When the Virgin Islands Climate Change Trust Fund Board met on Aug. 18, one topic was at the forefront of members’ minds: the tropical wave.
“That magnitude of rainfall in such a short window, dumping a range of 10 inches of rain in some areas to 15 inches in other areas on Tortola within 24 hours, is unprecedented for the Virgin Islands,” John Klein, deputy chairman of the board, said, according to a press release. “The August Monday flood produced in excess of 25 percent of our average annual rainfall in less than one day, and is a prime example of the type of untraditional and severe weather events that will likely plague the Virgin Islands more frequently as a result of climate change.”
The board agreed that flooding from the storm made the territory even more vulnerable to impacts of climate change in the coming years — and recognised the need to alter infrastructure.
“Building resilience to flooding will require us to do things differently,” board Chairman Edward Childs said. “Land development and building practices must be improved, natural, and engineered drainage systems must be enhanced and communities must be more aware and prepared to respond in a flood event.”
The trust fund was first established in 2015 in order to raise and disburse money to local groups to combat climate change. A board of trustees was formally installed on July 17.
For the nine-member board, one major focus moving forward will be finding projects that seek to make the community more flood resistant and allocating funds towards those efforts, according to the press release.
But before the group can do so, it must develop an operational manual to guide its actions and officially “open its doors” — one of the reasons behind the Aug. 18 meeting.
Once up and running, the board will be able to offer grants as part of efforts to stem the ever-increasing effects of climate change.
“The recent impacts of the flooding on [Aug. 7] on the community touched all of us on the board,” Mr. Childs said. “As we work over the next few years to become a major source of funding to reduce climate change impacts by increasing understanding, awareness, capacity and resilience on the ground, the trust fund stands ready to support projects, amongst others, focused on flood resilience as flooding remains a major area of high cost vulnerability.”
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