Environmental issues in Antigua and Barbuda

Like other island nations, Antigua and Barbuda faces unique environmental issues created by its proximity to the ocean, and small size. These include pressures on water resources, natural ecosystems, and deforestation more generally.

Existing issues on the island are further made worse by climate change, where, unlike other island nations effected by climate change,sea level rise, increased weather variability, create increased pressures on the communities on the islands and the land, through processes like coastal erosion and saltwater intrusion.[1]

Not only do these issues threaten the residents of the island, but also interfere with the economy -- where tourism is 80% of the GDP.[2] The 2017 hurricane season was particularly destructive, with Hurricane Maria and Hurricane Irma, repeatedly damaging vulnerable infrastructure on the islands of Antigua and Barbuda.[3]

Water management

Water management is the principal environmental concern in Antigua and Barbuda. A water shortage due to limited freshwater resources is worsen by limited rainfall/water and drought. The existing water supply is threatened by pollution from distilleries, food processing facilities, and different industrial operations.

Deforestation resulting from the nation’s energy demands, combined with agricultural development, contributes to soil erosion, as rainfall, which is concentrated in a short season, quickly runs off, compounding the water shortage problem on the islands.[2] The nation’s main city, St. John's, has developed a problem with waste disposal. Untreated sewage from resort hotels travels in open sewage lines across the land and empties into the sea. Construction of a desalination plant in 1970 relieved some of the water shortage.

Protected areas

The government of Antigua and Barbuda supports a Historical, Conservation, and Environmental Commission. There are four main protected areas, including the off shore islands of North Sound and Codrington Lagoon of Barbuda, the latter of which is a Ramsar wetland site. According to a 2006 report issued by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), the number of threatened species included 2 species of birds, 5 types of reptiles, 11 species of fish, and 4 species of plants. Endangered species in the nation included the Antiguan ground lizard, the West Indian whistling duck, and the Antiguan racer.

Deforestation

Antigua and Barbuda has a land area of 44, 342 hectares with the tree cover of 19, 682 (in hectares) as at 2018.[4] The tress loss cover was between the year 2001 and 2018 was 678 hectares, according to Rainfalls Mongabay.[4]

According to the United Nations-FAO, "22.7 (per cent) or about 10,000 hectared of Antigua and Barbuda is forested, according to FAO. Antigua and Barbuda's forests contain - million metric tons of carbon in living forest biomass. Biodiversity and Protected Areas: Antigua and Barbuda has some 209 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles according to figures from the World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Of these, 2.9% are endemic, meaning they exist in no other country, and 3.3% are threatened. Antigua and Barbuda is home to at least 1158 species of vascular plants, of which 1.9% are endemic. 0.0% of Antigua and Barbuda is protected under IUCN categories I-V."[5][6]

Antigua and Barbuda had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 4.72/10, ranking it 117th globally out of 172 countries.[7]

Coastal erosion

The government is implementing better construction practices, to limit the environmental footprint of coastal accommodations, such as encouraging Glamping instead of building hotels on coastal areas.[8]

See also

References
  1. "World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal". climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
  2. "Deforestation statistics for Antigua and Barbuda". RainForests Mongabay. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  3. "Vulnerability of Eastern Caribbean Countries - World". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
  4. "Deforestation statistics for Antigua and Barbuda". RainForests Mongabay. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  5. "Antigua and Barbuda Forest Information and Data". Rainforests Mongabay. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  6. "Food and Agriculture Organization Report on Antigua and Barbuda as at 2018". FAO.org. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  7. Grantham, H. S.; Duncan, A.; Evans, T. D.; Jones, K. R.; Beyer, H. L.; Schuster, R.; Walston, J.; Ray, J. C.; Robinson, J. G.; Callow, M.; Clements, T.; Costa, H. M.; DeGemmis, A.; Elsen, P. R.; Ervin, J.; Franco, P.; Goldman, E.; Goetz, S.; Hansen, A.; Hofsvang, E.; Jantz, P.; Jupiter, S.; Kang, A.; Langhammer, P.; Laurance, W. F.; Lieberman, S.; Linkie, M.; Malhi, Y.; Maxwell, S.; Mendez, M.; Mittermeier, R.; Murray, N. J.; Possingham, H.; Radachowsky, J.; Saatchi, S.; Samper, C.; Silverman, J.; Shapiro, A.; Strassburg, B.; Stevens, T.; Stokes, E.; Taylor, R.; Tear, T.; Tizard, R.; Venter, O.; Visconti, P.; Wang, S.; Watson, J. E. M. (2020). "Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity - Supplementary Material". Nature Communications. 11 (1). doi:10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3. ISSN 2041-1723.
  8. Young, Kayla (2020-03-10). "Caribbean tourism industry contends with climate change". Cayman Compass. Retrieved 2020-11-25.

External links

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