What is this site?
Caribbean Strong - Our Path to Resilience is a place where you will find documented and supported information on the impact of the Resilient Islands Project.
What is Resilient Islands?
Resilient Islands is a project, which aims to help coastal communities adapt with nature to secure their sources of livelihoods and assets, reduce the impact of climate change, reduce natural hazards, and hence, become more resilient.
Through a partnership between The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Resilient Islands amalgamates a range of experiences in science, ecosystem based adaptation, disaster risk reduction, community engagement and humanitarian actions to rethink climate resilience and put into action nature-based and policy solutions to protect vulnerable people in the Caribbean.
What are
Nature-based Solutions?
Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are defined as actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively, while simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits. (IUCN)
They often include protecting and restoring coral reefs to decrease the force of waves and act as natural barriers or planting mangroves to reduce coastal erosion and serve as nurseries for a diversity of fish species.
Why did The Nature Conservancy and the International Federation of the Red Cross partner for this initiative?
As the impacts of climate change are increasingly evident across the globe, island nations throughout the Caribbean are particularly at risk. However, science shows that healthier mangroves, coral reefs, and other natural systems can help protect coastal communities by significantly reducing storm surges, flooding and shoreline erosion. The protection and restoration of these natural systems provides a cost-effective approach to climate-smart, sustainable development that benefits nature as well as communities.
TNC and IFRC forged Resilient Islands at this intersection between conservation and disaster risk reduction to create the Resilient Islands initiative is an innovative partnership that inspires community action for the protection of nature in the Dominican Republic, Grenada, and Jamaica.
Since 2017, backed by a nearly US$6 million grant from the German Government’s International Climate Initiative, TNC and the IFRC have collaborated with governments, communities, and partners in each of these countries to develop national plans for a more sustainable future through nature-based disaster risk management. To advance these plans, Resilient Islands identified one high-risk community in each country to pilot nature-based approaches for building climate resilience and readiness—Miches, Dominican Republic; Grenville Bay, Grenada; and Old Harbour Bay, Jamaica.
What has made the Project Successful
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Our partnership is a strong one, combined with a workplan and coordination supported by a highly effective team approach
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We use a science and community evidence-based approach to understand the issues (risks, vulnerabilities, and environmental degradation) to provide solutions and scenarios to achieve coastal resilience
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Community and government engagement from the beginning to ensure their needs and priorities are addressed
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A combination of multiple approaches (policy advocacy, resource mobilization, community engagement, research and piloting projects) to make sure communities tackle the impact of Climate Change and enhance their resilience.
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Green component aggregated and harmonised with vulnerability analysis and risk reduction management tools
Story Map Collection
This StoryMap Collection will walk you through the geospatial story of Resilient Islands: how data was collected, what data products are available, and how these layers can be utilized to inform decisions.
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At the national level, socioeconomic, environmental, and risk datasets were compiled between the years 2018 and 2020, from multiple sources and summarized by district. These datasets were published as a Decision Support Tool and can be viewed at maps.coastalresilience.org or directly through this StoryMap Collection.
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To learn more about how to use these maps, please watch the following video.
Mapping a Path to Resilience
New geospatial data guides Caribbean countries towards climate adaptation
