29 research outputs found
Polycentric governance, coordination and capacity: The case of sargassum influxes in the Caribbean
No full textThe merits of polycentric climate governance have attracted considerable discussion. On the one hand, polycentric governance offers an alternative to top-down state-centric forms that have so far proven elusive. On the other, highly networked systems increase coordination challenges. Less attention has been paid to the varying capacities required to achieve coordination. In this article we explore the coordination of polycentric governance via a case study of sargassum influx management in the Caribbean. Since 2011, large quantities of sargassum seaweed have been washing up on Caribbean beaches with adverse socio-economic impacts. Our analysis of sargassum management policies reveals that a nascent polycentric system has generated significant cooperation in policy development and application across the region. However, there remain national capacity deficits to engage in this form of governance and to implement agreed actions. We conclude that advocates of a polycentric climate governance regime need to consider how capacity shapes participation, to the advantage of the largest and strongest. Polycentric governance can be useful for solving disparate cross-border environmental problems, but it also imposes a cost on the smallest that has thus far been unacknowledged and undertheorized
Analysis of the real-time phases of adaptation through the lens of an emergent risk: sargassum adaptation policy analysis in the Caribbean
No full textSince 2011, countries across the Tropical Atlantic have experienced severe influxes of the seaweed sargassum, with near- and onshore ecological, economic, and social impacts locally and regionally. Not all affected countries have had the same response to this emergent environmental challenge. Here, we explore the first ten years of policies produced in response to sargassum influx risk across islands in the Wider Caribbean Region, considering the variation in form, content and aim of sargassum adaptation policies. This assessment of the variation in Caribbean adaptation policies allows for lessons to be identified for rapid adaptation to emergent environmental challenges generally. We find that several countries have no national policy for sargassum adaptation, and many sub-national island jurisdictions have no island-specific policies. Whilst there is increasing anecdotal evidence of private and local adaptations taking place to address sargassum influx events, there remains significant scope for government leadership and resource support in adapting to this emergent threat. The lesson is that private adaptations to emergent threats may be quicker to develop and execute than policy adaptation, but longer-term, larger-scale adaptations depend on evidence-based, widely supported government policies with clear avenues of funding
Adaptive capacity, governance and small island developing states: A case study of sargassum management in the Eastern Caribbean
No full textGovernance generally, and appropriate operational institutions specifically, are said to be crucial to increasing human adaptive capacity amidst environmental change. But existing conceptualizations tend to assume a universal model of governance will work for states of all sizes. This article questions this orthodoxy which disregards the lack of clarity on size-relevant institutional design and functioning. We do so by focusing on the role of governance in the adaptive capacity of small island developing states (SIDS) facing a new marine social-ecological threat. We draw on a unique dataset of capacity self-assessments undertaken by thirty-eight key agencies involved in the management of sargassum seaweed influx events in the Eastern Caribbean. We found support for the findings of public administration scholars who show that country size is a contextual factor affecting adaptive capacity beyond the control of managers. The implication is that the ability of SIDS to adapt to new or emergent environmental change is crucially inhibited by size-related governance constraints while solutions that mitigate these effects–informal networks and regional organizations–are not well captured by existing metrics. To ensure assessments of adaptive capacity are contextually appropriate we need a more nuanced appreciation of the impacts of state size on governance outcomes.</p
Science and policy lessons learned from a decade of adaptation to the emergent risk of sargassum proliferation across the tropical Atlantic
No full textClimatic and anthropogenic changes appear to be driving the emergence of new ecosystem and human health risks. As new risks emerge, and the severity or frequency of known risks change, we ask: what evidence is there of past adaptations to emergent risks? What scientific and policy processes lead to adaptive solutions that minimise the impacts of these events, and draw out opportunities? We identify science and policy lessons learned from coping with, and responding to, the sudden arrival of brown macroalgae (pelagic sargassum) that has proliferated across the tropical Atlantic since 2011. Drawing on an evidence base developed from a systematic search of literature relating to sargassum seaweed, and using event timelines and word clouds, we provide an analysis of lessons learned from a case study of adaptive responses across three continents to an emergent risk over the course of a decade. We reflect on successes and failures as well as opportunities taken in building adaptive capacity to address the risk in four key domains: policy, knowledge and evidence, monitoring and early warning, and technology and valorisation. Failures include: lack of environmental risk registries; missed opportunities to share monitoring data; and lack of a shared approach to manage the risk. Successes include: development of national management strategies; open-access knowledge hubs, networks and webinars sharing information and best practice; semi-operational early advisory systems using open access remote sensing data; numerous innovations customising clean-up and harvesting equipment, and research and development of new uses and value-added products
Giving Voice to the Invisible Through the Use of Participatory Videos to Communicate Community-level Vulnerability to Pelagic Sargassum Influxes in the Eastern Caribbean
No full textThe islands of the eastern Caribbean have been experiencing unprecedented pelagic sargassum influx events for over a decade now, which has become a significant concern for the region. Several studies have been conducted on this phenomenon, highlighting the need for diverse management responses to address this issue. However, most countries, including Saint Lucia, have been primarily reactive in their approach towards managing sargassum strandings. They have failed to implement a structured and organised plan to manage the influxes of sargassum, resulting in an ad hoc and unplanned response (Brooks et al. 2018, CRFM 2019, Djakourè et al. 2017, Doyle and Franks 2015, Gower and King 2011, Hinds et al. 2016, Hu et al. 2016, Oxenford et al. 2016, Wang and Hu 2017).
In 2017, a draft National Sargassum Management Plan was developed by the Government of Saint Lucia to address this issue. However, this Plan has several gaps and weaknesses, including a lack of consultation with the most vulnerable groups, who would be the most severely affected by sargassum influxes (Cox. Shelly-Ann, Oxenford, and McConney 2019). This is contrary to the approach that should be adopted while seeking to build resilience in communities. When dealing with physical constraints or discrimination, such as poverty, disability, and minority status, people usually have lower adaptive capacity. Therefore, their views and opinions should be considered while developing a Management Plan for sargassum influxes (Cutter, Mitchell, and Scott 2012, Yumarni et al. 2021).
This research had a unique focus called the ‘Voice of the Invisible,’ which aimed to target the poor, disabled, women, and minority groups in three communities in Saint Lucia: Dennery, Praslin, and Micoud. These groups had been excluded from previous data collection processes for sargassum management, and their views had been ignored. This research allowed their ‘voices’ to be heard and their opinions to be captured. The approach was empowering and sought to be all-inclusive, bringing the ‘voice of the voiceless’ at the heart of the discussion. The forum aimed to enable community members to demand accountability and transparency from policymakers while building resilience in the communities (CANARI 2014)
The Impact of Coastal Infrastructure Improvements on Economic Growth: Evidence from Barbados
No full textThis paper presents the first rigorous impact evaluation of a shoreline stabilization program in Barbados and attempts to assess whether shoreline stabilization investments indeed have beneficial effects on medium-term economic growth in Small Island Developing States through stimulating tourism demand and real estate development. The analysis relies on a carefully designed geographic information systems (GIS) dataset, which comprises extensive panel data from Barbados\u27 touristic West and South Coasts on key infrastructure, beach characteristics, and real estate activity, as well as remotely-sensed luminosity data as a proxy of economic growth. The synthetic control method is employed to construct a counterfactual from a combination of all control beach sites and subsequently estimate program impact on per capita luminosity as a proxy for GDP p.c.. Results indicate that even in the first three years after treatment, economic effects are positive and indicate a strong positive trend. This suggests that shoreline stabilization works may not only help preserve fragile ecological conditions, but further lead to sustainable growth in the local economy
A Retrospective Stated Preference Approach to Assessment of Coastal Infrastructure Investments: An Application to Barbados
No full textEx-post economic impact evaluations are standard requirements for loans and grants from multilateral international development institutions. In many cases, however, lack of sufficient baseline or historical data, or the very nature of the investment itself renders orthodox economic impact evaluation approaches unviable. Nonetheless, evaluations are required to provide an indication of the benefits generated by the investment and insights for future program design. Addressing this challenge, this paper develops an ecosystem service, retrospective stated preferences approach to assess the benefits of a coastal infrastructure investment in Barbados. Results show that the investment generated cultural and aesthetic ecosystem service benefits for tourists and residents, and that local businesses derived value and avoided some damage costs from the enhancement of regulatory ecosystem services. The approach is versatile facing data constraints and generates policy-relevant information to support decisions to scale up interventions, catalyze additional investment, and provide data on user preferences that can be incorporated in the design of future interventions
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No full textSize or sovereignty? Adaptive capacity and sargassum management in Caribbean small sub-national island jurisdictions (SNIJs)
No full textSmall, sub-national island jurisdictions (SNIJs) tend to perform much better on most socio-economic indicators than small island developing states (SIDS). The most commonly cited reason is that SNIJs derive a range of economic benefits from their autonomy without full independence, including cash transfers, freedom of movement, and the ability to engage in forms of enclave capitalism (i.e. financial services) that are protected by the metropole. In this paper we explore whether these arguments about the advantages of remaining sub-national also apply to transnational environmental issues, using sargassum management in the Caribbean as a case study. Specifically, we employ a bespoke diagnostic self-assessment tool to compare perceived sargassum management capacity in Caribbean SIDS and SNIJs. Contra conventional wisdom, we find smallness is a much better predictor of sargassum management capacity than political status. We hypothesize that this is because, in SNIJs, with their typically low tax regimes, local government lacks discretionary funding. Yet, associated metropolitan powers are unwilling to underwrite the required level of government intervention at scale to address significant transnational environmental threats. The fact that the advantages of remaining sub-national do not compensate for the (dis)economies of scale in select environmental policy areas has significant implications for climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction
Size or sovereignty? Adaptive capacity and sargassum management in Caribbean small sub-national island jurisdictions (SNIJs)
No full textSmall, sub-national island jurisdictions (SNIJs) tend to perform much better on most socio-economic indicators than small island developing states (SIDS). The most commonly cited reason is that SNIJs derive a range of economic benefits from their autonomy without full independence, including cash transfers, freedom of movement, and the ability to engage in forms of enclave capitalism (i.e. financial services) that are protected by the metropole. In this paper we explore whether these arguments about the advantages of remaining sub-national also apply to transnational environmental issues, using sargassum management in the Caribbean as a case study. Specifically, we employ a bespoke diagnostic self-assessment tool to compare perceived sargassum management capacity in Caribbean SIDS and SNIJs. Contra conventional wisdom, we find smallness is a much better predictor of sargassum management capacity than political status. We hypothesize that this is because, in SNIJs, with their typically low tax regimes, local government lacks discretionary funding. Yet, associated metropolitan powers are unwilling to underwrite the required level of government intervention at scale to address significant transnational environmental threats. The fact that the advantages of remaining sub-national do not compensate for the (dis)economies of scale in select environmental policy areas has significant implications for climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction
