For Meshach Alford, a farmer from the town of Saint Paul’s in the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts, the realities of climate change are all too real.
“I have planted crops and there has been no water for weeks, for months,” he says. “Even when you put your hand 18 inches (45 centimetres) deep in the soil, it’s still dry.”
Saint Kitts and Nevis—a twin-island nation—is increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including drought. Rainfall is the sole source of potable water in the country and dwindling precipitation has meant that 80 per cent of Saint Kitts residents suffer from regular water outages.
“What was considered as a wet season is no longer a wet season,” says Cheryl Jeffers, a chief technical officer within the Saint Kitts and Nevis Climate Action Unit. “So, it creates some sense of confusion, especially towards the agriculture sector, in determining what to plant and when to plant.”
To help farmers contend with drought, the United Nations Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) – with tech company HR Wallingford and the Saint Kitts and Nevis Department of Environment – developed a system that can forecast droughts and predict groundwater availability.
The system analyses data collected from satellites and remote monitoring stations around the country, producing a drought risk map. The island’s meteorological agency, Saint Kitts and Nevis’ Met Office, relays the forecast to farmers groups over WhatsApp. So-called extension officers then visit farmers and advise them on when to plant.
Drought is a relatively new phenomenon for Saint Kitts and Nevis, with the first one occurring in 2015, says Ariesta Ningrum, Director of the CTCN, which is housed within the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Water shortages are symptomatic of a fast-changing climate in the Caribbean, where rising temperatures are altering rainfall patterns. UNEP’s Adaptation Gap Report 2024 warned that island nations, like Saint Kitts and Nevis, are especially vulnerable to this climatic upheaval, which experts say also risks driving up sea levels.
"Leveraging climate technologies – such as advanced weather forecasting systems – is essential to safeguard lives and protect crops in the face of natural disasters," says Ningrum.
The Adaptation Gap Report estimates that a group of 39 small island developing states – including Saint Kitts and Nevis - will need more than U$5 billion annually to adapt to climate change. But those nations only have access to a fraction of that funding, the report found.
Alford, the farmer from Saint Paul’s, plants a variety of crops on his 11-hectare farm, but water access has long been an issue. He says the forecasting system will allow farmers to pre-empt inclement weather and help boost yields.
The forecasting system, the result of a 21-month-project, debuted in December 2021, and covered both Saint Kitts and Nevis.
“This system has the potential to be scaled up in other vulnerable regions facing similar climate challenges, ensuring food security and sustainability in the face of climate change,” says Gina Tsarouchi, a Principal Engineer at HR Wallingford.
In the years to come, the country’s farmers are expected to face increased competition for water from both the housing and tourism sectors.
“As a very vulnerable small island developing state, we need to make efficient use of all the resources that we have,” Jeffers says. “And for us to do that, the first step is to access reliable data that can inform decision making.”
The Sectoral Solution to the climate crisis
UNEP is at the forefront of supporting the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global temperature rise well below 2°C, and aiming for 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels. To do this, UNEP has developed the Sectoral Solution, a roadmap to reducing emissions across sectors in line with the Paris Agreement commitments and in pursuit of climate stability. The six sectors identified are: energy; industry; agriculture and food; forests and land use; transport; and buildings and cities.
The Climate Technology Centre and Network
The Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) is the implementation arm of the Technology Mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and is hosted by UNEP. It promotes the accelerated transfer of environmentally sound technologies for low carbon and climate resilient development at the request of developing countries.
