CLIMATE CHANGE COULD AFFECT TOURISM IN THE CARIBBEAN

St. John's, September 19 (PL)- Experts from Antigua and Barbuda called on Caribbean countries to raise awareness regarding the effects of climate change in the tourism industry, vital to the economy of most of these nations.

Antigua and Barbuda needs to place more emphasis on awareness and the inculcation of best practices into the minds of the population with regards to Climate Change and its likely effects on tourism dependent nations such as ours', said Yendi Jackson, an official of the Ministry of Tourism, to the digital paper Caribbean News Now.

After participating recently in a project of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, in Saint Lucia, Jackson, along with other experts on the topic, Jackson agreed on the need to know the effects of the climate change and how to adapt to it in touristic and agricultural areas.

In that sense, he reported that those present at the meeting analyzed sustainable land management and agriculture, adaptation measures for farming, maximizing business benefits through building resilience and reducing risks to the tourism sector from climate change.

Jackson says it is necessary to create groups that instruct the broader population about the concept of climate change and all of the difficulties and potential hazards that can be caused by it, as well as the mitigation procedures that can be undertaken in order to combat these occurrences.

He added that the use of social media would be the most efficient way to develop an awareness campaign, since it could have a greater impact on young people.

"We need to focus more on our youth and not just at the tertiary and secondary level but at the primary and kindergarten age. If we get that engraved into their minds from an early age then we could influence the mindset of the new and upcoming generation", he concluded.

Based on reports coming out of the seminar, the region may produce less than 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions; however it is the most vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change.

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