Intra-ACP GCCA Programme

The Intra-ACP Programme provides, through a dedicated Climate Support Facility, on-demand short-term technical assistance to stakeholders to address climate change issues in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

Integrating Climate Change Aspects in Dominica’s Land Use Policy and Physical Development Planning

Image

Context

Dominica is one of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and considered as highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Approximately 70% of the country’s 70,000 inhabitants reside in coastal areas. Many of these coastal settlements are extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, due to the high risk of inundation by sea surge associated with rising sea levels. Inland settlements are similarly vulnerable due to their location in river valleys or on steep slopes that are prone to landslides during heavy and prolonged rainfall. 

The Caribbean Development Bank is currently assisting the Government of Dominica to prepare a new National Land Use Policy as well as a National Physical Development Plan.

However, climate change aspects were not adequately integrated in the terms of reference of the mission in charge of developing these policy papers. The Chief Physical Planner therefore requested technical support from the Intra-ACP Programme Climate Support Facility to carry out a preparatory vulnerability assessment, to identify priority actions that should be undertaken to reduce the current vulnerability, and to highlight climate change aspects that are of relevance to the development of the two mentioned policy papers.

Objective

Ensure adequate integration of climate change aspects in Dominica’s land use policy and physical development planning in order to reduce the vulnerability of Dominica’s population to negative effects of climate change.

Results

The team of experts carried out a mission of 3 weeks in order to carry out a vulnerability and risk assessment.

The mission included a review of relevant documents, field assessments and mapping of the situation and the organisation of a workshop in order to discuss the prioritisation of the identified measures.

The vulnerability assessment focused on the three main threats in Dominica: sea level rise, flooding and landslides. All relevant stakeholders were consulted and the expert is currently finalising his report and recommendations for the National Land Use Policy and the National Physical Development Plan.

Next steps

Complementary to the support provided during this mission, it was agreed that there is a need to organise a training workshop on climate change mainstreaming. The beneficiaries of the workshop will be the senior officials of all sectors concerned by the National Land Use Policy and the National Physical Development Plan. The workshop will enable the beneficiaries to mainstream climate change in their respective sector strategies and implementation programmes that will be elaborated on the basis of the new policy and plan.

Need assistance too?

If you also need short-term technical assistance in the field of climate change and are part of the ACP countries, you are welcome to submit a request through the on-line application form on the GCCA website:

http://www.gcca.eu/intra-acp/customised-short-term-technical-assistance