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The Caribbean Climate Online Risk and Adaptation TooL (CCORAL) is a web-based system developed by the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre to help government officials and other organisations embed climate resilience into their decision-making. Part of the Caribbean Risk Management Project, the tool supports the goals of the Regional Framework for Achieving Development Resilient to Climate Change and the associated Implementation Plan. It aims to promote 'no-regret' actions and flexible solutions to protect sustainable development and the Millennium Development Goals from climate change impacts. The tool's development involved consultations in Belize, Suriname, Barbados, and Jamaica, with a primary focus on anchoring the system within ministries of finance and planning.

The document outlines the high cost of natural disasters in the Caribbean, noting $33bn in damages from 2000-2009. It identifies sea-level rise, coastal erosion, and changing rainfall patterns as primary threats to the tourism and agriculture sectors, while suggesting micro-insurance, irrigation, and spatial planning as adaptation strategies.

The study predicts that under the A1B medium emissions scenario for 2041-2070, sweet potato production in Jamaica will see significant increases in yield and biomass, alongside improved water productivity, suggesting the crop is a viable adaptation option for the region.

The document describes Community Based Vulnerability Assessments (CBVA) as a collaborative process using semi-structured interviews and participatory workshops to identify climate hazards and barriers to adaptation. It highlights the Local Adaptive Capacity (LAC) approach, which assesses resilience across five areas: physical, social, information and knowledge, innovation, and governance. In the Soufriére region of Saint Lucia, the LAC framework found that natural resources provided some resilience, but this was undermined by a 42.9% poverty rate, a 23.8% unemployment rate (2012), and over-reliance on tourism. The text emphasizes that local networks are most effective when they maintain strong links between community, regional, and national organizations to share information and lobby for action.

The document advocates for the integration of local communities in climate adaptation, highlighting tools like Community Based Vulnerability Assessments (CBVA) and the Local Adaptive Capacity (LAC) framework to identify hazards and assess resilience. It emphasizes that local networks are most effective when they maintain strong links with national and regional organizations to influence policy and share information.

The document outlines several climate data tools for the Caribbean, including the CARIWIG portal for historical data and projections, the CARIDRO drought tool, and the Tropical Storm Model (TSM). It highlights specific research applications in Belize, Jamaica, and Cuba, and introduces the Caribbean Climate Online Risk and Adaptation tool (CCORAL) to help decision-makers integrate climate change into policy despite inherent projection uncertainties.

The document outlines the CARIWIG online data portal, which provides historical climate data and future projections at a 25km resolution for the Caribbean. It highlights four specific tools: a Weather Generator used in Belize to link rising minimum temperatures to dengue fever risks; a Tropical Storm Model used in Jamaica to predict river discharge timing during category 5 hurricanes; the CARIDRO drought tool used in Cuba to project 12-18 moderate to extreme droughts in Las Tunas province by 2050; and the CCORAL tool for integrating climate change into policy. The research emphasizes implementing adaptation actions that perform well across a wide range of uncertain future conditions.

The report examines flood risk in Jamaica, noting that while tropical cyclones cause the largest losses, flooding is not strictly related to storm intensity but often to preceding rainfall. It highlights that public infrastructure, particularly roads and bridges, suffers the most damage. Despite repeated recommendations for hazard mapping and watershed management, the report finds a persistent lack of enforcement regarding 'no build zones' and a critical shortage of digital spatial data for planners.

The document outlines the critical role of Caribbean governments in driving climate resilience through the integration of climate risks into national planning, the building of institutional capacity, and the translation of national policies into local action via local actor networks.

The paper examines how multilevel governance can facilitate climate change adaptation in Jamaica's coastal-marine environments. Using a case study approach and Social Network Analysis (SNA), the authors identify the roles of various state and non-state actors. Preliminary findings highlight the importance of bridging organizations, such as the Department of Fisheries (DoFish), and the potential of the newly established Climate Change Focal Point Network to strengthen horizontal coordination among government agencies. The study argues for the need to strengthen vertical ties between national and local levels and to leverage public-private partnerships to enhance adaptive capacity.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is a comprehensive international agreement establishing a legal framework for the use, conservation, and management of the world's oceans and seas. It defines various maritime zones, including the territorial sea, exclusive economic zone, and the continental shelf, while establishing the International Seabed Authority to manage the 'Area' (the seabed beyond national jurisdiction) as the common heritage of mankind. The document details the rights and duties of coastal and land-locked states, rules for navigation and innocent passage, obligations for the protection of the marine environment, and mechanisms for the settlement of maritime disputes.

The report finds that South African environmental laws generally lack mandatory disclosure requirements for licences and compliance data, relying instead on the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA). This contrasts with jurisdictions like Australia and Canada, where public registries are more common. Analysis of multinational companies shows they typically disclose information only where legally required. The report recommends making disclosure mandatory for all licence holders and establishing central online public registries.

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) issued climate-related recommendations or questions to 35 out of 43 States considered in 2023. The Committee primarily focused on the differentiated impact of climate change on women, emphasizing the need for gender-responsive strategies in adaptation and disaster risk reduction, as well as the increased vulnerability of rural, Indigenous, migrant, and refugee women. While less frequent than adaptation, the Committee also addressed mitigation policies, fossil fuel extraction—specifically criticizing Norway's expansion of oil and gas permits in the Arctic—and the necessity of women's participation in the UNFCCC loss and damage fund.

The Human Rights Committee (CCPR) addressed climate change in its 2023 state review procedure through two Concluding Observations and two Lists of Issues. Key focus areas included Brazil's lack of action on climate change and Amazon deforestation, mitigation efforts in Namibia and Pakistan, the rights of Indigenous Peoples in Namibia, Suriname, Brazil, and Jamaica, and the protection of environmental defenders in Panama and Serbia.

The document synthesizes the work of UN human rights treaty bodies (HRTBs) in addressing climate change, specifically focusing on Concluding Observations issued to States. It highlights that while climate change is not explicitly in key human rights treaties, HRTBs increasingly use their monitoring roles to argue that protecting human rights requires specific climate action. The report details recommendations across several themes, including the disproportionate impacts on women, children, and indigenous peoples, the need for gender-sensitive and child-sensitive climate strategies, and the obligation of some States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel extraction to meet human rights standards. It provides detailed analysis of the three most active bodies: CEDAW, CESCR, and CRC.

The report outlines how the CEDAW Committee interprets States' obligations to ensure gender-responsive climate action, emphasizing the particular vulnerabilities of rural and older women and the necessity of women's participation in decision-making.

The report outlines how the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) interprets the 1989 CRC Convention to protect children from climate change. It highlights that while the Convention implicitly protects rights to life, health, and education, the Committee has explicitly urged States to place children's health at the center of climate strategies and to ensure children's participation in decision-making. The document analyzes 24 Concluding Observations from the past decade, noting a trend of recommendations directed toward climate-vulnerable developing countries, focusing on adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and the integration of child-sensitive strategies into national plans.

The report examines the critical role of land and resource tenure in community-based conservation, contrasting the often-destructive nature of state-owned 'public' tenure with the adaptive and sustainable characteristics of community-based systems. It argues that when states delegitimize local tenure, they often create 'open access' conditions that lead to biodiversity loss and resource pillaging. Conversely, secure community tenure—characterized by flexible, overlapping rights and deep ecological knowledge—tends to support long-term resource stability. The authors advocate for the official state recognition of community perimeters rather than the detailed codification of customary laws, which can disrupt local flexibility. While acknowledging that tenure alone does not guarantee conservation success, the text concludes that the erosion of community rights is a primary driver of environmental degradation in many developing nations.

Catastrophe (CAT) bonds are high-yield debt instruments that provide rapid liquidity after natural disasters, such as hurricanes and earthquakes, by transferring risk to investors. The document details how these bonds are structured using parametric or industry-loss triggers and identifies the roles of commercial providers, multilateral development banks (MDBs), and regional pools. It outlines the internal and regulatory capacities governments need to issue these bonds, the challenges of basis risk and high transaction costs, and provides examples of sovereign issuances in countries like Mexico, Chile, and Jamaica.

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) Accreditation Panel recommends the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) for accreditation as a regional entity for 'small' projects (up to USD 50 million) with a high environmental and social risk category (Category A/I-1). The CDB demonstrated strong fiduciary standards, a track record of mobilizing approximately USD 200 million for climate action, and a robust gender equality policy. However, accreditation is conditional upon the CDB establishing a public system for reporting the progress of grant-funded projects and finalizing a permanent external communications mechanism for environmental and social complaints.