ABSTRACT
As one of only a few island nations and the only representative from the Caribbean, Saint Lucia played a unique and vital role in the WWViews project. Small island countries are the most likely to experience severe climate change damage. As a leader in the Caribbean, Saint Lucia’s government has taken a strong stance in the international arena while making climate change response one of its top development priorities. However, the implementation of policies to avoid or adapt to climate change impacts has been slowed by various institutional, financial and practical obstacles. Consequently, WWViews in Saint Lucia, and presumably other small island states, may prove more effective as a tool to expand public awareness and generate grass-roots approaches to adaptation efforts, rather than as a way for the people to call for urgent action on the part of the government. In this chapter, we describe Saint Lucia’s unique natural, economic and political setting, review the process and outcomes of the WWViews process, and explore the potential of citizen participation to support sustainability policies and practices in a small island context.
