Coastal Vulnerability Assessments in Jamaica

In July 2015, members of The CARIBSAVE Partnership and Saint Mary’s University teamed up to help document some of these changes through a series of coastal vulnerability assessments in eight (8) select fishing beaches in Jamaica.  The coastal vulnerability assessment is carried out in two stages: (i) a detailed site survey and geomorphic assessment and (ii) GIS based flood erosion vulnerability assessment.

(Photo: M. McNaught)

Jamaica’s sun, surf and sand provides so much more than an iconic tourist destination. This coastal zone and its ecosystems – beaches, coral reefs, seagrass and mangroves – support thousands of  livelihoods. In the fishing sector alone there are approximately 20,000 registered artisanal fishers, 4,300 fishing vessels and 140 fishing beaches. This does not include the unregistered fishers, the industrial fishers, or the spin-off livelihoods (such as fish cleaning and vending). And every year more persons take to fishing when faced with periods of unemployment or poverty.

(Photo: D. Hughes)

Not surprisingly, Jamaica’s coastal productivity has suffered a dramatic decline in the past few decades, with many a study emphasizing the impact of fishing activities on the marine ecosystem. However those impacts related to climate change and sea level rise are less documented.

(Photo: D. van Proosdij)    

These assessments will be used toward developing shoreline changes and Characterisations including historical changes and current vulnerabilities, and also toward developing lnundation. Models predicting sea level rise scenarios, storm surge and flooding scenarios and predicting future vulnerabilities.

When complete this work will provide baseline information and data on the projected impacts of climate change on the fisheries sector, and make recommendations based on the assessment that will enable the key stakeholders and the country as a whole to cope with the expected impacts.

This work was carried out under the project “Preparation of a Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment of Selected Fishing Villages in Jamaica” funded by the European Union (EU) through the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC).