In Jamaica, citizens now have the opportunity to get in the know about their island’s efforts to minimize the fallout from extreme hurricanes and other climate change impacts, thanks to the launch of a new website.
Under the PPCR, the Government of Jamaica has received a grant of US $6.8 M from the Climate Investment Fund (CIF) through the World Bank (WB) to implement Investment Project 1: Improving Climate Data and Information Management Project (ICDIMP). The ICDIMP is one of a suite of projects giving effect to the goals and objectives of Jamaica’s Strategic Programme for Climate Resilience (SPCR) and geared towards the climate change adaptation imperative outlined in Vision 2030 Jamaica.
Dr. Winsome Townsend (official photo).
“The Jamaica PPCR website creates a space for all five projects being implemented nationally to raise their visibility locally and to highlight their success stories and lessons learned, regionally and globally,” said Dr. Winsome Townsend, project manager for the Adaptation Programme and Financing Mechanism (AP&FM) of the Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience (PPCR).
“The website is also a tool for communication between the PPCR stakeholders for the sharing of expertise, knowledge and resources. Importantly, the website will be a critical platform for providing information to the general public on the work of the PPCR in Jamaica,” Townsend continued.
The project development objective is to improve the quality and use of climate related data and information for effective planning and action at local and national levels. In achieving this, the project aims to:
- Strengthen Jamaica’s meteorological observation and data collection systems to enhance climate monitoring, weather forecasting and early warning systems;
- Enable effective planning and design of adaptation initiatives, through access to climate change scenarios specific to Jamaica, including scenarios for priority sectors;
- Use climate scenarios generated to assess the expected consequences of climate change for each priority sector and utilize assessments to develop sector-based methodologies for climate resilient planning and decision making;
- Conduct detailed vulnerability assessment of the health sector to generate information needed to improve resilience of the health sector by climate proofing health care facilities;
- Improve knowledge, attitudes and practice of the Jamaican public towards climate.
Regarding fishery restoration, the Project Development Objective (PDO) is to enhance community-based climate resilience among targeted fishing communities of Jamaica.
This would be achieved by investing in:
- Strengthening the fisheries policy and regulatory framework including making it climate-smart;
- Diversification and viable alternative livelihoods that enhance sustainable fisheries; and
- Capacity-building and awareness-raising among the fishing and fish farming communities.
These measures would be implemented in a participatory approach with the targeted fisheries communities. While national and international best practices will inform the design and implementation of the supported activities, the use of local knowledge will be crucial to the success of the Project.
Photo of Jamaican river transport via Adobe Stock.