Pilot Programme for Integrated Climate Change Adaptation Strategies in Grenada

Introduction

Grenada, along with its sister islands Carriacou and Petite Martinique, is particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change: In 2004, for example, Hurricane Ivan destroyed almost 90 percent of residential buildings, tourism facilities and agricultural land. Extreme events such as hurricanes, floods and droughts, are likely to become more intense in the future. Projections also indicate sea level will rise, and that there is a strong likelihood of reduced annual rainfall. Extensive dry periods in past years have had substantial adverse effects on water resources and the agriculture sector.

Besides agriculture, tourism is the main economic sector of the Grenadian economy, which also is adversely affected by the rising sea level, longer periods of droughts, beach erosion, loss of coastal areas and flooding. An increase in the sea level of half a metre would destroy up to 83 per cent of Grenada’s beaches. Much of the infrastructure—including the airport, port, power stations, roads and many residential buildings—is also at risk.

The Environment Division within the Ministry of Education, Human Resource Development and the Environment (MEHRDE), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Entwicklung (GIZ) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are jointly implementing a Programme on Integrated Climate Change Adaptation Strategies (ICCAS) in Grenada on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB).

The objective of the ICCAS programme is to enhance the resilience of Grenada’s population and its ecosystems that are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. This is being achieved by taking an integrated approach across different sectors and levels. This comprehensive approach can serve as an example for other countries in the region and facilitate access to further resources for the adaptation to climate change.

The text below provides a summary of methods and activities being undertaken as part of the project, and key outcomes and impacts to date. For more information and resources see the areas on the relevant ICCAS project page, the ICCAS Facebook page, the International Climate Initiative, GIZ and UNDP webpages.

Programme details

Country Focal Point:

• Environment Division of the Ministry of Education, Human Resource Development & The Environment

Key Local Partner Institutions:

• Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, and Fisheries
• Ministry of Finance, Planning, Economic Development, Trade, Energy & Cooperatives
• National Water and Sewage Authority (NAWASA)
• Ministry of Health and Social Security
• National Climate Change Committee (NCCC)
• Sustainable Development Council (SDC)
• Key Non-Government and Private Sector Partners

Implementing organisations:

• Environment Division of the Ministry of Education, Human Resource Development & The Environment (MoEHRDE)
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

BMUB grant: € 4,206,000 under the International Climate Initiative (IKI)

Duration: 11/2012 until 01/2019

Website: ICCAS project page, the International Climate Initiative, GIZ and UNDP webpages.

Methods and Tools

The ICCAS pilot programme pursues an integrated, multi-sectoral approach, linking local activities to national measures. At the national level, the project strengthens the government’s capacity to coordinate the various stakeholders involved in adaptation. At individual sector level, it supports Grenada in using its water resources efficiently and develop coastal zone management plans that take current and future climatic changes into account. At the local level, the project partners support specific adaptation measures that increase the resilience of local communities, while at the same time improving their living conditions.

The ICCAS programme supports the Government of Grenada’s efforts to integrate adaptation into national development strategies and sector plans. More than 160 representatives from government and private actors provided input to the country’s first National Climate Change Adaptation Plan (NAP). The NAP identifies needs and objectives within the different sectors, including water, food security, coastal zone management, resilient infrastructure, disaster risk reduction and disease prevention, which give potential donors concrete ideas about financing opportunities for climate projects. The NAP:

• provides the framework for further mainstreaming,
• prioritises activities based on different criteria from already existing sectoral and local plans with climate change adaptation aspects, and
• further develops Grenada’ access to climate finance.

Along with the NAP, the program supported the update of the National Climate Change Policy as an umbrella document for mitigation and adaptation action and the key document for the national climate strategy of the country.

The Community Climate Change Adaptation Fund established provides direct support to communities for small-scale adaptation measures. The ICCAS project also promotes measures to enable Grenada to access climate finance for adaptation activities over the long term and to share information about experiences in the region. To serve as a guide for all major awareness activities under the ICCAS Programme, a communication strategy was developed, placing emphasis on various target groups and dissemination methods.

The ICCAS programme can be broken down into four components:

1. mainstreaming of climate change and adaptation in national planning processes.
2. improve planning, management and efficient use of water and coastal zone resources including community-based climate change adaptation pilot projects.
3. increase adaptive capacity of communities through a community fund.
4. enable access to climate financing, and awareness raising.

Outcomes and Impacts

Instead of implementing isolated adaptation measures, the ICCAS programme offers an integrated approach by linking on-the-ground activities with national policies, and by scaling up sector-specific pilot projects to comprehensive intervention packages.

Project outcomes at the national level

• The Environment Division initiated the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) process and is currently revising the National Climate Change Policy.
• Climate change considerations are integrated in main policy documents like the Grenada’s National Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (2014-2018), the National Agriculture Plan, the Strategic Health Plan, and in the Ministry of Agriculture Corporate plan (2016-2018).
• All new projects under the Government’s Public Sector Investment Programme now have to conduct a CCORAL (Caribbean Climate Online Risk and Adaptation Tool) screening, which gives an indication whether the planned project is climate-influenced and a priority for a further climate assessment. Many employees of various ministries, the private sector and non-governmental organisations have been introduced to the tool and local trainers have been taught how to flexibly deploy this tool to meet the needs of Grenadian organisations.
• An Integrated Coastal Zone Policy for the tri-island state has been developed in a highly participatory manner and was approved by Cabinet. A multi-disciplinary coastal zone task force spearheads the development of appropriate coastal zone management legislation. Several training sessions have been held jointly with the Coastal Zone Management Unit in Barbados. Stakeholders have been trained to collect beach profiling data with modern equipment.
• A National Designated Authority (NDA) for the Green Climate Fund (GCF) has been established and relevant stakeholders have been trained in climate finance.
• A Climate Finance Readiness Action Plan has been developed.
• The National Climate Change Committee became active again with a new structure, assuming responsibility for coordinating the activities of the government, the private sector and non-governmental organisations.
• 45 non-commercial water sources have been located and mapped. They can be drawn on e.g. if after a hurricane the piped water supply fails or during dry spells.
• Climate Public Expenditure labelling exercises were conducted for all capital budget in 2015 and 2016 to review the climate expenditure for domestic and external sources of finance. This was reported on at the start of the Parliamentary Debate on the 2015 and 2016 National Budgets. It can be used to identify ways in which climate-related expenditure can be tracked through time and used as a key building block for developing a comprehensive climate fiscal framework.
• Three pilot demonstration sites show best practices and build capacity at community and governmental level:
  • A rainwater harvesting project in Blaize: The project established a community rainwater harvesting system through the construction of a 15,000 square feet rainwater catchment, along with that of a 50,000 gallons concrete storage tank. From the tank, a distribution network has been assembled to supply water to the individual homes. Comprehensive baseline studies as well as ongoing documentation of the innovative approach with NAWASA’s operation of a rain-fed supply system, will contribute to the replicability of the approach on a national scale for communities facing similar challenges as Blaize.
  • A Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) project: The development of a Climate-Smart Agriculture Experiential Learning Farm known as the Grenada Ecological Research Resilience Institute (GERRI) is being supported as a base for lifelong learning on sustainable agriculture. After the first training sessions in March 2015, a number of additional farms have replicated and integrated the new approaches in their practices. In addition to this, the capacity of the technical agriculture officers is being built to use CSA practices in the standard advisory service that is given to farmers. This also sparked the need to review the Extension Division’s Monitoring Sheet in order to document the officers’ adoption of using CSA practices during the advisory service. The new sheets are being piloted and preliminary results show that some of the officers are advising farmers to use CSA techniques, especially the use of mulching and contour drainage as soil and water management are important for building the agriculture sector’s resilience. Additionally, CSA considerations were mainstreamed into the Ministry of Agriculture’s Corporate plan 2016 and the Work Plans 2016 for all its division.
  • A Restoration and Community/Government Co-Management of Mangroves (RECCOMM) project in Northern Telescope: Close to 2000 mangrove seedlings have been replanted in a mangrove forest near a local community with the aim of reducing coastal erosion. Along with capacity development trainings for better ecosystem management, community members have been introduced and trained in beekeeping as a base for an alternative livelihood, and are now managing hives. The trained beekeepers will be further supported through the provision of additional beekeeping equipment.
• An interactive climate change toolkit for primary schools in Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique was developed: This “Greenz Climate Champion Toolkit” includes a lot of child-friendly illustrations, such as stickers and posters for the classroom. Most units are discussion-based and exercises are activity-based, some include field-trips. Already 900 children have received their climate change passport so far.

Project outcomes at the community level

• Setup and operationalizing of the Community Climate Change Adaptation Fund (CCCAF): The aim of CCCAF is to provide financing for community-based projects of a climate adaptation nature that includes activities related to agriculture, fishing, tourism, health, water, education and awareness, marine and coastal areas, livelihoods and others. Through a full range of community engagement and outreach the CCCAF was established and launched and received 162 responses from community groups and innovators with grant applications for adaptation projects. The National Climate Change Committee (NCCC) approved 29 projects for implementation, at a value of 1.3 million US dollars.
• Establishment of the Operational Guidelines for CCCAF: The Operational Guidelines for the fund were developed drawing on local, regional and international experiences. In particular, research and collaboration was done with the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP) and the Indonesian Climate Change Adaptation Trust Fund. The fund was setup to ensure that all sectors of civil society organisations were supported and included three categories; 1) Non-governmental organisations (NGO) and community based organisations (CBO), 2) Grass-root organisation (GRO) or unregistered groups and 3) Climate Change Innovators (CCI). These groups were able to access individual projects of up to USD $50,000.
• Establishment of the ICCAS Community Liaison Network (CLN): The CLN aims to ensure adequate field support for all projects from the CCCAF. In addition, the already established extension districts of the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, and Fisheries on mainland Grenada are utilized to ensure thorough representation and support for CCCAF projects. Furthermore, another field office is based in Carriacou to serve projects in the off-shore islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique.
• The Community Climate Change Adaptation Fund (CCAF) is at 75% of delivery with twenty seven (27) community projects under implementation at various stages.

Community-based adaptation measures implemented and benefits to communities who completed the first 10 CCCAF projects are as follows:

• Project number 2014-11 entitled, “Climate Change Resilience & Flood Mitigation Initiative.“ – This intervention is located at the Bishop’s College Secondary School in Carriacou and focuses on the refurbishment and expansions of the existing drainage system to allow for a more effective redirection of flood waters during time of heavy rainfall. This solution is also expected to have an impact on the quality education, given the possibility of less disruptions due to flooding.
• Project number 2014-40 entitled “Ice box investment for the post-harvest of marine resources and quality assurance of sea foods” – Through ICCAS, 30 fishermen in the community of Grenville have been supported to create and install ice boxes customized to their boats using ultimate technology of insulation materials. This measure responds to climate induced problems of preserving quality of fish catch due to two main reasons: a) Warmer ocean temperatures cause fish to move to waters farther out from shores towards cooler and deeper seas. Fishers thus have to go longer distances to catch and haul fish. b) With the increased seawater temperature fishes’ body temperature is also higher. Thus, for these two reasons spoilage of fish catch is higher, downgrading sales quality or impeding sales. The provision of ice-boxes increases the preservation capacity of the fishers while allowing them to maximize on the time possible to harvest various species. The immediate impacts of this intervention can be seen in the increased quantity of catch as well as the enhanced grade of fish being recorded.
• Project number 2014-41 entitled. “Investing in Alternative to Harvesting of Wild Sea Moss Adversely impacted by Climate Change Within Grenville Bay.“ – The economically disadvantaged farming community of Grenville Bay is now benefiting from the provision of better tools and equipment to safeguard the sea moss beds—their primary source of income which is highly susceptible to storms and severe weather. Through the contribution of ICCAS, the farmers are able to significantly increase the acreage of beds to harvest seamoss, thereby reducing the economic impact and enhancing the sustainability of this crucial activity in the sector.
• Project number 2014-03 entitled, “Rainwater harvesting for use during dry periods throughout the school and for gardening purposes as an adaptation strategy to climate change.“. – The Grenada School for Special Education located in Grand Anse has realized the benefits of increased water storage capacity as a result of the construction of a 20,000 gallon water tank. This provision under the CCCAF has enabled the school to enhance water supply in dry periods and also to revitalize its on-site vegetable gardening programme and make provision for a reliable source of various food crops to feed the children who attend the school. The results of this ICCAS intervention has also allowed the school for some sales of the produce to private organizations, generating some additional resources and to contribute toward the sustainability of the project.
• Project number 2014-151 entitled, “La Poterie Bridge repair reconstruction project/ storm drain construction.“ – This initiative focuses on infrastructural relief and flood mitigation efforts to the community of La Poterie via the refurbishment of a bridge which is crucially located in the centre of the community, and access has been affected during storm events. Cleaning and widening of the waterway will also allowed for a reduction of the negative impacts during flooding.
• Project number 2014-82 entitled, “Refurbishment of Community Water Catchments – Top Hill & Limlair.” —This initiative rebuilt a dilapidated public water cistern on the Island of Carriacou – an island that depends on rainwater harvesting. The result of this ICCAS intervention means that these communities have an additional 50,000 gallon water to cope with the annual dry season causing water shortages.
• Project number 2014-94 entitled “Rehabilitation of the Harvey Vale Government School’s Cistern to build community base resilience and adaptation to climate change.“ —This initiative also renovated a dilapidated public water cistern on the Island of Carriacou. The result of this ICCAS intervention means that this school and three adjacent communities which have an additional 67,000 gallon water to cope with the annual dry season.
• Project number 2014-145 entitled “Rainwater Harvesting in Luthbur, St. Andrew’s as an Adaptation Strategy to Climate Change” – This agriculture and rainwater initiative constructed 20,000 gallon water tanks and installed a guttering on the roof of the church which will act as the water catchment.
• Project number 2014-72 entitled “Strengthening the climate change adaptability and economic sustainability of the Crochu R.C 4H garden” — Built a retaining wall, a 15,000 gallon water tank and a drip irrigating system installed.
• Project number 2014-51 entitled “Protein From Waste and Local Crops, An Agricultural Climate Change Adaptation Strategy” — To produce poultry feed locally with the use of waste material, a feed-making facility constructed and commissioned. Feed is being produced for sale and to reduce the cost of chicken feed for poultry farmers. This project protects the marine environment by reducing the use of harmful vehicles’ and restaurants’ oil, which there is no disposal mechanism for in Grenada, from entering the marine environment and damaging coral reef and tourism.

A comprehensive Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) framework was developed which is expected to contribute to a national M&E system for Grenada to map community adaptation to climate change. The M&E results will also support the capturing of best practices and lessons learned from the CCCAF for broader dissemination, adding to the overall knowledge management efforts.

Awareness Raising

• A series of 16 community consultations was held to ensure the general population was aware of the project, its objectives, the Community Climate Change Adaptation Fund and other information relevant to climate change at the community level.
• Building capacity for mainstreaming climate change: As part of strengthened understanding and awareness of climate change and project management a series of training workshops was conducted for community group members, government officials and projects staff. These workshops included: education and awareness of climate change; project proposal development; concepts and applications of project management (MS Office Project); the use of solar water pump and drip irrigation; the use of invasive species such as Bamboo to make craft items; climate smart agriculture techniques; fish aggregation devices development for fisher folks; the use of recycled materials to make craft items; monitoring and evaluation.
• ICCAS Climate Change Walk: Three major climate change walks and exhibitions were held between May and June 2015 on mainland Grenada, as well as Carriacou and Petite Martinique where approximately 1300 persons participated. The walks aimed at raising awareness to the devastating impacts of climate change already being observed in Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique and highlighting possible solutions.
• Climate Change Football Cup: This was a climate change initiative where primary schools in Carriacou and Petite Martinique competed in both an environmental project and a football competition between August to October 2015. The environmental project component serves as a mechanism for children to proactively educate themselves, their families, schools, and their communities about the importance of practicing environmental stewardship in their own environments.
• ICCAS climate change billboard with the “Grenada Adapts to Climate Change Now!“ branded artwork erected throughout Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.
• The ICCAS climate change video public service announcement with the “Grenada Adapts to Climate Change Now!“ storyboard was aired on two television and three radio stations during the months of April to August, 2015.
• A climate change music video, “Can’t do this alone“, has been produced to raise awareness, particularly about coastal issues. A short documentary “Grenada-Combatting Water Shortage” is available on YouTube.
• The ICCAS “Grenada Adapts to Climate Change Now!“ artwork was placed on seven public buses travelling in different bus routes in Grenada and Carriacou.
• A logo brands all of the government’s climate adaptation initiatives and activities. Since the logo was introduced in May 2014, various weekly and monthly newspapers in Grenada have printed numerous articles dealing with the issue of climate change adaptation.
• A media strategy was implemented which included radio and TV Public Service Announcements, media coverage of activities of the ICCAS programme and the Environment Division.
• Social Media – Facebook, Twitter and Youtube are used to disseminate information about the actions of the ICCAS pilot programme but also climate change information in general.
• A dedicated website to the ICCAS programme and approach to adaptation is online at www.iccas.gd.
• An inter-secondary schools debate was organized on climate change where over 236 kids participated from different schools.
• The ICCAS implementation team regularly participates in like-minded events and exhibitions to share information about the actions of the project and climate change adaptation in general.
• A radio show has been aired bi-weekly for the past six months on a popular radio station to discuss topics that are relevant to climate change adaptation and mitigation in the country.
• Support was provided to launch a national secondary school televised game on water issues and climate change impacts (Water Warz) in partnership with the National Water and Sewerage Authority. The support for this event has been taken over by IWaSP (International Water Stewardship Programme) and attracted also support from other key partners.
• A total of 27 community projects were launched which raised awareness on climate change adaptation at the community level. Stakeholders from the community, private and public sectors supported these initiatives.