Vulnerability of the fisheries sector to climate change impacts in small island developing States and the Wider Caribbean

Abstract

This report is organized into five sections and is set out to examine the vulnerability of the fisheries sectors of Caribbean countries and of Caribbean SIDS in particular building on to the framework developed by Allison et al. (2009). The authors first set out to examine the outcome of different methodological choices in reference to vulnerability assessments of the fisheries sector to climate change for the three country groups: LDCs, SIDS and other coastal countries. They further built on to the framework of Allison et al. (2009) by providing an updated version of their assessment that includes nearly all coastal nations with the most recent data and a broader set of indicators. A more detailed understanding of the factors underlying exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity can assist policymakers to make more appropriate choices regarding adaptation to climate change with the aim to identify priority support needs with regard to fisheries sector vulnerability and to identify suitable responses based on the differences among Caribbean nations.