The results of The Hurricane Mathew Project, a six-month study of the impact that Hurricane Matthew had on New Providence showed that we are not taking hurricane preparation and coastal protection seriously.
The study conducted by Young Marine Explorers (YME) and the University of Miami’s Coastal Ecology Lab (UM-CEL) included a rapid impact assessment to document damage caused by the hurricane to the coastal zone. The study looked specifically at developed and protected coastal environments along the southern and western coasts of New Providence.
The project produced maps that illustrate the extent and severity of damage caused by Hurricane Matthew. The results showed that irresponsible coastal development and the poor environmental decisions that have been made over the past decades turned a bad hurricane into an environmental disaster by accelerating the rate of coastal erosion, dumping trash including plastic into the ocean, and increasing the pollution loading to near shore marine habitats.
Nikita Shiel-Rolle Founder and CEO of YME explained that “we were not surprised to see that the most severely impacted areas are also the areas that have received the most destructive coastal alterations.
When we unsustainably build on our coast we weaken the natural systems ability to protect us from storms.” Solid waste management turned out to be one of the most important aspects of minimizing hurricane environmental impacts. Solid waste has to be consistently collected, processed for recycling, and managed, this speaks to the urgency for us to improve our waste management system.
Ms. Shiel-Rolle stated that “ we are now at the beginning of the Hurricane season and many Bahamians have not recovered from Hurricane Matthew let alone Joaquin. There are many homes in New Providence that still have blue tarps on their roofs – as a nation we are not prepared for this hurricane season, and that is a terrifying thing.
The negative economic, health, social, and environmental impacts of hurricanes are long lasting. We have to start thinking long-term and as a nation and become proactive as opposed to constantly being reactive.”
The Bahamas is a low lying country and extremely susceptible to the effects of climate change.
With sea level rise and global warming trends, The Bahamas may be facing an increasingly large number of severe storm events in the future as hurricanes and tropical storms are strengthened by unusually warm ocean waters. Ms. Shiel-Rolle explained that, “ As a country we have a history of making poor development decisions that have destroyed many of our natural storm protecting barriers such as mangroves, dunes, beaches, and coral reefs. It’s important to know that the coastal zone isn’t just the tidally influenced areas but includes the uplands, ground water resources, wetlands and dunes which are all connected to the beaches, mangroves, or rocky shores that are adjacent to coral reefs and seagrass meadows.
These natural barriers have the ability to prevent millions of dollars of storm damage if they are allowed to do their job.
However when a major storm or hurricane comes and we have removed or polluted these natural barriers, we are essential taking a bullet in the chest without a bulletproof vest. ”
Neglect of the coasts will cost money and resources needed to move The Bahamas foreword towards improving the lives of residents, measuring nation building against the UN 2030 agenda, and meeting the multilateral agreements that we are party to.
Hurricanes and natural disasters could be the single largest threat to national development in The Bahamas.
Partnerships are critical to collecting information and developing data-driven policies for coastal protection and management.
YME intends to use this report as a foundation to partner with communities, civic organisations, business, ngo’s and the government to help Bahamians understand the importance of our coastal ecosystems, equip citizens with the skills to be able to assess the state of the coast, and then look at sustainable methods of coastal protection for each neighbourhood of New Providence.
YME is a marine conservation organization that engages youth in citizen science, which is the practice of using members of the general public to collect quantitative information in collaboration with scientists.
The Hurricane Mathew project served as an example of how citizens and specifically youth can become actively engaged in disaster response and storm mitigation while developing critical life skills. The YME Hurricane Matthew Project had four components.
First, YME worked with students to document hurricane impacts in their neighborhoods, and encourage students to share their hurricane experiences. Second, students worked with mentors from University of Miami to carry out coastal assessments in key locations around New Providence documenting coastal erosion, loss of vegetation, flooding and destruction of homes and buildings.
Third, students learned about water quality and land-based sources of pollution to coastal water and what that means for the health of coral reefs and the impact that it can have on our economy, and fourth, students learned about mapping hurricane impacts along the coast and in the water.
The Hurricane Mathew Project Report must mark the beginning of a much needed paradigm shift about how we as Bahamians interact with our coasts. Future studies will evaluate the types of restoration that can be implemented to protect houses close to the shorelines and those located in flood prone areas.
As a country we have to make fundamental decisions about controversial and difficult topics such as should residents be allowed to rebuild after major storms or do we need a plan to help people relocate. Politics and emotional attachments to neighborhoods aside, there are real physical constraints on reconstruction after flooding.
Our ability to recover is dependent on how building and infrastructure was financed and insured and how institutions have retained, managed or transferred those risks.
Our coasts are a key resource for tourism and for island quality of life.
The hurricane Mathew Project demonstrated that a simple partnership with researchers and citizen scientists can produce the basic environmental assessments needed to evaluate coastal impacts form a hurricane event.
Through private-public partnerships there are affordable and practical ways to better protect our coasts and property against future storms. YME is looking to develop strategic partnerships to continue this work and conduct coastal restoration or mitigation projects focused in the most impacted communities.
For more information about the results of the Hurricane Mathew project or to partner with us please visit the Young Marine Explorers website: www.ymebahamas.org or email info@ymebahamas.org.
