00:00 It's no secret that changing weather patterns are wreaking havoc on our environment and/or
00:05 coastlines are taking a literal hit.
00:08 The Tech4 Coastal Resilience project will allow for community stakeholders to leverage
00:13 drones and other digital technologies to capture real-time local data with the end goal of
00:19 building coastal resilience.
00:21 The project is funded by the European Union.
00:24 The project has a total grant of 392,560 euros.
00:35 And of that, we're going to be giving out at least 100,000 of that is going out to support
00:40 the 10 communities in practical actions.
00:43 Blanche shares Ikako's Moruga and now we're adding Carly Bay and Mayaro in Trinidad.
00:50 And then for Tobago, we previously worked in Roxborough and Speyside and we're adding
00:55 Castara and Scarborough.
00:56 So these are the 10 target communities that we're going to be working in.
01:00 The pilot will also be rolled out in Matlut.
01:03 The fisheries division of the Ministry of Agriculture notes that while many believe
01:07 the effects of climate change are a distant threat, fisherfolk right here in TNT are already
01:13 confronting the reality.
01:16 If you go to Carly Bay, you would see half of the facility has washed, well, not a facility,
01:21 but your beach is washing away.
01:23 So the area for the vessels to come up is being impacted.
01:26 Moruga, our grand shaman fishing facility is currently underwater.
01:33 So we do have to plan for climate change.
01:36 With respect to the impacts on fish stocks globally, increasing seawater temperatures
01:42 and you know, these impact the fecundity of fish, the spawning capacity.
01:50 So those types of data that is needed.
01:52 The THA Division of Environment and the Sustainable Development Office reports an increase in
01:57 landslides, sargassum and other climate related challenges.
02:02 We have seen first hand the devastating impact of communities like Roxborough, Castara and
02:08 Scarborough where collusion, storm waves, floodings and landslides have left their mark
02:14 on the landscape and both commercial and residential properties with fisherfolk losing their homes
02:21 and vessels.
02:23 The Tech 4 Coastal Resilience Project is one of nine innovative projects being undertaken
02:28 by the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute, supported by Hitch Reset Caribbean.
02:34 Everybody knows that in Trinidad it's boiling, you know, it's really hot.
02:40 It's something that we really do need to pay attention to.
02:44 What is the impacts of the heat island effect of heating on behaviors, on everything.
02:52 So that project deals with modeling that effect.
02:55 Renessa Cutting, TV6 News.
02:57 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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