Adaptation: Rapid Institutional Analysis (ARIA) PHASE II RESEARCH REPORT Trinidad and Tobago

This report presents a rapid institutional analysis of the readiness of Trinidad and Tobago's food production, coastal zone management, and tourism sectors to adapt to climate change. Using the Adaptation: Rapid Institutional Analysis (ARIA) tool, the study evaluates these sectors across five indicators: vulnerability assessment, prioritisation, coordination, information management, and mainstreaming. The findings reveal significant institutional gaps across all three sectors, including a lack of comprehensive vulnerability assessments, inadequate prioritisation of adaptation strategies, and the absence of formal mainstreaming processes in sectoral planning.

• There is a critical lack of vulnerability and impact (V&I) assessments across the three priority sectors. The tourism sector has no such assessment, and the coastal zone management sector lacks a comprehensive national assessment. The food production sector has only one existing assessment, conducted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC) in 2011, which primarily focuses on biophysical and economic impacts.
• Climate change adaptation is not a stated strategic focus for the food production or tourism sectors. While the Ministry of Food Production has initiatives that relate to adaptation, such as water management and flood control, they are not explicitly framed as climate adaptation strategies. Similarly, the Ministry of Tourism and the Tourism Development Company (TDC) are not currently implementing specific activities geared toward climate change adaptation.
• The National Steering Committee on Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), chaired by the Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA), represents the most significant effort in both coordination and adaptation for the coastal zone. This Cabinet-appointed multi-sectoral committee includes twelve members from government ministries, state agencies, and one civil society representative from the Council of Presidents of the Environment (COPE).
• National budgetary allocations for climate adaptation are considered inadequate or insufficient. In the food production sector, the Ministry of Food Production has noted that its budgets are often the first to be cut, which compromises performance. In the tourism sector, the TDC reported that its budgetary allocation for environmental initiatives for the 2014 fiscal year was less than requested.
• Climate-relevant data (rainfall, temperature, and wind) is available to all sectors through the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service (TTMS), which also provides an agro-meteorological forecasting service for farmers. However, there is no single national platform for the exchange or consolidation of climate information for any of the priority sectors.
• There are no formal processes for mainstreaming climate change risk and adaptation into sectoral planning for food production, coastal zone management, or tourism. However, the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (GORTT) is working with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to strengthen the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) to improve its role in mainstreaming these priorities across all development sectors.

APA

Climate and Development Knowledge Network (2013). Adaptation: Rapid Institutional Analysis (ARIA) PHASE II RESEARCH REPORT Trinidad and Tobago. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/ARIA-Phase-II-Priority-areas-report-Trinidad-and-Tobago290315.pdf

Chicago

Climate and Development Knowledge Network. Adaptation: Rapid Institutional Analysis (ARIA) PHASE II RESEARCH REPORT Trinidad and Tobago. 2013. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/ARIA-Phase-II-Priority-areas-report-Trinidad-and-Tobago290315.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |title=Adaptation: Rapid Institutional Analysis (ARIA) PHASE II RESEARCH REPORT Trinidad and Tobago |date=November 2013 |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/ARIA-Phase-II-Priority-areas-report-Trinidad-and-Tobago290315.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateanddevelopmentknowledgenetwork2013adaptation, author = {{Climate and Development Knowledge Network}}, title = {{Adaptation: Rapid Institutional Analysis (ARIA) PHASE II RESEARCH REPORT Trinidad and Tobago}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2013}, month = nov, url = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/ARIA-Phase-II-Priority-areas-report-Trinidad-and-Tobago290315.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }