Adapt, build resilience, transform
Dr Anjani Ganase presents important take-aways from the latest (2019) IPCC report, with recommendations for governments and communities For island nations, the ocean has multiple roles: it defines our boundaries and uniqueness, yet it is the means for exchange of goods and services. The ocean is our major source of food and recreation; and the resource that supports livelihoods, communities and economies. The marine environment around Trinidad and Tobago includes coral reefs that fringe our coastlines but extend to deep ocean habitats beyond the edge of the continental shelf. On a broader scale, the ocean is our regulator of climate, absorbing heat from the atmosphere (more than 90 % of it) and carbon dioxide. Trinidad and Tobago’s close connection to the ocean, like that of many other small island developing states (SIDS), also makes us more vulnerable to the changes in the ocean system. The latest Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC Special Report on Oceans and ...