Deltares Assessing Impacts of Sea Level Rise in the Caribbean

Deltares, in cooperation with the World Bank, is working on a study in the Caribbean to assess the impact of sea level rise and resilience potential of 17 countries in the region.

Image source: Deltares

The aim of the study is to derive proxies to estimate the resilient potential of each country in the region and their potential to adaptation.

According to the project leader Alessio Giardino: “We are developing and applying an innovative modelling framework to be able to upscale the assessment to 17 countries. The assessment of impact and resilience potential of different countries in the region is going to provide interesting information on the relative vulnerability of each country to sea level rise and their options for adaptation.”

The study is contributing to a World Bank flagship report to be published in 2021, which focuses on a holistic approach to resilience, with a specific focus on natural disasters and climate change in the Caribbean.

To carry out the study, a regional modelling framework is being set-up including: a) a hazard module to estimate coastal flooding and erosion and b) an impact module to estimate expected annual damages and populated affected, for each country.