Saint Lucia is a middle-income Small Island Developing State (SIDS) located north of Martinique in the Eastern Caribbean. Climate models predict St. Lucia will experience sea level rise and storm surges, coral bleaching, increased tropical storms and heat waves, prevalence of pests, disease and invasive species. The country's climate is characterised by variable dry, wet, and hurricane seasons. St Lucia is not climate ready to cope with extreme weather events such as floods and drought, which may lead to concerns about human well-being including water access and availability. Knowing also Saint Lucia's economy depends on coastal resources; any future climatic changes that impact the country's biodiversity, coastline, coral reefs, fisheries and other tourist attractions may significantly impact its economy development and prosperity. Due to its small size and relative lack of geological resources, the economy of Saint Lucia relies primarily on the sale of banana crops, and the income generated from tourism. With incidence of negative GDP growth in the past, Saint Lucia has had additional input from small-scale manufacturing and fisheries. Despite the government's effort in mainstreaming climate change into development planning, several barriers and human resource constraints thwart these efforts.

Soufriere quarter on the SW coast of Saint Lucia was chosen as a GIVRAPD project focus area (Fig 1). It is the westernmost town and district of St Lucia and has become particularly specialised in ecotourism in addition to traditional agrarian livelihood activities. Much of Soufriere's physical capital is unable to deal with current climate pressures such as increased frequency and intensity of hurricanes. Furthermore, Soufriere's agriculture and tourism industries depend on freshwater supply and fisheries, both of which are threatened by climate change impacts. In addition to high unemployment and poverty, Soufriere also contends with other development challenges such as gender inequalities, crime and brain drain.

Policy highlights:

• Saint Lucia's resource dependent economy is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and weather-related disaster with implications for human welfare, livelihoods, and economic development.
• The GIVRAPD project focused on three main areas for adaptation planning and coastal resilience including biophysical and vulnerability assessment, crosssectoral and multi-stakeholder participatory planning, and the use of micro-insurance as an adaptation strategy.
• Institutional partnerships amongst various levels of government and stakeholder networks could further improve community resilience through local leadership and adaptive governing capacity.

Picture: David Kirsch