Contrasting Coping in the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean

The document investigates how low-income populations in the Caribbean (Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Lucia) and the South West Indian Ocean (Mauritius, Seychelles) cope with extreme weather events. It finds a heavy reliance on 'medium level stressors' like savings and credit, which act as pseudo-insurance, and a concerning prevalence of 'high level stressors' such as 'doing nothing' (asset degradation) in the Caribbean. While there is an implicit need for microinsurance to prevent asset depletion, adoption is hindered by cost, lack of trust, and limited knowledge.

• Low-income respondents in both regions are highly vulnerable, with median expenditure per capita at 75% of the poverty line in the Caribbean and 73% in the SWIO.
• The most significant perceived risk for respondents in both regions is the loss of earning capacity, with approximately one-third considering themselves at high risk of losing customers or employment due to extreme weather.
• Coping mechanisms are dominated by medium-level stressors, specifically the use of savings, which accounted for 64.7% of responses in the SWIO and 36.2% in the Caribbean.
• The Caribbean shows a higher reliance on high-level stressors, particularly 'doing nothing' (not repairing or replacing assets), which accounted for 23% of responses compared to 5.4% in the SWIO.
• In the absence of savings, coping strategies shift toward higher-stress options: SWIO respondents move toward informal and formal borrowing, while Caribbean respondents primarily opt not to repair or replace assets or seek government assistance.
• Insurance penetration for weather-related risks is marginal; while 38% of Caribbean and 53% of SWIO respondents have some insurance, most is for life or vehicles rather than homes or crops.
• The primary barriers to insurance adoption are cost (cited by 44% in the Caribbean and 26% in the SWIO), lack of knowledge, and a lack of trust in insurance companies to pay promised amounts.
• Financial institution preferences differ by region: Caribbean respondents rely more on credit unions, whereas SWIO respondents predominantly use domestic and foreign commercial banks.

APA

Lashley, J. G. (2013). Contrasting Coping in the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/WP2-Contrasting-Coping.pdf

Chicago

Lashley, Jonathan G. Contrasting Coping in the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2013. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/WP2-Contrasting-Coping.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lashley |first1=Jonathan G. |title=Contrasting Coping in the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=October 2013 |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/WP2-Contrasting-Coping.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lashley2013contrasting, author = {Lashley, Jonathan G.}, title = {{Contrasting Coping in the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2013}, month = oct, url = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/WP2-Contrasting-Coping.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }