Saint Lucia National Climate Change Adaptation Policy 2003.

The National Climate Change Adaptation Policy aims to foster and guide a national process of addressing the short, medium and long term effects of climate change in a holistic and participatory manner in order to ensure that the quality of life of the people of St. Lucia, and sustainable development are not compromised. The Objectives of this policy are to: 1. Foster the development of processes, plans, strategies and approaches to: Avoid, minimise or adapt to the negative impacts of climate change on St. Lucia’s natural environment including ecosystems, species, genetic resources, ecological processes, lands and water. Avoid, minimise or respond to the negative impacts of Climate Change on economic activities. Reduce or avoid damage to human settlements and infrastructure caused by Climate Change. Avoid or minimise the negative impact of climate change on human health. Improve knowledge and understanding of climate change issues in order to obtain broad-based support for, and participation in climate change activities. Conduct systematic research and observation on Climate Change related factors in order to improve forecasting and to supply the neccessary planning and response measures.
2. Foster the development and application of appropriate legal and institutional systems and management mechanisms for planning for and responding to climate change. 3. Foster the development of appropriate economic incentives to encourage public and private sector adaptation measures. Agricultural production is important for national food security as well as for the generation of employment and foreign exchange. It is recognised that Climate Change may seriously impact agricultural production and threaten food security. Risks to agriculture are likely to include: Increased water demand and reduced water supply due to increased temperatures; Increased occurrence of agricultural pests; Reduced production due to modified and agro-climatic regimes; Accelerated soil erosion and increased salinisation.
The Government of St. Lucia recognises that coastal and marine resources are at greatest risk from the effects of climate change due in large measure to the fact that: a) Coastal ecosystems such as coral reefs are very sensitive to changes in temperature; and b) sea level rise, which is one of the primary anticipated results of climate change, will affect numerous ecosystems as well as the coastline itself. Impacts are expected to include: · Inundation of coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangrove swamps as a result of sea level rise; · Erosion of beaches and coastal lands due to sea level rise and changing coastal processes; · Loss of fishery production due to increased sea temperatures and sea level rise; · Fish kills and coral die-off due to increased sea water temperatures
The Government of Saint Lucia, working in collaboration with all stakeholders will take the following actions: Conserve important ecosystems and wildlife habitats, sustain and enhance the productive potential of all natural habitats. b. Reduce, minimize and mitigate the impacts of developments on land and other natural resources. c. Minimise coastal and marine pollution derived from run-off and contamination from human settlements, agriculture, tourism, recreation and industry. d. Improve the quality of the environment in urban areas, and provide universal access to water and sanitation. e. Promote integrated water resources and watershed management, encourage water conservation and water storage, protect rivers, buffers and critical watershed areas, and establish riparian buffer zones. f. Promote integrated coastal zone management, more specifically with regards to regulating coastal developments, zoning, setbacks, and limits on infrastructural development, buffer zones and special areas. g. Preserve land use options and promote sustainable uses in all areas, especially those where land uses are diverse and intensive, including the coastal zone.