Antigua and Barbuda: National workshop on generating climate change and disasters indicators for policy decision-making

The Caribbean region is acutely threatened by climate change, particularly the Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Antigua and Barbuda is no exception. The country is highly vulnerable to climate change and its associated impacts, including extreme weather events, more frequent and severe tropical cyclones, sea level rise, increasing temperatures and changing precipitation patterns. The effects of climate change have evidenced most recently by the impacts of Hurricane Irma in 2017 and other excess rainfall events.

Availability of quality statistics and indicators are crucial to effectively respond to the effects of climate change and build resilience. In this regard, Antigua and Barbuda has put in place a National Environmental Data and Information System (NEIS)2 and it strives to improve collection of environmental data. However, like other Caribbean SIDS, Antigua and Barbuda faces statistical and institutional challenges. Decision-making suffers from poor data analysis and decentralization of environment data production renders difficult coordination among various data producers leading to an underuse of existing data and duplication of efforts 3.

Against this backdrop, the ECLAC´s Statistics Division and Subregional Office for the Caribbean, in collaboration with the Sustainable Development and Human Settlements Division, are joining forces to enhance the production and use of key indicators and metrics to monitor and adapt to the effects of climate change and strengthen Environmental Information Systems (EIS). These efforts, supported by the Development Account of the United Nations, aim to boost the environmental pillar of the 2030 Agenda and improve policy coherence in the implementation of the Escazú Agreement, the Revised St. George´s Declaration (SGD 2040), the SAMOA Pathway, the Paris Agreement, and the Sendai Framework.

Objectives

1. Train the participants to build selected environment, climate change and disaster indicators and its metadata.
2. Identify data and capacity gaps to build an information platform on resilience for the country.
3. Have a better understanding of how geospatial data can enhance the use of environment, climate change and disaster indicators for effective decision making