events are complex and interconnected, and can have a lasting impact across a population, from the way people earn a living to the best place to build an airport. The responses can range from drafting better building practices for more efficient water use and retrofitting hospitals for greater ventilation, to cultivating lower-impact food production.

There are many international mechanisms to help smaller countries cope with climate change but most don’t specifically address the longer-term phenomena. However, many of these schemes have elements that can be repurposed for adaptation to slow onset events. Funding and technical support is available under programmes like the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism and the Hyogo Framework for Action.

There are also ways that smaller island states can prepare now for inevitable losses in the future. In some cases, for example, it will be unfeasible to protect very low-lying and very small islands from sea level rise, so plans have to be put in place now to relocate people living in those areas. Countries can start preparing for those unavoidable losses by building up reserve funds or securing loans when interest rates are lower. Some form of insurance scheme specifically for slow onset events would also go a long way in preventing financial setbacks, as yet one does not exist.

It is clear that the benefits of avoiding slow onset losses outweigh the costs of repairing damage once it is done. For many small island developing states, action is required now, before the costs become prohibitive.

[vc_row el_position="last"] [vc_column] [vc_message color="alert-info" el_position="first last"]

For further information contact: Dr. Murray Simpson, author, murray.simpson@caribsave.org

[/vc_message] [vc_separator]
[vc_cta_button title="DOWNLOAD" href="http://intasave-caribsave.intasave.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/09/Loss-Damage_Interim_Key_Points-Short_Summary-Nov2012.pdf" color="btn-info" size="wpb_regularsize" icon="none" target="_blank" position="cta_align_right" call_text="Download the Interim Key Points Short Summary (PDF)"] [/vc_column] [/vc_row]