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The CARIBSAVE Partnership: 

Climate Change Impacts & Tourism 
Anna Agosta G’meiner 

 

Anna Agosta G'meiner is a fourth year student double majoring in Environmental 

Policy & Practice and Physical Geography at the University of Toronto. Her areas of 

interest include the impacts of climate change in the Caribbean region, paleo-

reconstruction of sea level changes, and effective policy implementation in SIDS. At 

the University of Toronto, she has done research on Red Spruce distribution in the 

Appalachian Mountains, and more recently on paleo sea level changes in the 

Caribbean region during the Quaternary period. Anna also completed a summer 

internship at The CARIBSAVE Partnership in Barbados where she provided research 

assistance to the CARIBSAVE's Climate Change Risk Atlas Project. This project, as 

well as her previous research, will be used to further her studies at the Masters level, 

focusing on developing a greater understanding of the social, economic and physical 

capacity and constraints that the Caribbean region faces in adapting to climate 

change. 

 

Introduction 

 

 The purpose of this paper is to introduce a work placement 
opportunity which was undertaken in Barbados, in the summer of 
2011, through the Centre for the Environment ENV440H 
Professional Work Experience Course at the University of Toronto.  
This course is an opportunity for students with interests in the 
Caribbean region, climate change research, and the intersection of 
tourism, livelihoods and the environment to gain greater knowledge 
and understandings in these fields.  I will be discussing my personal 
experience during this work placement, as the first intern to 
complete a placement with The CARIBSAVE Partnership.  I will also 
briefly discuss issues relevant to climate change impacts and 
tourism. 
 
Introduction to the CARIBSAVE Partnership 

 

I conducted my summer work placement at The 
CARIBSAVE Partnership (CaribSave), a not for profit non-
governmental organization (NGO), created in 2008 as a partnership 
between the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (5Cs) 
and Oxford University, with the regional office and headquarters 



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located in Hastings, Barbados since June 2010 (CaribSave 2011).  
CaribSave was created to address several environmental issues.  As it 
is defined within its goals and mission statement, CaribSave seeks to 
address the challenges surrounding climate change, tourism, the 
environment, economic development, and community livelihoods 
across the Caribbean Basin (CaribSave 2011).  Their research focuses 
on the climate change impacts on the tourism industry and its 
adaptive capacity, since tourism is the major economic activity in the 
region (Hillman and D’Agostino 2009).  CaribSave seeks to build 
adaptive capacity in Caribbean countries, primarily by providing 
invaluable information in several key sectors (such as disaster 
management, gender equality, and biodiversity) affected by climate 
change to policy makers (Agosta G’meiner 2011, CaribSave 2011).  
CaribSave addresses several gaps including: primary research on 
sea-level rise and livelihoods, poverty & gender, making updated 
information and knowledge available to regional governments, 
building technical and human resources in the region, and 
implementation of recommendations at the community level (Agosta 
G’meiner 2011, CaribSave 2011). 

 
The organizational structure of CaribSave is complex since it is a 

multi-locational organization. The headquarters are in Barbados, 
with a staff comprising of the regional coordinator and regional 
administrator, along with 5 to 7 staff members (depending on the 
project), which make up the regional technical team.  An office is 
also located in Kent, United Kingdom (UK), where the human 
resources department is, and where most of the administrative tasks 
take place.  The CEO and several head research scientists are also in 
the UK, at Oxford University.  Several research assistants and project 
officers can be found in Trinidad, Jamaica, Belize, Canada, Germany 
and Switzerland (CaribSave 2011).  The staff is passionate about their 
work, and there is a laid back but highly productive atmosphere in 
the regional headquarters.  CaribSave is funded completely through 
international donors, international funding agencies, and 
development partners, mainly solicited through proposal 
applications.  Previous funders include CCCCC, Oxford University, 
DfID, AusAID, IDB, UNEP, and ACS (CaribSave 2011). 

 
Placement Activities 

 

The nature of my placement activities was to provide research, 
writing and technical support to the CaribSave Climate Change Risk 
Atlas (CCCRA) project, as well as writing funding proposals for small 



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projects. The main project I worked on was the Phase I of the 
CCCRA, which has an expected completion date of March 2012. My 
main task consisted of writing a draft report for the Belize Water 
Sector, which included doing extensive secondary research.  I also 
helped project managers with various tasks when needed, and had 
the opportunity to take part in a Livelihoods, Gender, Poverty, and 
Development (LGPD) Mission to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.  
These missions were undertaken by CaribSave staff in fifteen 
Caribbean countries associated with the CCCRA project in order to 
collect primary research on the impacts of climate change to LGPD. 

 
Regional Setting 

 

 The Caribbean region consists of hundreds of islands and 
cays belonging to approximately 34 country groupings, as well as 12 
continental countries with Caribbean coastlines and islands 
(CARICOM 2011). These islands vary considerably in size and are 
made up of mainly the upper parts of a submerged chain of volcanic 
mountains, as well as some coral islands that have been tectonically 
uplifted (Meditz and Hanratty 1987). There are several geological 
formations found throughout the region. These include igneous and 
metamorphic rocks, karst, coastal sedimentary plains, and fossilized 
coral formations (Ibid). These formations result in the varying 
landscapes that can be found in the region; high rugged mountains 
often covered with dense evergreen rain forests, hilly countryside 
and high plateaus from sloping mountains, karst terrain and corral 
terraces, and coastal plains usually on the southern or western sides 
of mountains (Ibid).  Rugged coastlines can be found with many 
inlets containing white or dark sands (Fig. 1). There are also active 
volcanoes in the region, most notably on the island of Dominica. 

 

 
Fig. 1: White sand beach in Barbados and Grape Vine trees in the foreground. 

Source: author’s collection 2010. 



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Tourism in the Caribbean Context and Climate Vulnerabilities 

 

Tourism resources in the Caribbean region, the main 
example being the climate itself, are all sensitive to climatic changes.  
The region has done so well as a tourist destination because it has 
pristine beaches, a balmy 30 degrees Celsius average annual 
temperature, and thriving marine and terrestrial ecosystems.  These 
systems often have a very slow response time, and thus any damage 
to them brought on by hydro-meteorological events (such as 
hurricanes, tropical storms, tropical waves, flooding, and 
windstorms) or changes in sea level or sea temperature are severe 
and lasting (Fig. 2 and Fig. 3) (Hillman and D’Agostino 2009; 
Pulwarty et al. 2010). 

 

 
Fig. 2: Bottom Bay Beach in Barbados, June 2010.  

Fig. 3: Bottom Bay Beach in Barbados, after the passage of Hurricane Tomas in 

October 2010. Source author’s collection 2010 and 2011 respectively. 

 
Of importance, as mentioned above, is the high vulnerability 

of the Caribbean region to changes in sea level.  The 
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment 
Report (IPCC AR4) lists various ways in which changes in sea levels 
could adversely affect small island states such as those found in the 
Caribbean region.  These include, but are not limited to: intrusion of 
saltwater into freshwater aquifers, degradation of coastal areas, 
beach sand erosion, and an increase in large storm surges from 
increased sea surface temperatures. All are possibilities which could 
lead to coastal degradation.  

 
 The importance of coastal degradation is further put into 

perspective when applying this to the economy of the region.  
Tourism is the driving economic force in many Caribbean countries 
(Mimura et al. 2007; Hillman and D’Agostino 2009).  In most 



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Caribbean islands, tourism accounts for 20 to 70 percent of total 
employment (the higher percentages often found on the smaller 
islands), and can generate upward of 50 percent of the Gross 
Domestic Product (GDP) on the smaller islands (Hillman and 
D’Agostino 2009). Any sea level change would cause massive 
destruction of coastal environments such as sand beaches, corals, 
mangroves, and waterfront establishments which would negatively 
impact the economy. 

 
Of importance to note is that tourism is also the main 

contributor of carbon related emissions in the region, particularly 
due to air conditioning systems and transportation (air, land, and 
water) (Clayton 2009).  For this reason, many initiatives have been 
undertaken, or are underway, in order to green this dominant sector 
of the economy.  There have been noted successes, particularly in 
Costa Rica and Belize, although many other Caribbean islands have 
been lauded for their contributions to greening the tourism sector, 
particularly Jamaica, Barbados, and Dominica (CTO 2011).  The 
highest number of Green Globe certifications in the Americas can be 
found in the Caribbean region, with over 150 hotels and attractions 
carrying the Green Globe international standard for sustainability 
stamp (Green Globe 2011). 

 
Although there have been noted successes, there are still 

thousands of hotels, attractions and transportation systems which 
have not achieved high levels of sustainability. The hopes of 
Caribbean economies increasingly rest on a strong and resilient 
tourism economy, however many countries and companies in the 
region do not have the means to create a sustainable tourism sector. 

 
Conclusion 

 

 It is due to these complex and inter-related issues that 
CaribSave has dedicated itself to addressing the challenges 
surrounding climate change, tourism, the environment, economic 
development, and community livelihoods across the Caribbean 
Basin.  These are important issues which require extensive research 
in order to comprehend their interconnectedness. This 
understanding is also important so as to develop and implement 
policies that provide adaptive capacities to climate change, as well as 
allowing un-obstructed participation in the decision making process 
at all levels, particularly those of affected local communities.  
CaribSave is well adapted to succeed in its environment. 



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Works Cited 

 
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The CARIBSAVE Partnership. Hastings, Barbados. 

 

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published). PDF File. 

 

Caribbean Community Secretariat (CARICOM), 2011. CARICOM Regional 

statistics [online]. Available at www.caricom.org [Last accessed 08 

April 2011] 

 

Clayton, A. 2009. Climate change and tourism: the implications for the 

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pg. 212-230. 

 

Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO). 2011. The official tourism 

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http://www.onecaribbean.org/ [Last accessed 09 January 2012] 

 

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Hillman, R.S., and T.J. D’Agostino. 2009. Understanding the 

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Cambridge, UK, pp. 7-22. 

 

Meditz, S.W., Hanratty, D.M. (Eds), 1987. Caribbean Islands: A Country 

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accessed 08 April 2011] 

 

Mimura, N., Nurse, L, McLean, R.F., Agard, J., Briguglio, L., Lefale, P., 

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Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group 

http://www.caricom.org/
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II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel 

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2011] 

 

http://www.caribsave.org/



