ABSTRACT
Climate variability and change are strongly implicated in the increasingly intense patterns of natural disasters and other climate events in the Caribbean. The El Niño-Southern Oscillation, droughts, and hurricanes, as well as sea level rise, lowered ocean pH, and increases in sea surface temperatures, affect marine species, exacerbate coral bleaching, cause upland and shoreline erosion, and
Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 195 Setting the Stage ............................................................................................................................ 196
Climate Change in the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System (MBRS) ...................................... 196 Tourism Development in Belize ................................................................................................ 197 Tourism and Climate Change Adaptation Policies .................................................................... 197
Research Design and Methods ....................................................................................................... 197 Field Methods............................................................................................................................ 199
Findings: Weather, Climate, Risk, and Coping Responses ............................................................ 199 Dependency on Natural Resources ........................................................................................... 199 Understanding Changing Weather Patterns ...............................................................................200 Responses to Recent Current Events ......................................................................................... 201
Discussion ......................................................................................................................................202 Conclusion .....................................................................................................................................203 Acknowledgment ...........................................................................................................................203 References ......................................................................................................................................204
destroy coastal habitats and human infrastructure (Adger, Hughes, Folke, Carpenter, and Rockstrom 2005; Greene and Pershing 2007; Harley et al. 2006). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Mitigation of Climate Change Report (Edenhofer et al. 2014) lists small islands, low-lying areas, and river corridors as particularly vulnerable for the next half century. The Caribbean region is projected to experience a minimum 1.5°C increase and a 20% decline in precipitation by 2030 (United Nations Development Programme [UNDP] 2013). In a continuously changing climate, the ecological integrity of the region, particularly the reef and the goods and services it provides, will be further compromised (McField and Bood 2007).
