Antigua and Barbuda resilience profile

This report summarizes the resilience situation in Antigua and Barbuda. The territory of the country is characterized by flat islands. While many recent development indicators show strong economic performance based on a strong tourism sector, the country still struggles with poverty, economic inequality, and unemployment. Antigua and Barbuda experience storms, flooding, drought, coastal and stream erosion, and earthquakes. The country is strengthening disaster management across sectors, but has not yet fully integrated it into national development planning.

The report finds that the high dependence of the country’s economy on tourism increases the vulnerability of livelihoods and the economy to these shocks and stressors. Following shocks, such as hurricanes and COVID-19, workers displaced from tourism return to the traditional sectors of agriculture and fisheries. The country’s infrastructure services may face cascading and compounding impacts from natural hazards especially because critical assets—including power generation, desalination plants, and the major port and airport—are concentrated in the capitol and lack alternative services. The draft national comprehensive disaster management policy must be adopted into law and disaster management should be integrated in the national development strategy. Data collection must additionally be revamped for adaptation planning and government initiatives must provide disaster response resources and training to volunteer District Disaster Committees, response capacity at the community level. Antigua and Barbuda is more successful in accessing international climate finance funding. A critical financial mechanism to access these funds is the Department of Environment’s Sustainable Island Resource Framework Fund which serves as the primary channel for environmental and climate change funding from both international and domestic sources.