Key Takeaways:
Critical Need for Integrated Strategies: Small Island Developing States (SIDS) face unique climate challenges, such as rising sea levels and increased frequency of extreme weather events. However, due to limited resources and a heavy reliance on climate-sensitive sectors, there is an urgent need to scale up both adaptation and mitigation strategies in parallel to effectively address these challenges.
Dual Benefits of Sustainable Organics: Recognizing the potential of sustainable farming and organic waste management in deploying both adaptation and mitigation solutions is essential for SIDS. Organic waste management offers a holistic approach in which it can be used to improve soil health and water retention needed to adapt and build resilience to climate impacts, while also reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions such as methane from being released into the atmosphere.
Enhancing Disaster Response and Resilience: In light of the recent Hurricane Beryl, we are reminded that building resilience and taking adequate measures to respond to climate disasters remains a high priority for island nations around the globe. Understanding that agriculture stands as one of the largest sectors in SIDS, it is important to leverage existing approaches that enable quicker recovery and preparedness measures such as those offered by sustainable organic practices.
The unique vulnerabilities of SIDS
As the world grapples with the escalating impacts of climate change, the focus has often been on mitigation—reducing greenhouse gas emissions to limit future warming. However, for Small Island Developing States (SIDS), where the effects of climate change are already being severely felt, adaptation is becoming increasingly more critical. These island nations face unique challenges characterized by rising sea levels, frequent extreme weather events and fragile ecosystems. In this context, organic farming amongst other sustainable practices emerge as powerful strategies, not just for environmental protection, but as essential tools that simultaneously drive both adaptation and mitigation efforts. Organic agriculture, particularly in SIDS, serves as a bridge between these two crucial approaches, offering a holistic solution to the dual challenges of climate change.
The Increasing frequency of natural disasters
Historically, SIDS have been vulnerable to climate-induced disasters due to their geographical, economic and environmental characteristics. These islands are often located in hurricane-prone regions, with their economies heavily reliant on climate-sensitive sectors such as tourism, agriculture and fisheries. For instance, the disaster mortality rate in SIDS is over twice the global average. With recurring storms and other disasters becoming significantly more severe, island nations are left with no option but to brace and adapt to the catastrophic damage to infrastructure and prolonged disruptions in essential services such as electricity, water and healthcare.
This susceptibility was evident this past June, following the devastating disaster via Hurricane Beryl—the earliest Category 5 hurricane ever recorded. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the unusual acceleration and strengthened formation of Beryl was driven by “exceptionally warm ocean temperatures.” As a result, Caribbean SIDS and overseas territories, including Jamaica, Barbados, Grenada and St. Vincent, suffered tremendous losses.
On the island of Carriacou, the second-largest island in Grenada, it is estimated that more than 95% of its infrastructure was left in ruins—this included Grenadian schools, hospitals and homes. This community is still recovering from the substantial damage caused and will continue to do so for many months to come. Disasters like this underscore the urgent need for accelerated and enhanced climate solutions.
The dual benefit of adaptation and mitigation through sustainable organics in SIDS
Extreme weather events, such as Hurricane Beryl, highlight the urgent need for integrated approaches that merge adaptation and mitigation strategies. For SIDS, these strategies are not mutually exclusive but rather complementary and should be pursued in parallel with one another. In other words, integrating or “marrying” these two concepts together allows for countries to think holistically about the ways they can diversify their impact, regardless of their initial approach (i.e. adaptation or mitigation). This ensures that both immediate and long-term climate challenges are considered in planning processes.
SIDS can harness the dual benefits of adaptation and mitigation through sustainable organic practices. Implementing sustainable practices in organic waste management and food production allows SIDS to tackle immediate disaster risks while also fostering ongoing resilience. In addition to the waste and agriculture sectors, finding greener ways to manage organics can also give these island nations a jolt in the energy sector.
Adaptation
From an adaptation perspective, organic waste such as food scraps can improve soil fertility and water retention, both of which are essential for maintaining agricultural productivity in the face of changing and extreme climate conditions in SIDS. More specifically, composting organic waste into a nutrient-rich soil amendment or mulch enhances the structure and absorptive capacity to retain moisture and sequester carbon. This improvement in soil health and absorbent capacity also strengthens its ability to reduce erosion, acting as natural buffers during strong storm surges and ultimately preventing the displacement of root systems during intense weather events. Recognizing the value of sustainable agriculture as both a commercial commodity and a source of subsistence in SIDS is crucial for unlocking its potential to scale up adaptation efforts and enhance resilience in the wake of climate disasters.
Mitigation
Focusing on mitigation, strengthening organic waste management systems helps transform potential waste into valuable resources, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Anaerobic digestion, among many organic waste technologies, diverts organic materials from landfills and instead isolates it into an oxygen-free environment where microorganisms thrive and break down the material. This process not only generates electricity and biogas that could be used as a renewable energy source for clean cooking, but it also captures and prevents methane from being released into the atmosphere.
Anaerobic digesters also offer by-product benefits. For instance, the digestate produced can still be used for enriching soils and reducing tillage which, as a result, improves its ability to capture and sequester carbon. These examples are only a few of the many that exist, highlighting organic waste as a multi-faceted solution for effective climate mitigation in SIDS.
Organic Solutions for a Sustainable Tomorrow: The Power of Agriculture and Waste Management
The escalating climate impacts on SIDS highlight an urgent need for integrated strategies that combine adaptation and mitigation efforts. The unique challenges faced by SIDS, including rising sea levels and the growing frequency of natural disasters, underscore the urgent need for effective and sustainable solutions. Sustainable organic practices offer a dual benefit by enhancing both adaptation and mitigation efforts. These practices improve soil health, sequester carbon and strengthen resilience to extreme weather, while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions through innovative waste management techniques like anaerobic digestion.
As demonstrated by recent extreme weather events in 2024 like Hurricanes Beryl, Helene and Milton, leveraging organic methods across a multitude of sectors can significantly bolster disaster response and recovery, making them a crucial component in building climate resilience and ensuring long-term sustainability for SIDS.
Our current work in supporting SIDS
CCAP works to bolster the resilience of SIDS in the face of daunting climate challenges through our current projects and programs, including:
The Recycle Organics Program in the Caribbean (4) and Pacific (2) funded by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)
Supporting waste management and GHG quantification in the Maldives, funded by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC)
Support provided to the government of Seychelles for tracking climate finance in the energy sector funded by IRENA and the NDC Partnership
CCAP is committed to supporting SIDS by leveraging our expertise in climate action, including climate finance, carbon markets and methane mitigation. Through strategic partnerships, capacity-building and innovative solutions, we aim to drive meaningful change and help create a sustainable future where SIDS' cultures, environments and aspirations thrive in the wake of the climate crisis.
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CCAP’s mission is to support every step of climate action, from ambition to implementation. A recognized world leader in climate policy and action, CCAP creates innovative, replicable climate solutions, strengthens capacities, and promotes best practices across the local, national, and international levels to accelerate the transition to a net-zero, climate resilient future. CCAP was founded in 1985 and is based in Washington, DC.