Coral bleaching. Image: Ken Clifton
Oceans

Research finds that in the Caribbean, overseas territories are more vulnerable to coral bleaching than independent countries

According to a new study, independent Caribbean island countries tend to be less vulnerable to coral bleaching than overseas territories: “We were surprised to find that independent islands have lower social-ecological vulnerability than territories…. Territories — such as the Dutch islands of Sint Maarten and Saba — tend to be …

Black-capped petrel. Image: Don Faulkner
Biodiversity

Betty Petersen Conservation Fund awards grants to help conserve endangered birds in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Saint Lucia

BirdsCaribbean has announced the first three recipients of grants from the Betty Petersen Conservation Fund. The selected projects, which all focus on conserving endangered birds endemic to the Caribbean, are based in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Saint Lucia. In Haiti, Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC) will be continuing …

Mountains in Haiti. image: Logan Abassi (UN/MINUSTAH)
Biodiversity

Deforestation and biodiversity loss in Haiti

Writing for Bloomberg, Faye Flam discusses recently published research about deforestation in Haiti, and the impacts on Haiti’s rare and endemic forest species: Improbably, a fairly tale world of miniature frogs and lizards survives in Haiti — dozens of species found only in that environment. Wildlife doesn’t always disappear in proportion …

Largetooth sawfish. Image: Forrest Samuels
General

Green Antilles link roundup: December 16, 2018

Largetooth sawfish and silky shark gain additional protection in the Caribbean — Caribbean nations agreed last week to add two more species to the annexes of the Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) Protocol, the only transnational legal instrument for the environment of the Caribbean. …Regional SPAW member governments unanimously decided …

Guaiacum officinale, an endangered Caribbean plant. Image: via Wikipedia
Biodiversity

Caribbean scientists receive training in endangered species assessment

Scientists from six Caribbean countries recently participated in a training course in The Bahamas on how to assess potentially threatened and endangered species for classification on the IUCN Red List: Fourteen Bahamian and eight Caribbean experts took part in a week of training in Nassau on how to assess threatened …

Solar panels, Haiti. Image via: CDC Global
Energy

Lack of international investment in Haiti’s renewable energy sector

HaitiLibre reports that data from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) shows that there was an absence of foreign direct investment in Haiti’s renewable energy sector in 2017: The latest report of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) on Foreign Direct Investment …

Drip. Image: Paul B
Climate Change

Rainwater harvesting for water security in the Caribbean

From The Conversation, an article about how the potential for rainwater harvesting, using a new ferrocement tank design and biosand filters, could enhance  water security and climate resilience in the Caribbean: [V]ery few Caribbean countries have taken action to implement rainwater harvesting on any significant scale. In Haiti’s Artibonite Valley, …