Date: 12/12/2022
Duration: 14:00 (GMT)
Building climate resilience in Small Islands
In this webinar, Commonwealth Alumnus Dr Claire Durant will discuss how climate change is negatively impacting Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Caribbean. These islands are on the front line of climate-induced challenges and are already experiencing sea level rise, influxes of Sargassum seaweed, saltwater intrusion into freshwater aquifers, hurricanes, drought, and increased temperatures.
Despite their small contribution to global Green House Gas emissions, Barbados and the Commonwealth of Dominica have to respond to the challenges caused by climate change whilst safeguarding fragile economies and ecosystems. Home-grown solutions to climate impacts are being developed from the grassroots level with contributions by youth and citizen scientists.
This webinar will address the CSC development theme, Strengthening resilience and response to crises.
The webinar will last for approximately one hour, including a Q&A session.
Open to all Commonwealth Scholars and Alumni, the monthly webinars will address one of the CSC’s six development themes and provide an opportunity for attendees to engage in real-time Q&A discussion on the topic presented.
You can watch previous webinars on the CSC’s YouTube channel.
Dr Claire Durant is a Senior Climate Resilience Expert with Abt Associates contributing to the development of Caribbean Resilient Economies and Sectors activities. Dr Durant is a textbook author for Macmillan Caribbean and a judge for the Macmillan Young Caribbean Environmental Scientist of the Year Competition 2022-2023.
As a Resilience Mapping Consultant for the Commonwealth of Dominica Climate Resilience and Executing Agency (CREAD), Dr Durant supported the island’s strategic planning and capacity building towards achieving its goal of becoming the first climate resilient nation in the world.
As a Senior Non-Key Expert for the EU Global Climate Change Alliance Initiative (GCCA+) in Barbados, Dr Durant supported the design of a National Carbon Credit Initiative in collaboration with the EU, national stakeholders, and policy makers. Project goals included environmental sustainability, climate adaptation, and the generation of a safe and decent livelihood opportunities for youth, women and vulnerable persons.
As Project Consultant for the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) and Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), she developed the multifaceted ‘Building Climate Resilience in Barbados’ Agriculture Sector – Irrigation and Wider Adaptation Project’, designed to prepare farmers and youth entrepreneurs to embrace climate smart agriculture, and handle both challenges and opportunities inherent in future production.
Dr Claire Durant is a 1992 Commonwealth Scholar from Barbados. She completed a PhD in Biology at Imperial College London.
