Bahamas Launches Project to Improve Coastal Resilience
NASSAU, Bahamas – The Bahamas government has launched another phase of the Climate Resilient Coastal Management & Infrastructure Program aimed at using traditional and nature-based solutions to build coastal resilience at several sites throughout the country..
Coastline on Andros IslandThe project is being funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Ministry of Public Works Project Implementation Unit has contracted The Bahamas National Trust (BNT) to help in the implementation of the project.
“The Bahamas has experienced storms of increasing intensity and frequency in recent years, with its coastal and low-lying communities feeling the brunt of the devastation first-hand,” said Shelley Cant-Woodside, BNT Director of Science and Policy.
“As a country, it is important to act now to prevent greater risk of flooding, storm surge, and environmental damage in the future. The ICZM project is the first step in improving coastal resilience, management, and infrastructure across The Bahamas on a wide scale.”
This project will offer multiple ways for community members to get involved, including paid training opportunities and contracted work. The BNT will engage community members within project site areas to help with activities, including ecosystem restoration, invasive species removal, native plant cultivation, and site management.
ICZM efforts will also include a focus on “rewilding” The Bahamas, that is, removing invasive species that cause ecosystem damage and repopulating the landscape with native species that are naturally equipped to provide coastal resilience against storms.
“Our country faces difficult questions of whether to relocate coastal populations, and how to smartly invest in more resilient infrastructure,” said the Minister of Disaster Preparedness, Management, and Reconstruction, Pakesia Parker-Edgecombe, during the virtual project launch for the East Grand Bahama activities.
“It is therefore imperative to establish a comprehensive approach to meeting these challenges and to incorporate considerations for disaster risk management into all features of national development.
“Traditionally-built shoreline protection like seawalls and jetties are expensive to build and maintain. Natural defenses represent more climate resilient alternatives that also boost livelihood,” Parker-Edgecombe added.
Under the ICZM project, restoration efforts won’t stop at the coast. The BNT will be conducting ecological assessments of other habitats like seagrass beds and coral reefs to determine restoration priorities.
The ICZM project includes terrestrial and marine activities and effective community involvement to be executed over a four-year period. Having officially begun on September 3, 2020, the project is set to continue until 2024.
