{"id":188588,"date":"2023-10-19T06:25:38","date_gmt":"2023-10-19T10:25:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=188588"},"modified":"2023-10-19T06:25:38","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T10:25:38","slug":"how-communal-loans-are-helping-antigua-and-barbuda-brace-for-hurricanes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/how-communal-loans-are-helping-antigua-and-barbuda-brace-for-hurricanes\/","title":{"rendered":"How communal loans are helping Antigua and Barbuda brace for hurricanes"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div>
\n
\n
\n
\n

https:\/\/www.unep.org: The Caribbean island of Barbuda still bears the battle scars of its most brutal encounter with climate change. In 2017, Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 leviathan of unprecedented power, roared across its pristine turquoise waters.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

The island\u2019s only storm shelter collapsed, with 300 people hiding inside. Around 95 per cent of Barbuda\u2019s buildings were wrecked, including homes, schools and critical infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have just witnessed a level of devastation that I have never seen in my life,\u201d said UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres following a visit to the island.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"An
The island of Antigua is highly vulnerable to climate change, faced with rising sea levels, worsening droughts and ever more powerful hurricanes. Photo: UNEP\/Marcus Nield<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Around 50km to the south lies Antigua, Barbuda’s twin in the sovereign island nation of Antigua and Barbuda. As the skies cleared and the world began to comprehend Irma’s ferocity, a chilling question arose \u2013 could Antigua, with a population 50 times that of Barbuda, face the same fate?<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

\u201cI still get goose pimples thinking about it,\u201d said Diann Black-Layne, the Director of the country\u2019s Department of Environment. \u201cWe\u2019d never experienced anything like it. It was traumatic.\u201d<\/p>\n

As climate change feeds increasingly frequent hurricanes in the Caribbean, the immediate concern for many in Antigua is accessing the finance needed to toughen their homes. Traditional home insurance is practically out of reach due to escalating climate risks.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

Addressing this, the Antigua and Barbuda Department of Environment has been working with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to roll out a revolving loans programme, which allows residents to obtain low-interest loans for hurricane-proofing their homes. Once repaid, the funds assist another family, perpetuating a cycle of community resilience.<\/p>\n

Black-Layne speaks passionately about the project, saying it has helped residents reinforce roofs, install hurricane shutters, buy rainwater storage tanks and outfit their homes with solar panels.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

\u201cIt offers the homeowner a very long period of time to pay back the loan, and they don\u2019t have to provide collateral,\u201d said Black-Layne. \u201cThe default rate is very low in this community-run system.\u201d<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n