Sustainable Development of SIDS; Climate Change
- mpgoede
- Apr 5, 2012
- 1 min read
Climate change
Climate change is a global issue (Sarkar, 2011). Climate change is a fact in the Caribbean. “Caribbean rainfall are characterized by pronounced wet and dry seasons, with as much as 65 percent of annual rainfall totals falling during the wet season” (Pulwarty, Nurse, Trotz, 2010. P. 17-1).The rain season is from June to December. In recent years the Caribbean SIDS experienced sequence of significant climate events: High hurricane activity and drought. Drought has received relatively little attention. For the Caribbean an increase of the temperature from 1.5 to 2 centigrade’s are expected. This will lead to decrease length of rainy season; Increase of frequency of intense rain; Sea level rise30 – 50 cm by 2080. Thus the Caribbean experiences extended periods of wet and dry conditions lasting from years too decades (Pulwarty, Nurse, Trotz, 2010). Estimates indicate that only 25 percent of Caribbean’s reefs are in good health (Pulwarty, Nurse, Trotz, 2010).
According to the World Bank the economic impact of climate change on the Caribbean will be significant (Haites, 2011).
(Videos are in Dutch)
In Curacao government and most of the people ignore the topic of climate change. Even the most obvious signs are ignored. For example the damage done by Tomas in 2011 is forgotten and we have not learned much.
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