Becker and Bove present at UNCTAD workshop in Barbados 

Isavaella Moniodi, Gerald Bove, Adonis Velegrakis, Austin Becker, Miguel Esteban at Barbados workshop.

Dr. Austin Becker and Gerald Bove (MAMA ’18) attended an UNCTAD sponsored workshop entitled “Climate change impacts and adaptation for coastal transport infrastructure in the Caribbean” held in Barbados December 5-8. The two went as scientific advisors to the meeting attended by representatives from 21 countries and territories in the Caribbean. They facilitated a breakout exercise on gathering operational thresholds for vulnerability assessments, and presented work in collaboration with Caribbean Community Climate Centre and Climate Central on the creation of a geospatial inventory and risk assessment for critical coastal infrastructure in the Caribbean. During the workshop, representatives described the destruction of infrastructure in the most recent hurricane season in their home countries and the urgent need to build climate resiliency into infrastructure across the region. The presentation generated considerable interest from attendees including suggestions to expand to include an assessment of the risk to beaches, a resource vital to the regional economy. Nelle D’Aversa (MAMA ’17), and Ben Sweeney (MAMA ‘19) contributed to the work for the presentation.