National Adaptation Plan of Saint Vincent and Grenadines.

The National Adaptation Plan is a national policy with a multi-sectoral approach. The timeframe of this Plan is 12 years between 2018 and 2030, including two main implementation phases. The overall objective of this Plan is to mainstream climate change adaptation to all relevant sectors at all levels with a gender-sensitive approach.
Institutional and legal frameworks and capacity for climate change adaptation will be developed and the Climate Change Unit will be established to support national coordination, information collection, management and sharing, support, implementation and monitoring, reporting and verification of processes and outputs. Climate change adaptation will be incorporated into national and sectoral policy, planning and programming processes to achieve a green, low-emission and climate resilient development. Adaptation strategies will be developed in various sectors, including agriculture, water, forestry, health, public infrastructure and tourism, on the mainland and in the Grenadines. In order to increase resilience to climate change in the agriculture sector, strategies for sustainable management of natural resources will be developed. Farmers' capacities will be enhanced on climate-smart agriculture and they will be encouraged to use drought-resistant crop varieties. The livelihood opportunities, social protection and safety nets will be supported for smallholders, farmers, pastoralists, fishermen and forest- and tree-dependent people. Research, data and information management and sharing, and access to technology and financing for adaptation will be developed to contribute to climate risk management and resilient development. To this end, a research plan will be formulated to strengthen data and information on the impacts, vulnerability and adaptation responses, including the ocean and water column and marine biodiversity and ecosystem-based adaptation. The impacts of climate change, the levels of vulnerability to climate change, adaptive capacity, adaptation processes, and implementation of policies and plans will be monitored in a regular basis. Impact assessment will be carried out on coastal and marine ecosystems and commercial fisheries to cope with climate change. Public awareness will be raised on the adverse impacts of climate change through education and other capacity building programmes. Public participation will be encouraged in decision-making processes. Women and girls will be empowered to build their adaptive capacity and gender equality will be promoted as a long-term goal. Climate change adaptation and disaster risk management will be incorporated into school curriculum.
Monitoring and evaluation systems will be upgraded for the effective implementation of this Plan. The Sustainable Development Unit shall be responsible for the monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of this Plan and reporting to UNFCCC.