Making adaptation work: An institutional analysis of climate change adaptation in Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Lucia

This technical paper provides an institutional analysis of climate change adaptation in Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Lucia, examining the governance processes, institutional capacities, and civil society engagement necessary to address climate risks in small island states.

• Effective climate change adaptation depends on both the capacity to assess threats and vulnerabilities and governance processes such as political leadership, coordination, accountability, and inclusive decision-making. The text notes that "soft adaptations", including institutional arrangements and behavioural changes, are often more legitimate and equitable when they involve public engagement.
• The implementation of adaptation plans is frequently piecemeal. This is attributed to factors such as insufficient financing, poor coordination, weak accountability, a lack of public engagement, an incomplete understanding of vulnerabilities, or a failure to integrate adaptation into sectoral policies and plans.
• Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Lucia are middle to high income small island states exposed to sea level rise, coral bleaching, acidification, and tropical storms, with projections of reduced annual average rainfall and increasing temperatures.
• While both nations have developed climate change adaptation policies and submitted two national communications to the UNFCCC, there are remaining gaps. Trinidad and Tobago requires a more thorough assessment of vulnerability, and both nations need to better assess political and socioeconomic drivers of vulnerability and create an inventory of adaptation activities to increase transparency and reduce duplication.

APA

Climate and Development Knowledge Network (2017). Making adaptation work: An institutional analysis of climate change adaptation in Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Lucia. https://cdkn.org/resource/technical-paper-making-adaptation-work-institutional-analysis-climate-change-adaptation-trinidad-tobago-saint-lucia

Chicago

Climate and Development Knowledge Network. Making adaptation work: An institutional analysis of climate change adaptation in Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Lucia. 2017. https://cdkn.org/resource/technical-paper-making-adaptation-work-institutional-analysis-climate-change-adaptation-trinidad-tobago-saint-lucia.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |title=Making adaptation work: An institutional analysis of climate change adaptation in Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Lucia |date=27 January 2017 |url=https://cdkn.org/resource/technical-paper-making-adaptation-work-institutional-analysis-climate-change-adaptation-trinidad-tobago-saint-lucia |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateanddevelopmentknowledgenetwork2017making, author = {{Climate and Development Knowledge Network}}, title = {{Making adaptation work: An institutional analysis of climate change adaptation in Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Lucia}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2017}, month = jan, url = {https://cdkn.org/resource/technical-paper-making-adaptation-work-institutional-analysis-climate-change-adaptation-trinidad-tobago-saint-lucia}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }