As a small island state, Grenada is particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts including storms, floods and droughts. The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) is therefore supporting action in Grenada in the development and implementation of a comprehensive climate change adaptation strategy. In the presence of representatives of national and international institutions, the programme was officially inaugurated on Thursday 18th by the Minister for Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Hon. Roland Bhola.
As a small island state in the Caribbean, Grenada is vulnerable to climate change and must be prepared for an increase in droughts, hurricanes or heavy rainfall, as well as for a rising sea level. The vulnerability is currently very high: For example, in 2004 Hurricane Ivan destroyed more than 90% of all houses, tourism infrastructure and agricultural production areas.
The overarching goal is hence to increase resilience of vulnerable communities and ecosystems to climate change risks. New is the integrated and cross-sectoral approach of the programme: Instead of only implementing isolated measures, the programme offers an integrated approach by linking local activities with national policies and sector-specific experiences with comprehensive intervention packages. At the national level, the programme supports the National Climate Change Committee in developing systematic risk analysis. This will support the "climate-proofing" of the vulnerable coastal areas of Grenada. An important role for the success of the implementation is the involvement of the local population through a "Community Fund" accessible for tangible, visible adaptation action on the ground. Finally the programme supports Grenada in gaining access to long term funding for adaptation measures. This comprehensive approach should serve as a "good-practice" example for other countries in the region.
The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety has approved the programme with a financial value of 5 million euros The programme will be jointly implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).