Public Entity Saba kicks off Climate Plan development

The Public Entity Saba has started the process to develop a climate plan for Saba in a kick-off meeting held last week between the Executive Council and Reimpact Studio.

Saba is especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change due to its size, location within the hurricane belt and its high dependency on imports to sustain daily life on the island. Given this reality, the Public Entity, with the support of the relevant ministries in The Hague, has taken on the challenge to develop a climate adaptation plan with the aim to improve the island’s self-sufficiency.

Reimpact Studio is a strategic design consultancy that was brought on board to help the Public Entity develop its climate plan. The plan that will be developed will take into consideration the various island sectors and how they could be impacted by climate change. Developing such an extensive plan on this particular topic is new for the Public Entity. Technical expertise was, therefore, sought to help realize it. The meeting with the Executive Council was held to create a work plan on the way forward and to find out their priorities for Saba.

The process to develop the plan is one that will be consultative and participatory. This means that the plan will be developed with input from key stakeholders on the island and those in the Netherlands. Key stakeholders in the Netherlands include the Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, the Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations and the relevant knowledge institutions. On Saba, these are persons and organizations operating within the various island sectors and the general public. Townhalls, workshops and focus groups will be held by the Public Entity’s climate team and Reimpact Studio to get input from these stakeholders. The events are planned to take place in February. More information about them will be made known to the public and other relevant stakeholders within the coming week(s).

A climate plan action agenda will be developed out of the climate plan. The purpose of the action agenda is to bring the climate plan to life and to bring it into action with short, medium and long-term implementable measures to prepare the island against the impacts of climate change. The action agenda will be developed similarly to the climate plan with input from key stakeholders through town halls, workshops and focus groups. These are planned to take place in April. More information about them will be made known to the public and other relevant stakeholders closer to the time.

The aim is to finalize the climate plan and action agenda by the middle of the year. After the summer, the Public Entity will host a public launch of the climate plan and action agenda, whereby the community will be invited to attend. The purpose of the public launch is to bring attention to the island’s climate plan and engage the community in the fight against climate change. An information campaign will also be carried out during the development process to bring awareness to the impacts of climate change across the various island sectors.