The Project
Prioritizing sustainable solutions for hazard mitigation
Our Focus
Traditional hard or grey engineering coastal structures can be valuable in terms of mitigating coastal hazards such as erosion and flooding.
However, they:
01
May not be aesthetically pleasing
02
Can have negative effects on the environment, including cultural and socio-economic aspects of a community
03
May not be able to adapt to uncertain changes in climate
04
Are not self-sustaining
05
Require resources for maintenance throughout their lifespan
Our approach:
Maximum benefit.
Minimal impact.
Particularly, in the face of a changing climate with the potential increase in frequency and intensity of hazardous events, engineered designs must provide an appropriate level of protection throughout the solution's design life.
At the same time, sustainable approaches must ensure minimal impact on the physical environment and maximum benefits to local communities and the wider society.
Natural ecosystems can be part of, or the solution, for sustainably addressing coastal issues. Small Island Developing States (SIDS), such as those in the Caribbean, can embrace nature-based solutions for coastal hazard mitigation not only to maintain aesthetic appeal of tourism-driven coastal infrastructure, but to provide climate-resilient solutions.
Our research intends to inform a general approach to the design specification of nature-based solutions in the wider Caribbean. The project team will undertake physical and numerical modelling, along with field work at various coastal sites, to assess how the physical and natural environment is modified with the implementation of these various types of solutions.
In addition, the critical views of stakeholders and partners will be solicited to ensure relevance and the improved adoption of recommendations at a regional scale. This collaborative and interdisciplinary approach is of paramount importance since the project output should support designers, planners and decision makers in determining optimal solutions.
Our Team
Led by Principal Investigator, Dr. Deborah Villarroel-Lamb, our team is comprised of experts across a wide range of specialisation, including Economics, Geography, Geomatics, Engineering, and Life Sciences, to name a few.
Project Funders
This project is part of the Program for Early-stage Grants Advancing Sustainability Science (PEGASuS) which seeks to increase knowledge, promote innovation, and establish evidence-based solutions to the world’s most difficult sustainability challenges. PEGASuS is funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s Science Program and administered by Future Earth.
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation fosters path-breaking scientific discovery, environmental conservation, patient care improvements and preservation of the special character of the Bay Area. This project is funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
Learn more at www.moore.org.
Follow @MooreFound on X and Meta.
Future Earth convenes researchers and scholars from all parts of the world, across different societal and academic sectors, and across the natural, social, and human sciences. Future Earth initiates and supports international collaboration between these researchers and stakeholders to identify and generate the integrated knowledge needed for successful transformations towards societies that provide good and fair lives for all within a stable and resilient Earth system.
Future Earth uses a rigorous transdisciplinary research and systems thinking approach throughout its work in which basic and applied research are combined to generate actionable, solution-oriented knowledge to inform and guide decisions by policy makers and practitioners at all levels of governance.
Learn more at futureearth.org.
The University of the West Indies has been and continues to be a pivotal force in every aspect of Caribbean development, residing at the center of all efforts to improve the well-being of people across the region for over 75 years.
From a university college of London in Jamaica with 33 medical students in 1948, The UWI is today an internationally respected, global university with nearly 50,000 students and five campuses: Mona in Jamaica, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago, Cave Hill in Barbados, Five Islands in Antigua and Barbuda and its Global Campus, and global centres in partnership with universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe.
The UWI offers over 1000 certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Culture, Creative and Performing Arts, Food and Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities and Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology, Social Sciences, and Sport. As the Caribbeanís leading university, it possesses the largest pool of Caribbean intellect and expertise committed to confronting the critical issues of our region and the wider world.
The UWI has been consistently ranked among the best in the world by the most reputable ranking agency, Times Higher Education (THE). Since The UWIís 2018 debut in THEís rankings, it has performed well in multiple schemes – among them including World University Rankings, Golden Age University Rankings (between 50 and 80 years old), Latin America Rankings, and the Impact Rankings for its response to the worldís biggest concerns, outlined in the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Good Health and Well-being; Gender Equality and Climate Action.
Learn more at www.uwi.edu.
The UWI Office of Global Affairs
Connecting Caribbean Expertise and Global Solutions
The UWI Office of Global Affairs (OGA) works strategically to strengthen and expand The UWIís international and regional alliances. The OGA brokers and manages projects and programmes that provide innovative, research-informed solutions aligned with The UWIís Triple A Strategy, the United Nations-Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and pressing Caribbean development needs.
The OGA is the first stop for international and regional partners seeking to connect with The UWI for regional and global development solutions. Through engagement and collaboration, the OGA seeks to streamline The UWIís international outreach and engagement with diverse partners including other international universities, high-level development financing institutions, donor organisations, foundations, governments, and civil society.
The University of the West Indies, while rooted in the Caribbean, has a rich legacy of prioritising regional and international outreach. The Office of Global Affairs, established in 2016, has evolved from several offices and departments which historically held responsibility for outreach, raising The UWI’s international standing, and strengthening and expanding The UWI’s alliances with international universities, research institutions and other organizations. Today it is a full-service, cross-campus Office strategically charting a regional and global engagement agenda under the leadership of Pro Vice-Chancellor Sandrea Maynard.
Learn more at www.uwi.edu/oga/.
Project Partners
The collaborative and interdisciplinary approach of this project is of paramount importance since the project output is expected to support a wide range of actors, including designers, planners and decision makers, in determining optimal solutions. To this end, our goal could not be possible without the unwavering support of our partners, who each serve as expert contributors in their respective fields.
We welcome the support and collaboration of current and future stakeholders in achieving our project goals and contributing to an integrated network of knowledge on Nature-based Solutions in the Caribbean.
Some of our key external project partners and collaborators include: The Institute of Marine Affairs, Trinidad and Tobago; Division of Infrastructure, Quarries and Urban Development, Tobago House of Assembly; Division of Food Security, Natural Resources, the Environment and Sustainable Development, Tobago House of Assembly; Mona Geomatics Institute, Jamaica; Coastal Protection Unit, Ministry of Works and Transport, Trinidad and Tobago; CDEMA: Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, Barbados.
