Climate Impact Atlas for Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba

Working together on a sustainable knowledge infrastructure to support climate action

The islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba are confronted with enormous challenges from climate change. Rising sea levels may threaten coastal communities, while hurricanes, heatwaves and heavy rainfall are intensifying. To secure our future and protect our islands, we need to understand how vulnerable we are for weather extremes and climate change. This understanding forms the bedrock upon which we can build effective strategies for spatial adaptation and sustainable living. As the  Worldbank  says:

On the Frontlines of Climate Change, Small Island States Can Lead in Resilience

Why a Climate Impact Atlas?

A climate impact atlas provides basic knowledge on climate change by turning scientific knowledge into accessible insights. For Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba (the BES islands), there are many organizations working on topics related to climate change. At the same time, there is still limited data available on climate impacts. The Climate Impact Atlas can fill this gap by bringing together the available knowledge in a central place. The Climate Impact Atlas is the result of shared efforts, with the aim to best help governments, individuals and communities understand the effects and vulnerabilities specific to their region.

Planning of this project

We're excited to announce that the first version of Climate Impact Atlas for the BES Islands will be developed in 2023. This marks the first step in an ongoing process. By gathering existing data and making it easily accessible online, we aim to foster a shared understanding. In October, we'll be hosting a workshop to discuss the potential and future directions of the Climate Impact Atlas. As the year concludes, we'll proudly introduce the online Climate Impact Atlas along with a roadmap for future developments.

What will the first Climate Impact Atlas look like?

The first Climate Impact Atlas for the BES consists of three components:

  1. Climate statistics for Bonaire, Sint-Eustatius and Saba
  2. A climate data viewer for Bonaire
  3. Climate stories for Bonaire

Climate statistics will provide information about present and future climate temperature, rainfall, wind and sea-level. The climate statistics are based on the  updated climate scenarios  for the Netherlands and the BES islands from the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI). The viewer shows the available maps with a brief explanation. The climate stories provide background information to the main map layers in the viewer and can help you in using these maps. First, the viewer and stories are developed for Bonaire in 2023. After that Sint Eustatius and Saba will follow.

Who are contributing to the new atlas?

The Climate Impact Atlas for the BES islands is financed by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, with the CAS foundation as coordinator. We greatly acknowledge the conversations with and help of the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA), Openbaar Lichaam Bonaire (OLB), TERRAMAR museum, EcoVision, Wageningen Environmental Research (WENR), Instituut voor Milieuvraagstukken (VU-IVM), Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut (KNMI), Technische Universiteit Delft (TU Delft), Rijkswaterstaat (RWS), Informatiehuis Marien, Deltares, RVO.nl, en het Koninklijk Instituut van Taal-Land- en Volkenkunde (KITLV).

Do you want to know more, or do you have suggestions? Don't hesitate to get in touch and send an email to Timo Kelder via  timo@climateadaptationservices.com .

Timeline of the project

Further reading and useful links