Identifying and lifting climate adaptation barriers in St Lucia using a participatory approach

This research paper describes a participatory methodology used to identify and address climate adaptation barriers in St Lucia, focusing on the agriculture, fisheries, and tourism sectors. The study highlights a disconnect between national-level planning and local-level implementation, identifying land use planning and conflicting stakeholder values as primary obstacles to resilience.

• The participatory methodology revealed that climate adaptation planning in St Lucia is dominated by the national government and agencies, with limited involvement of local actors in the planning or implementation of adaptation actions.
• Land use tenure and planning were identified as critical, recurring barriers across the agriculture, fisheries, and tourism sectors. Specifically, the fisheries and tourism groups identified 'Poor planning of land use at national level' as their primary barrier, while the agriculture group cited the 'Land tenure system' as a cause for its barrier.
• A significant culture-based barrier was identified in the agriculture sector: 'Conflicting values and preferences from stakeholders involved that do not allow for consensus or agreement.' This barrier is driven by short political cycles, obstructive vested interests, and a reluctance to make long-term decisions.
• Funding for climate adaptation is primarily sourced from international donor agencies and the Ministry of Finance, but it remains concentrated at the national level with very little reaching local actors.
• Proposed practical actions to overcome adaptation barriers include the development of a comprehensive national land use management plan, a national integrated development plan, and the creation of formal mechanisms to integrate climate considerations into local policies and activities.
• The study notes that adaptation in St Lucia is currently confined to the planning phase at the national level, with insufficient evidence of implementation at either the national or local levels, and funding is predominantly used for planning rather than action.

APA

STANTON, M. B., & DOWNING, T. E. (2014). Identifying and lifting climate adaptation barriers in St Lucia using a participatory approach. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Working-Paper-Identifying-and-lifting-climate-adaptation-barriers-in-St-Lucia-using-a-participatory-approach.pdf

Chicago

STANTON, Muriel BONJEAN, and Thomas E. DOWNING. Identifying and lifting climate adaptation barriers in St Lucia using a participatory approach. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2014. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Working-Paper-Identifying-and-lifting-climate-adaptation-barriers-in-St-Lucia-using-a-participatory-approach.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=STANTON |first1=Muriel BONJEAN |last2=DOWNING |first2=Thomas E. |title=Identifying and lifting climate adaptation barriers in St Lucia using a participatory approach |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=2014 |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Working-Paper-Identifying-and-lifting-climate-adaptation-barriers-in-St-Lucia-using-a-participatory-approach.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stanton2014identifying, author = {STANTON, Muriel BONJEAN and DOWNING, Thomas E.}, title = {{Identifying and lifting climate adaptation barriers in St Lucia using a participatory approach}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2014}, url = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Working-Paper-Identifying-and-lifting-climate-adaptation-barriers-in-St-Lucia-using-a-participatory-approach.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }