Earth Today | New website provides look into Jamaica’s climate projects

JAMAICANS NOW have the opportunity to get in the know about their island's efforts to minimise the fallout from extreme hurricanes and other climate change impacts, thanks to the launch of a new website: www.ppcrja.org.jm.

The site was activated by the internationally implemented Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience (PPCR), a US$1.2-billion funding window of the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) for climate adaptation and resilience building, and highlights the work of its five projects in Jamaica.

"The Jamaica PPCR website creates a space for all five projects being implemented nationally to raise their visibility locally and to highlight their success stories and lessons learned, regionally and globally," said Dr Winsome Townsend, project manager for the Adaptation Programme and Financing Mechanism (AP&FM) of the PPCR.

The AP&FM is one of the five PPCR projects in Jamaica and is responsible for the development and maintenance of the website.

"The website is also a tool for communication between the PPCR stakeholders for the sharing of expertise, knowledge and resources. Importantly, the website will be a critical platform for providing information to the general public on the work of the PPCR in Jamaica," Townsend added.

It introduces users to the projects and provides updates on the latest developments on each.

LOCAL PROJECTS

In addition to the AP&FM, they include:

- Improving Climate Data and Information Management (implemented by the Planning Institute of Jamaica [PIOJ]);

- Promoting Community-based Resilience in the Fisheries Sector (to be implemented by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries);

- Financing Water Adaptation in Jamaica's New Housing Sector (implemented by the JN Group); and

- Investment Plan for the Caribbean Regional Track (implemented Mona Office of Research and Innovation at the University of the West Indies).

"The PPCR tackles climate change adaptation from several perspectives, so being able to find information in one place on the website is helpful to those persons interested in learning how Jamaica is adapting and what is being done on the ground," said Claire Bernard, Jamaica's PPCR focal point at the PIOJ.

The Jamaican Government, together with the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank, developed the island's PPCR to help the country strengthen its climate resilience through enhancing adaptive capacity across priority sectors.

To date, US$973.8 million is being utilised to implement 72 projects in a range of countries, including Jamaica, which gets funds as a part of the PPCR for the Caribbean region. Jamaica is also a beneficiary under the Caribbean regional track of the PPCR.

"The PPCR is global and so the website will also allow us to share programme implementation successes and challenges with other SIDS and PPCR countries like the Pacific islands, thereby contributing to the learning ethos of the PPCR," said Bernard.

-P.W.R.