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CLIMATE CHANGE & VULNERABILITY – THE CASE OF JAMAICA’s urban inner cities. URBAN COMMUNITY RADIO. ROOTS FM is the only urban community radio station in the English speaking Caribbean. The station reaches about 800,000 people most of whom are marginalized and live in inner-city communities.
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CLIMATE CHANGE & VULNERABILITY – THE CASE OF JAMAICA’s urban inner cities
URBAN COMMUNITY RADIO • ROOTS FM is the only urban community radio station in the English speaking Caribbean. • The station reaches about 800,000 people most of whom are marginalized and live in inner-city communities. • The main issues are poverty related – illiteracy, joblessness, housing, inadequate access to health, sanitation
EMERGING ISSUES • Critical changes in rainfall patterns • Longer droughts and life threatening floods • Increased intensity of storm activity • Direct damage and loss of infrastructure • Loss of lives
BEHAVIOUR CHANGE Where we build our homes is a major challenge in our communities despite the precedent of disasters and repercussions. Why do we persist despite personal experiences and communication channels?
COMMUNICATION QUESTIONS • Is information reaching the community in a comprehensible and useful form? • Is the information perceived by the communities as relevant to their situation (i.e., recognize their hazard risk and potential outcomes)? • Do communities have the capacity and the necessary resources to use this information to better prepare, respond to, and recover from a hazard/disaster situation?
CONSIDER CULTURAL CHALLENGES • History of not believing the weather man • Think that their belongings and property will be stolen if they evacuate • Would rather take a chance on the risk than go to a shelter • No matter the risk people build on land that is available to them
COMMUNICATION QUESTIONS TO RECONSIDER • Do people perceive a serious threat to themselves, their families or property? • Can protective action significantly reduce the negative consequences of the hazard ? • Will the officially recommended action be superior to alternative actions taken by friends, neighbours, or advanced by conventional wisdom?
OTHER EXPECTED OUTCOMES • Sea level rise • Saline intrusion into freshwater aquifers • Coastal flooding and erosion • Increased temperatures • Heat stress • Coral bleaching • Biodiversity loss • Increased emergence of vector borne diseases
OTHER EXPECTED OUTCOMES • Direct damage to tourism plant and natural resources • Coral reefs • Beaches • Loss of attractiveness of the region as a destination • Impacts on health – emergence of dengue, malaria, etc. • Reduced dive tourism if coral reefs are damaged • Milder Winters in the North • Loss of employment in the industry • Increased insurance costs for properties in vulnerable areas
SOURCES F McDONALD UWI ISD / UNEP Car RCU franklin.jmcd@gmail.com Ulric O’D Trotz, Ph.D Project Manager Adapting to Climate Change in the Caribbean (ACCC) Project