Paper short abstract:

This research focuses on landscape change in the two islands of St. Kitts and Dominica in the Caribbean. The aim is to assess the man-made and natural changes through a multi-scalar and time sensitive approach that analyzes subsequent effects on community well being.

Paper long abstract:

While diverse in cultural life, history and landscape, some Caribbean islands experience pronounced vulnerability due to their small size, often exacerbating land degradation, development pressure and a range of natural and man-made calamities. The resulting implications of these factors are at times debilitating for localities as connections between place and community are broken. Landscape change has affected not only the natural ecology, but also the customary practices and traditions that play an integral part in the fabric of communities, more specifically perceived as well-being. To illustrate the resulting impacts on local communities in terms of their environment and perceived well-being, research was conducted in rural areas of St. Kitts and Dominica.

In these two case studies, investigation into landscape change and subsequent impacts on community well being are explored by combining GIS, remote sensing and ethnographic analysis (including community perspectives) to link environmental research with local knowledge. To better understand the interaction between community and ecology in rural areas, the analysis has focused on land use, land cover change, land and water management and community views. Through community response to their changing environment, new outlooks are drawn on the consideration of the effects of landscape change on community well being in socio-ecological resiliency.

The research is part of the ERC-Synergy NEXUS 1492 project directed by Prof. dr. Corinne L. Hofman and funded by the European Research Council / ERC grant agreement n° 319209