21 September 2018: Saint Lucia has submitted its National Adaptation Plan (NAP) for the 2018-2028 period to the UNFCCC Secretariat, having initiated the NAP process in 2017 to facilitate mid- and long-term climate change adaptation planning and to enable the integration of adaptation considerations into relevant policies, programmes and development planning.

Saint Lucia is particularly vulnerable to climate change due to, inter alia, dependence on few sources of income such as agriculture and tourism, which have already been severely reduced by climate-related disasters, and limited capacity to reactivate the development process after a devastating weather event.

Saint Lucia’s NAP consists of cross-sectoral and sectoral adaptation measures for eight sectors/areas, namely water, agriculture, fisheries, infrastructure and spatial planning, natural resource management (terrestrial, coastal and marine), education, health and tourism. The NAP will be complemented with Sectoral Adaptation Strategies and Action Plans (SASAPs), which will be elaborated with detailed priority measures and indicative outputs to support project design.

The NAP, the result of stakeholder consultations and literature reviews, includes 40 cross-sectoral adaptation measures and 271 adaptation measures for priority sectors/areas. The measures offer solutions to information, technical, institutional, financial, regulatory and policy limitations hindering the country’s adaptation efforts. They contribute to achieving two overarching adaptation goals, namely: enhancing the national enabling environment for climate-related adaptation and risk reduction action within and across development sectors; and accelerating implementation of climate change adaptation and risk reduction actions critical to safeguarding the country’s socioeconomic and environmental systems.

Limits to adaptation may result in loss and damage, leading to loss of territory, displacement and migration.

Cross-sectoral adaptation priorities and outcomes relate to: improving national, legal and regulatory frameworks to facilitate adaptation across sectors; increasing the generation and use of climate information in national and sectoral decision making; increasing capacities to design and implement climate change adaptation projects across sectors; strengthening national capacities for integrating climate change adaptation considerations into national development agendas, programmes and projects; strengthening preparedness to climate variability and extremes at the sectoral and national levels; and increasing adaptation funding.

The NAP also has a chapter on the “limits to adaptation,” which include: the inability of coastal ecosystems to adapt to increased sea level rise; insufficient financial resources to implement required adaptation strategies; and the lack of effective or affordable technology to provide coastal protection from sea level rise and extreme events. Such limits may result in loss and damage, leading to loss of territory, damages to critical infrastructure, loss of income and livelihoods, decreased worker productivity, and displacement and migration of communities. The NAP describes the ways in which comprehensive climate risk management addresses loss and damage through strengthening resilience. It details possible actions for risk assessment, reduction, transfer and retention, such as hazard mapping, early warning systems, and continued engagement in regional risk pooling, livelihood protection policies and insurance platforms.

The NAP is complemented by supplementary documents that facilitate its implementation, including: a stocktaking, climate risk and vulnerability assessment report; a roadmap and capacity development plan; a NAP communications strategy; SASAPs and guidelines for formulating them; and a NAP monitoring and evaluation plan. The NAP will be reviewed at least once during its first ten-year cycle, and reporting on implementation will take place annually.

The NAP process under the UNFCCC aims to: address climate-related risks and development priorities in an integrated and coordinated manner; reduce existing vulnerabilities by building adaptive capacity and resilience in all sectors and at all levels of society; and build on progress countries have already made in terms of climate change adaptation policy and action. NAP processes require resources and skills to assess, plan, prioritize, coordinate, implement, monitor and review progress; and must be flexible, transparent and country-driven, using knowledge acquired during each review cycle to guide and improve adaptation planning and tap into emerging policy integration and funding opportunities. [Saint Lucia’s NAP: 2018-2028] [UNFCCC NAP Website] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on Fiji’s NAP Submission]