The story of how the island nation of Dominica battles the effects of the climate crisis is the story of the Caribbean. Warmer temperatures, rising sea levels, and more extreme weather events such as hurricanes and tropical cyclones, have left the region vulnerable and its development stifled.
The International Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) has long highlighted the effects of climate change on small island development states (SIDS) in particular, but in its report released earlier this year, Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability, it emphasized the dire outcomes with renewed urgency.
The report states: “The impacts of climate change on vulnerable low-lying and coastal areas present serious threats to the ability of land to support human life and livelihood. Climate-related migration is expected to increase, although the drivers and outcomes are highly context-specific and insufficient evidence exists to estimate numbers of climate-related migrants now and in the future.”
The Commonwealth of Dominica is one such coastal area. Located between Martinique to the south and Guadeloupe to the north, the island is just over 750 square kilometer (289 square miles) in size; just slightly larger than Singapore but three times smaller than the Greater London area in the United Kingdom. This small island nation’s economy depends primarily on agriculture and tourism.
Like other island nations in the Caribbean situated within the Atlantic hurricane belt, Dominica is prone to high-intensity weather events such as hurricanes and tropical cyclones which bring fierce winds and excessive rainfall. Because these weather events often recur, citizens of Dominica suffer the repeated impacts of the loss of their homes, public services, and economic productivity. In addition, the island’s mountainous and rugged landscape creates significant engineering challenges for addressing the infrastructure vulnerability to natural disasters and climate change more broadly.
An example of this kind of vulnerability came in 2015 when Tropical Storm Erika destroyed tanks and associated structures in the water sector, estimated in the Rapid Damage and Impact Assessment to be around US $16.8 million. Torrential rain triggered flash floods and landslides that damaged water collection and distribution systems, which disrupted the country’s entire water service.
To address the infrastructure vulnerability in the country, the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), through its Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR), and partners including the World Bank and the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica, funded the Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project (DVRP).
Within the DVRP, the West Coast Water Storage Tanks project was launched with the specific aim to improve the reliability of potable service for communities in the aftermath of a destructive weather event.
The project delivered eight new reinforced concrete water tanks with capacities ranging from 30 000 to 100 000 gallons. These tanks drastically improved the water security of the island and increased water storage capacity by almost 2 million more liters. It also serves communities during both peak demand and dry seasons, when some parts of the island state experience droughts.
By investing in climate resilient infrastructure, the West Coast Water Storage Tanks project has made a considerable impact in the lives, and on the livelihoods, of Dominicans. In Morne Rachette, a village on the west coast of the island, a 45 000-gallon storage tank increased the community’s water capacity by 78 percent from 10 000 gallons to 45 000 gallons. The tank was built and situated at a higher altitude, elevated so that it provides a better water-flow to residents, particularly to those living at higher altitudes. In addition, water overflow from the tank supplements irrigation services to surrounding farms.
For example, on one farm, a farmer was able to use the overflow from the water tank that was built on his land. The surplus water from the tank is linked to a gravity-fed irrigation system which consists of an elevated reservoir with a pipe at the tank’s base that supplies water to a basic drip irrigation system. An efficient battery-powered timer controls the rate at which the crops are watered. Using gravity, water is slowly delivered to the base of the plants, drop by drop. Drip irrigation is the most water-efficient way to irrigate and when it relies on gravity for distribution. It is also extremely energy efficient!
Before this new system, the farmer harvested once a year and relied solely on the sparse rainy season. Since the water tank and gravity-fed irrigation system were installed, he can harvest all year round, increasing his productivity substantially, to five times a year. He is also able to spread production and economic risks over a broader range of crops, such as watermelons, passionfruit, Caribbean peppers, and eggplants. The overall impact is that the farmer now has reduced financial risks associated with unfavorable weather or market shocks.
Projects like these demonstrate the investment CIF’s makes to support SIDS like Dominica in climate adaptation and building resilience. The story of Dominica also emphasizes why support is needed at a much larger scale, at a faster pace, and should be replicated across the Caribbean and other regions where small island nations face similar challenges due to climate change.