tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76604163974930116562024-03-13T03:13:49.303-07:00INTASAVE-CARIBSAVE bloga global not-for-profit organisation that innovates, connects and implements practical solutions for sustainable development and climate change.INTASAVE-CARIBSAVEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307322948964027449noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660416397493011656.post-76530142076542325392014-08-27T14:15:00.000-07:002015-07-15T08:04:32.087-07:00Sustainable Business Development and Renewable Energy TechnologiesTraining Workshop<div style="text-align: justify;">
On Tuesday, August 19th, the Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC) and The CARIBSAVE Partnership hosted a joint workshop in association with two projects supported by The Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP), implemented by the UNDP. The workshop was held at he Grotto, Beckles Rd. St. Michael, at the facilities of the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS).</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
CPDC’s project, <b>Promoting renewable energy production in farming communities in Barbados</b>, has a goal of enhancing the application of renewable energy technologies (RETs) on farms in Barbados.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The CARIBSAVE Partnership’s project - <b>Greening Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in Coastal Communities in Barbados</b> is helping MSMEs across Barbados to implement Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs) in their business practices which reduce their business’ overall carbon footprint. MSMEs will also be helped to make other changes to their operations that result in saving money and increasing environmental sustainability.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The first day of the workshop focused on training farmers and agricultural processors in sustainable business practices and the technical application of RETs and energy/water saving processes. The second day entailed a field trip for participants to witness the practical application of RETs on farms in Barbados.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This workshop was of tremendous benefit to those who attended; providing an opportunity for participants to interact with experts in RETs and energy conservation practices in an environment where sharing of knowledge and experiences is encouraged, and also the chance for participants to see the benefits of these interventions in action on Barbadian farms.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
(Photo: Will Anstey, INTASAVE-CARIBSAVE, 2014)</div>
INTASAVE-CARIBSAVEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307322948964027449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660416397493011656.post-12221521136761531182014-02-17T07:03:00.000-08:002015-06-23T03:48:58.517-07:00Towards Community-based Tourism in Jamaican Fish Sanctuary Areas<span style="text-align: justify;">Under the C-FISH Initiative’s Alternative Livelihood component, CARIBSAVE is looking to introduce, enhance and support community-based tourism in sanctuary areas. In order to achieve this, the Travel Foundation, a partner in the C-FISH Fund, undertook exploratory research regarding the market/demand and feasibility of creating bespoke, mainstream excursions that support responsible tourism initiatives at 3 fish sanctuaries in Jamaica. The information gathered from this study will help guide the direction and activities which CARIBSAVE will support in order to develop the community-based tourism. This component is very important for sanctuaries to provide sustainable financing mechanisms for sanctuary management (through C-FISH Fund), income generating activities through crafts and tours, and promote awareness of Jamaica, the sanctuaries and the need for conservation of fisheries.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="text-align: justify;">”Trysion Walters from BREDS: Treasure Beach Foundation takes visitors on a tour of the Galleon, St. Elizabeth Fish Sanctuary, Jamaica. These tours are one way that tourism supports the community; fishers with appropriate training can become tour guides, thereby providing them with additional income, and reducing fishing pressure in the area. Photo by Simone Lee.”</span><br />
<br />
”Visitors support sanctuaries not only through tours, but through purchasing of locally made crafts. Look out for C-FISH branded products in the near future! Photo by Simone Lee”<br />
<br />
“Tourists can also support the local economy through purchasing fruits or agro-processed products such as jams and jellies from community members. In Bluefield’s Bay, the Westmoreland Organic Farmers Group offers a number of delicious products to sample! Photo by Brenda Barry”<br />
<br />
”Welcome to Bluefields Bay! This is one of C-FISH grantee fish sanctuaries, and one that we are looking to support through community-based tourism. Bluefields is rich in culture and natural aesthetics. Would you be interested in a tour taking you to Accomopong Maroon Village, a cultural tour of Savanna-la-mar, and a visit to Bluefields Bay – an old pirate bay now turned fish sanctuary? Photo by Brenda Barry.”<br />
<br />
“Feel like visiting a part of the Caribbean sea you probably won’t have in front of your hotel? Welcome to Galleon, St. Elizabeth fish sanctuary – one of the C-FISH grantee sites. Take a boat tour with local and knowledgeable fishermen who can show you the juvenile fish, starfish and rays in the sea grass; the wetland birds both resident and migratory living in the mangrove forests. Look out for turtles that nest on the nearby beach and dolphins that frequent the area. Would you be interested in a tour that went to here, the nearby Y.S. Falls, and an opportunity to have a Red Strip on the famous Pelican Bar on wooden stilts in the ocean? Photo by Simone Lee”<br />
<br />
”Oracabessa Bay – one of the C-FISH grantee sites has a lot of potential for community-based tourism. Located on the north coast near other popular tourism sites, visitors can get the opportunity to experience the coral gardening, turtle watching and other conservation activities at this sanctuary. Would you be interested in a tour to Firefly – the historical home of playwright Noel Coward, with an impressive list of celebrity guests – to Oracabessa and James Bond Beach, Oracabessa Bay fish sanctuary and an arts and craft tour? Photo by Simone Lee.”<br />
<br />
Visit the <a href="http://c-fish.org/" target="_blank" title="C-FISH website">C-FISH website</a> for more information on the Alternative Livelihood's programme and the broader C-FISH initiative being implement in five (5) countries across the Caribbean Region!INTASAVE-CARIBSAVEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307322948964027449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660416397493011656.post-26033259276645054342014-02-11T11:27:00.000-08:002015-06-23T03:08:46.505-07:00C-FISH: Training for Craft Artisans in the Bluefields Bay, Oracabessa
Bay and Boscobel communities<p style="text-align: justify">The C-FISH Initiative and Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) have teamed up to help artisans overcome some of the challenges they face. Under the C-FISH Craft Programme, JBDC is implementing Product Development Training in the Bluefields Bay, Oracabessa Bay and Boscobel communities – some of our grantee sanctuary sites. The training is geared toward improving the quality of their product and design, as well as developing C-FISH branded products to be sold in partner retail outlets such as Sandals and Things Jamaica. Look out for these products soon – by purchasing C-FISH Branded products, part proceeds will go to the C-FISH Fund, a private-public partnership to assist management of sanctuaries in the Caribbean.</p><br/><p style="text-align: justify"></p>INTASAVE-CARIBSAVEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307322948964027449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660416397493011656.post-37148712347935839662013-08-12T06:52:00.000-07:002015-06-23T03:08:43.286-07:00Loss & Damage from Slow Onset Events in SIDS<p style="text-align: justify"><span class="intro green">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.</span></p><br/><p style="text-align: justify"><strong>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.</strong></p><br/><p style="text-align: justify">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.</p><br/><p style="text-align: justify">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.</p><br/><p style="text-align: justify">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.</p><br/><p style="text-align: justify">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.</p><br/><p style="text-align: justify">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.</p><br/>[vc_row el_position="last"] [vc_column] [vc_message color="alert-info" el_position="first last"]<br/><br/>For further information contact: Dr. Murray Simpson, author, <a href="mailto:murray.simpson@caribsave.org">murray.simpson@caribsave.org</a><br/><br/>[/vc_message] [vc_separator]<br/>[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]INTASAVE-CARIBSAVEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307322948964027449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7660416397493011656.post-10330372171571018492013-08-12T06:44:00.000-07:002015-06-23T03:08:41.209-07:00Socio-Economic Climate Change Risk and Vulnerability Assessments and
Methodologies (SECCRVAM)<span class="intro green">Some of the first climate change questions any community has to answer, is when and how to react to clear and present dangers and when and how to anticipate the threats that are to come.</span><br/><br/><strong>Over the years, researchers and practitioners have crafted a wealth of increasingly sophisticated formulae - called risk and vulnerability assessments - for helping societies answer those questions.</strong><br/><br/>The assessments aim to define where communities and nations are most exposed to the expected changes and why these systems are likely to be vulnerable. It’s a combination of causes and consequences on which individuals and policymakers alike can plan their future.<br/><br/>Over the past two decades, the methods and tools of these assessments have mushroomed as interest and urgency around climate change has grown. But this diversity of approaches raises its own question: just which method is the most effective?<br/><br/>In 2012, INTASAVE was enlisted by Adapting to Climate Change in China (ACCC) to survey the vast field of assessment methodology and report back on which ones worked best where and why, and in particular which would be most useful for China's communities and their developing country partners. The project was called SECCRVAM – Socio-Economic Climate Change Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Methodology Report.<br/><br/>In all, 28 of the most widely used methods were compared and contrasted using nine major criteria. The INTASAVE researchers examined the range of approaches – from top-down to bottom-up – to see how they shaped up on factors such as stakeholder engagement, costs and data requirements, among others.<br/><br/>The overall conclusion was that no one method is suitable for all countries and all contexts – the choice depends on conditions on the ground and the best approach is a combination of methods. The study also revealed the gaps and limitations of each method and a holistic incorporation of top-down and bottom-up methodologies.<br/><br/>Four approaches emerged from the pack with a number of common strengths. They proved to be the most flexible, broadly applicable, detailed, affordable and successful. These were:<br/><ul><br/> <li>The UK’s Climate Change Risk Assessment; for national scale (top-down) vulnerability assessments</li><br/> <li>The Community-based Vulnerability Assessment (CBVA) Framework; for community- and organization-level (bottom-up) vulnerability assessments</li><br/> <li>The UKCIP Adaptation Wizard</li><br/> <li>The UKCIP Business Areas Climate Assessment Tool (BACLIAT)</li><br/></ul><br/>For communities with scarce resources, the future depends on knowing what is susceptible and why and those answers depend upon the right research methods being applied and the most suitable analyses for each situation, this is what SECCRVAM provides.<br/><br/>[vc_message color="alert-info" el_position="last"]<br/><br/>For further information contact: <a href="mailto:admin@intasave.org">admin@intasave.org</a> or <a href="mailto:murray.simpson@intasave.org">murray.simpson@intasave.org</a><br/><br/>[/vc_message]<br/><br/>[vc_row el_position="last"] [vc_column] [vc_toggle title="PROJECT SUMMARY" open="false" el_position="first last"]<br/><br/>This project is providing recommendations and a completed step by step guide for the implementation of a socio-economic climate change risk assessment methodology; as well as reviewing and assessing the current work on socio economic scenarios submitted by the China ASS funded by the Adaptation to Climate Change in China (ACCC) initiative conducted by DFID-China.<br/><br/> <br/><br/>[/vc_toggle] [vc_separator]<br/>[vc_cta_button title="DOWNLOAD" href="http://intasave-caribsave.intasave.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/09/SECCRVAM-FInal-Report-INTASAVE-ACCC-October-2012.pdf" color="btn-info" size="wpb_regularsize" icon="none" target="_blank" position="cta_align_right" call_text="Download the SECCRVAM Final Report (PDF)"] [/vc_column] [/vc_row]INTASAVE-CARIBSAVEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05307322948964027449noreply@blogger.com0