The Caribbean region faces many challenges associated with projected changes in climate with implications for rising sea levels, flooding, coral bleaching, fish migration patters, food security and associated economic disparity. The impact of these changes will vary across the Caribbean. Each island, a stretch of coastline and communities will experience these changes differently, and have diverse capacities to respond. Adaptation to climate change is therefore inherently a problem of governance.

However, these governance deliberations involve several caveats:

1. Focus on climate change adaptation must be caution not to overlook other sustainable development challenges, which may not necessarily be climate-related;
2. Targeted adaptation strategies must emerge through legitimate, fair and transparent processes, to promote the general well-being of communities,and increase the ability of individuals and organisations to address emerging threats; and
3. The complexity of these requirements mean that no single action or institution and successfully manage climate change

Thus, multiple actors across jurisdictional levels and sectors must collaborate and be flexible with climate uncertainties.

Policy highlights:

• Climate change adaptation in the Caribbean is a problem of multi-level governance
• Multi-level governance is essential as it links policy processes and institutions at different jurisdictional and organisational levels through which societies make collective decisions
• Our research reveals various multi-level arrangements in the Caribbean contexts that promote adaptive capacity through stakeholder alliances, social networks and partnerships
• Key lessons of these institutional arrangements include collaborative networks that empower and create spaces for social learning and knowledge mobilization.

Picture: Sofitel So Mauritius