The Mainstreaming Adaptation to Climate Change (MACC) project is currently in the implementation stage, as it is scheduled for 2004 to 2007. MACC is implemented by the World Bank, with funding of USD $5 million from GEF. The executing agency is the CARICOM Secretariat located in Georgetown, Guyana. In-kind participants include the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States of America through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The project’s main objective is to mainstream climate change adaptation strategies into the sustainable development agendas of the small island and low-lying states of CARICOM. MACC will adopt a learning-by-doing approach to capacity building, consolidating the achievements of CPACC and ACCC. It will build on the progress achieved in these past projects by furthering institutional capacity, strengthening the knowledge base, and deepening awareness and participation.
The participating countries are: Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent, and Trinidad and Tobago.
MACC has five major components. These components are:
Building capacity to identify climate change risks – Among other things, this will include strengthening networks to monitor impacts on regional climate, downscaling global climate models, and developing impact scenarios;
Building capacity to reduce vulnerability to climate change;
Building capacity to effectively access and utilize resources to minimize the costs of climate change;
Public education and outreach; and
Project management.
As MACC seeks to build capacity in a cost-effective way, the expected outcomes of this project include a full set of deliverables that will be monitored and evaluated. This will contribute to the long-term sustainability of project activities and objectives, since participant countries will be able to benefit from the project even when it is completed.
Additionally, the capacity to formulate a regional addenda and adaptation strategy to climate change will be developed at the regional level. Outcomes fall under three general themes, including:
The mainstreaming of adaptation to climate change into national and sectoral planning and policies through the use of climate models developed and customized through the project;
A strong public education and outreach (PEO) program and a comprehensive communications strategy including all stakeholders in the Caribbean mass media; and
The creation of an environment conducive to the implementation of measures for adaptation to climate change.
