The SOCC Project
In May 2017, the Caribbean Development Bank, through financing from the European Union (EU), provided grant funding to The University of the West Indies, Mona (The UWI) to implement the Project, “State of the Caribbean Climate Report 2016: Information for Resilience Building”. The project’s funding came as a result of a 2014 agreement with the EU for CDB to execute projects within the African Caribbean Pacific (ACP)-EU Natural Disaster Risk Management Programme in the CARIFORUM countries.
Under the project, a State of the Caribbean Climate (SOCC) Report has been prepared in support of resilience efforts in the region. The report provides critical analysis and discussion on Caribbean climate, including, observed variability and trends, recent extreme events, projections for key variables, observed and potential impacts for climate sensitive sectors as well as an overview of climate information and services within the region. The project also included a training and dissemination component that targeted key governmental representatives within BMCs of the CDB as well as relevant regional organisations. The workshops focussed on: (a) building knowledge and awareness of climate change and its impacts on climate-sensitive sectors, and (b) guiding the BMCs to effectively use the data in the SOCC Report to assess the effects of climate variability and change on specific sectors, and integrate climate data into development planning and strategies.
Execution of the Project was led by The UWI, primarily through the Climate Studies Group Mona (CSGM), which had direct responsibility for technical implementation of the Project, including preparation of the SOCC report as well as delivery of the “Climate SMART” workshops based on the report. Critical implementation support was provided by the Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology in its role as a key partner under the Project Agreement.