Adapting to climate change and dealing with its consequences is urgent, but communities affected by coastal erosion in Panama, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, and Mexico watch in distress as these efforts fall short. Instead, a lack of information, government inaction, and short-term decisions that may worsen the outlook are the constant.
Although the government of Puerto Rico is betting on building two breakwaters to contain the sea’s progression into this municipality, residents question the projects, fearing they replicate a system that previously displaced an entire community.
Climate change effects like rising sea-level, more rainfall and stronger hurricanes are quickly eroding the coasts of vulnerable Caribbean islands and actively destroying community life and economic activity in plain sight with little to no governmental or international action to protect citizens. Hurricane’s Irma and Maria terribly exposed this institutional neglect in Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, and British Virgin Islands where infrastructure collapsed, and coastal constructions were destroyed by storm surge and erosion. Politics play an important role in lack of action and visibility of these island-colonies -and about 10 others in the region- in official world global warming efforts because their data is not considered and they are not included in their analysis.
