The UNESCO-funded Tailor-Made Heat Maps for Caribbean Island States – a climate resilience tool for enhanced decision-making project officially launched with kickoff meetings bringing together project leaders, technical experts, and National UNESCO Commissions from Aruba, Curaçao, St. Maarten, and Jamaica. This collaborative initiative aims to develop satellite-based climate heat maps, mapping and analyzing temperature data at a local level with regional support to empower climate resilience and adaptation in these island nations.
The project addresses the growing threats posed by extreme heat, focusing on vulnerable groups including the elderly, schoolchildren, public transport users, and tourists—a key population group across many Caribbean islands. Led by climate and youth advocates Oriana Wouters from Aruba and Muskaan Khemani from Curaçao, the collaboration marks a meaningful step towards making climate data accessible and actionable for the Caribbean. This cross-island effort strengthens collaboration across the region, working to transcend boundaries inherited from colonial history and build a unified approach to climate resilience.
Muskaan Khemani says “Having data is necessary to make decisions to protect our most vulnerable people and move forward climate resilience. I’m looking forward to this project making a first step to ensure this happens for the Caribbean”.
“We are thrilled to see this important project take flight,” said Oriana Wouters. “By working together, we are both making critical climate data accessible and ensuring that it starts meeting the unique needs of each island community.” The project’s teams is supported by members of the Metabolic Foundation based in Aruba and the director of Climate Rights and Justice International (CRJI) from Barbados.
Already gaining momentum, the project data scientist lead, Muskaan Khemani, will present at the Dutch Caribbean Research Week on November 25, 2024, expanding the project’s visibility and fostering engagement with the broader research community.
The kickoff meetings laid a strong foundation for the project’s next steps, which include:
- Project Scope and Objectives: Delivering actionable climate heat maps that enhance decision-making across sectors critical to community well-being.
- National UNESCO Commissions’ Roles: Each Commission will assist in identifying key stakeholders and supporting community outreach.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Involving government bodies, civil society groups, and community leaders to ensure that project outcomes are tailored to local needs.
- Upcoming Calls for Participation: An official project website and social media pages will be launched soon, inviting stakeholders from the four islands to participate and engage with the project. Additionally, a call for community surveyors—especially student surveyors in Jamaica and St. Maarten—will be announced soon, as surveys will start in January 2025.
The Tailor-Made Heat Maps for Caribbean Island States project will culminate with a virtual workshop designed to extend its reach beyond the initial four islands. This workshop will equip participants with training in using the script and adapting it for their location, and applying the generated data for spatial planning, finance, and other critical sectors. Finally, a regional dissemination event, showcasing research findings, and an open-source research publication are planned towards the end of the project in the 4th quarter of 2025.
