Antigua and Barbuda: Adaptation in Antigua and Barbuda: How can a tourism-dependent island nationadapt to climate change to protect its economy?
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hat if a country’s main economic lifeline, tourism, became its greatest vulnerability? In Antigua and Barbuda, rising seas and extreme weather threaten not just beaches, but jobs, homes, and futures. As climate risks escalate, and tourism accounts for 80% of their GDP (UNFCCC, 2021), adaptation is not optional; it is a necessity. Working in partnership with the Global Center on Adaptation, our student team at the University of Groningen’s BSc. Global Responsibility and Leadership recently explored this challenge.
Antigua and Barbuda
Low-lying Small Island Developing States (SIDS), such as Antigua and Barbuda, are among the most vulnerable nations to the impacts of climate change, particularly in tourism-dependent regions like the Caribbean. Antigua and Barbuda, in particular, faces increasingly frequent and intense climate-related disasters, threatening its economy and livelihoods. It is especially vulnerable to climate impacts like hurricanes, sea level rise and ecosystem degradation. According to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), SIDS lost US$153 billion between 1970 and 2020 due to weather-, climate-, and water-related hazards, which is significant, given that the average GDP of SIDS is US$13.7 billion (Cullmann et al., 2020).
Why does tourism need attention?
Its heavy dependence on tourism raises the stakes even higher. When hurricanes strike, as Irma did in 2017, tourism infrastructure is one of the first to feel the impact, resulting in major (socio-)economic losses and damages for the country. After Hurricane Irma, total recovery needs for Antigua and Barbuda amounted to US$222.2 million, and tourism was the largest sector affected, making up 44% of all damage costs (GFDRR, 2017).
Threats to coral reef degradation, beach erosion, and biodiversity reduction have the potential to impact the attractiveness of major tourist attractions, such as snorkelling or diving. The prospect of declining tourist numbers presents a key issue for policymakers in Antigua and Barbuda. To increase the resilience and reduce the socio-economic vulnerability of Antigua and Barbuda’s tourism sector to these risks, adaptation is key. However, despite the evident importance of adaptation action, we found that tourism is not yet explicitly addressed in the country’s main adaptation frameworks.
What is the current status of their adaptation strategies?
As such, our findings reveal that Antigua and Barbuda demonstrates a high commitment to climate adaptation, with national plans recognising climate risks broadly. The country has, for example, established the Sustainable Island Resource Framework (SIRF) Fund, which serves as the primary financing mechanism for environmental sustainability, climate mitigation, and adaptation projects aimed at achieving climate resilience. The country is also exploring debt-for-climate swaps, a financial mechanism where external economic debt is forgiven or reduced in exchange for commitments to invest in climate resilience and environmental conservation.
However, Antigua and Barbuda’s strategies could benefit from concrete tourism-specific climate risk assessment, implementation mechanisms, community involvement, and setting monitoring and evaluation processes for adaptation, which would improve the effectiveness and long-term sustainability of adaptation strategies in the tourism sector.
What can be done?
As a key player in global adaptation efforts, we recommend that the GCA continue to expand their work into the Caribbean and explore the potential of supporting SIDS such as Antigua and Barbuda in the incorporation of the tourism sector into their climate adaptation plans. Our team specifically proposes developing strategies with defined implementation steps, including goals, stakeholders, timelines, and financing frameworks, suggesting the adoption of more participatory, integrated strategies to strengthen tourism resilience.
Final thoughts
Antigua and Barbuda is not starting from scratch. The building blocks are there. What would be beneficial now is to focus on the sector that drives the economy and is most exposed. In the face of climate change, protecting tourism is not a luxury. It’s a necessity for survival, independence and sustainable development. Antigua and Barbuda is not alone in facing this challenge. Globally, many SIDS are united in their dependency on tourism and vulnerability to climate change, revealing the importance of international actors, such as the GCA, in providing essential support in shaping future adaptation efforts. This case study hence acts as a guideline and example for the GCA to address the problems and possible solutions that many nations are increasingly confronted with.
Emma Norden, Emma-Lena Reiland, and Katinka Peter are master’s students from the Global Responsibility and Leadership program at Rijksuniversiteit Groningen/Campus Fryslân.
