Potential impacts of contemporary changing climate on Caribbean coastlines

Abstract

The threat of man-induced global change on the nations of the wider Caribbean region varies from place to place because of differences in exposure to storms, differences in local tectonics and subsidence, and variations in land-use practices. Because of the large number of nations involved, many having only subsistence budgets, and the cost of deriving independently a comprehensive response to global change, the similarities and differences between national settings must be identified soon. These comparisons will form the basis for local response strategies; the common elements between nations provide a basis for responses similar to those other nations, whereas the differences mandate local adaptation. That the Caribbean will be impacted by climate change is certain: its environment, land uses, and economies are dictated in large part by this marine influence. Accompanying global change will be changes in sea level, differences in storm climate, and altered precipitation patterns; science cannot define today what form these changes will take. Because global change is inevitable—although its magnitude, timing, and geographic distribution are unknown—the wider Caribbean should begin the appropriate research and planning studies to set forth a response to global change, for implementation when scientific evidence for global change is more quantitative.