Climate Change in the Caribbean: The Water Management Implications

Cashman, Adrian; Nurse, Leonard; John, Charlery

doi:10.1177/1070496509347088

Cited by 86 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…A significant impact is observed in areas where the lens shrinks (i.e., along the periphery), as most settlements and the related infrastructure are typically near the coast on small islands (Ranjan et al, 2009;Cashman et al, 2010). As a result, any changes in the freshwater lens morphology within the coastal zone may affect access and availability of freshwater near the population centres.…”

Section: Long-acting Stressorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

From days to decades: numerical modelling of freshwater lens response to climate change stressors on small low-lying islands

Holding

Allen²

2015

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. Freshwater lenses on small islands are vulnerable to many climate change-related stressors, which can act over relatively long time periods, on the order of decades (e.g., sea level rise, changes in recharge), or short time periods, such as days (storm surge overwash). This study evaluates the response of the freshwater lens on a small lowlying island to various stressors. To account for the varying temporal and spatial scales of the stressors, two different density-dependent flow and solute transport codes are used: SEAWAT (saturated) and HydroGeoSphere (unsaturated/saturated). The study site is Andros Island in the Bahamas, which is characteristic of other low-lying carbonate islands in the Caribbean and Pacific regions. In addition to projected sea level rise and reduced recharge under future climate change, Andros Island experienced a storm surge overwash event during Hurricane Francis in 2004, which contaminated the main wellfield. Simulations of reduced recharge result in a greater loss of freshwater lens volume (up to 19 %), while sea level rise contributes a lower volume loss (up to 5 %) due to the flux-controlled conceptualization of Andros Island, which limits the impact of sea level rise. Reduced recharge and sea level rise were simulated as incremental instantaneous shifts. The lens responds relatively quickly to these stressors, within 0.5 to 3 years, with response time increasing as the magnitude of the stressor increases. Simulations of the storm surge overwash indicate that the freshwater lens recovers over time; however, prompt remedial action can restore the lens to potable concentrations up to 1 month sooner.

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Section: Long-acting Stressorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

From days to decades: numerical modelling of freshwater lens response to climate change stressors on small low-lying islands

Holding

Allen²

2015

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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“…Hence, interactive activities among them would exert positive influence on network effectiveness [40]. Non-state entities' participation in regional water governance could enhance the accessibility of the whole process [41], and citizen participation could supplement governments' effort on dealing with complex environmental issues [42].…”

Section: Water Governance Network Governance and Ecology Of Gamesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collaborative Environmental Governance, Inter-Agency Cooperation and Local Water Sustainability in China

Huang

Chen

et al. 2017

Sustainability

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Administrative fragmentation among government agencies has posed a significant challenge to environmental governance. However, few studies have theoretically examined and empirically measured how local governments in China address this with collaborative approaches. Informed by the ecology of games framework (EGF), this paper examined the status of inter-agency water governance in Dongguan City: the pilot city of aquatic ecologically friendly city of China. The research question we seek to address is: What are the main characteristics of the water governance network in local China? With empirical data collected via survey questionnaires and semi-structured in-depth interviews following the EGF, we find that local agencies have realized the need for cooperation in water resource management. However, they were not substantially familiar with each other in the local policy network, failing to reach their full potential in collaboration. Social network analysis was used to analyze the collaborative network. We found that the network has a weak to moderate density, allowing for collective action problems and leading to insufficient cooperative governance. The network has presented central actors with strong bridging capital to control information and resource flows. We also find strong bonding capital among some policy actors as shown in high reciprocity, clustering coefficient and transitivity. To strengthen the effectiveness of local water governance, efforts should be made to establish a functional department and extend the boundary of collaborative network.

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“…Damage to the nutmeg and cocoa industries due to hurricane Ivan in 2004 resulted in loss equivalent to 10% of Grenada's GDP (Mimura et al, 2007). Under future climate change, 46% of Caricom tourist resorts could be lost under a 1 m rise in sea-level (Moore, 2010;Simpson et al, 2010), while projected changes in temperature and rainfall will likely increase crop pests and diseases and the occurrence of extreme water stress (Nelson et al, 2009;Pulwarty et al, 2010;Simpson et al, 2010;Cashman et al, 2010). Past and future climate impacts on other key areas of Caribbean existence, for example, biodiversity and marine and coastal ecosystems (e.g., Fish et al, 2005;Donner et al, 2007;Hoegh-Guldberg et al, 2007;Chen et al, 2008) and on health and well being (e.g., Amarakoon et al, 2006;Chen et al, 2006;Ebi et al, 2006;Taylor et al, 2009) have also been studied and shown to be significant.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of observed and projected changes in climate for the islands in the Caribbean

Karmalkar¹,

Taylor²,

Campbell³

et al. 2013

Atmósfera

102

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RESUMENLos cambios climáticos observados y proyectados tienen implicaciones socioeconómicas importantes para las islas del Caribe. El objetivo de este artículo es presentar información esencial sobre el cambio climá-tico -basada en estudios previos, observaciones disponibles y simulaciones de modelos climáticos-a escalas espaciales relevantes para las islas caribeñas. Se utilizan datos del modelo general de circulación (GCM) incluidos en el Proyecto de Comparación de Modelos Acoplados fase 3 (CMIP3), así como del modelo climático regional (RCM) del Centro Hadley del Reino Unido, para aportar tanto información actual como información basada en proyecciones sobre precipitaciones y temperatura en estados insulares específicos. Se utilizan observaciones reticuladas de estaciones y datos satelitales para estudiar el clima del siglo XX y evaluar el desempeño de los modelos climáticos. Con un enfoque centrado en la precipitación, también se analizan factores como la temperatura superficial del mar, la presión al nivel del mar y los vientos que influyen en las variaciones estacionales de la precipitación. La media del ensamble del CMIP3 y el RCM captan satisfactoriamente las peculiaridades de la circulación atmosférica de gran escala en la región, pero no así el ciclo estacional bimodal característico de la precipitación. La aridez en épocas de lluvias prevista en escenarios de cambio climático en la región se ha abordado en estudios previos, pero la magnitud de la variación es muy incierta en las simulaciones tanto del GCM como del RCM. La disminución proyectada es mayor al inicio de la temporada de lluvias y suprime la sequía del medio verano en el Caribe occidental. Las simulaciones del RCM muestran avances respecto del GCM, sobre todo por sus mejores representaciones de la extensión territorial, pero su desempeño depende en gran medida de la conducción del GCM. El presente estudio destaca la necesidad de contar con observaciones de alta resolución y comparar simulaciones de modelos climáticos para entender a fondo el cambio climático y su impacto en las pequeñas islas del Caribe. ABSTRACTObserved and projected changes in climate have serious socio-economic implications for the Caribbean islands. This article attempts to present basic climate change information-based on previous studies, available observations and climate model simulations-at spatial scales relevant for islands in the Caribbean. We use the General Circulation Model (GCM) data included in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 3 (CMIP3) and the UK Hadley Centre regional climate model (RCM) data to provide both present-day and scenario-based future information on precipitation and temperature for individual island states. Gridded station observations and satellite data are used to study 20th century climate and to assess the performance of climate models. With main focus on precipitation, we also discuss factors such as sea surface temperature, sea level pressure and winds that affect seasonal variations in precipitation. The CMIP3 ensemble me...

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Climate Change in the Caribbean: The Water Management Implications

Cited by 86 publications

References 15 publications

From days to decades: numerical modelling of freshwater lens response to climate change stressors on small low-lying islands

From days to decades: numerical modelling of freshwater lens response to climate change stressors on small low-lying islands

Collaborative Environmental Governance, Inter-Agency Cooperation and Local Water Sustainability in China

A review of observed and projected changes in climate for the islands in the Caribbean

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