SCALA Grenada
Introduction
Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It consists of several islands including mainland Grenada. The country is characterized by a humid tropical climate and a mountainous terrain with extensive corals and mangroves ringing the islands.
The country's key economic sectors like agriculture and tourism are extremely vulnerable to climate change impacts, posing challenges for providing a consistent water supply. The agricultural sector, an important contributor to foreign exchange earnings, employment (24 percent of the labour force), and food security, has been experiencing a protracted decline. Local production accounts for about 30 percent of food consumption and the remaining 70 percent are imported.
Grenada’s vulnerability to climate change is further evidenced by the impacts of extreme events and occurrences of increased forest fires, crop loss, water shortages, groundwater depletion, protracted droughts, coastal erosion, contamination and sedimentation, inadequate solid waste management, flooding, and incidence of pests and disease occurring in recent years. Extreme weather events can lead to crop failures, water scarcity, agricultural soil erosion and reduced agricultural productivity, directly affecting food availability and security, economic stability, farmers’ incomes, and livelihoods dependent on tourism, fisheries, and coastal agriculture and ecosystems services.
Country Climate Plans
Climate change is an existential threat to Grenada, motivating the government to lead several programs to promote climate resilience. In 2017, the country submitted its National Climate Change Adaptation Plan (NAP) for Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique 2017-2021 providing a strategic coordinating framework for building climate resilience.
Support has since been provided for farmers to establish composting sites and implement sustainable land management practices. Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) approaches have been also integrated into the 2016 workplan of the Corporate Plan of the Ministry of Agriculture and prioritised by the NAP, as well as resilient and sustainable land management, food security, and management and conservation of protected areas and ecosystems.
In 2015, Grenada submitted its NDC identifying energy, transport, waste, and forestry as the main sector for mitigation. In 2020, the country submitted its second NDC, confirming a 40 percent reduction of the 2010 emissions levels by 2030 anticipating interventions through the energy, forestry, waste and Industrial Processes and Product Use (IPPU) sectors, and by leveraging mitigation co-benefits of adaptation actions (UNDP, 2024; NDC, 2020).
The NDC also outlines the commitments to creating a more robust economy and resilient communities by strengthening the coordination between the national and local level authorities to create capacity and spread knowledge to building community level networks (Government of Grenada 2015).
Aligned with these priorities, in September 2023 the Government of Grenada expressed their interest in receiving support from the Scaling up Climate Ambition on Land Use and Agriculture (SCALA) programme, which supports countries to build adaptive capacity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to meet targets set out in their NAPs and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The government of Grenada has specifically applied to receive support from the SCALA Private Sector Engagement (PSE) Facility, which aims to strengthen private sector participation in adaptation initiatives across selected non-SCALA countries.
A meeting with the Global SCALA PSE Team and Focal Points (FPs) at UNFCCC, Ministry of Environment, FAO, and UNDP in Grenada took place in November 2023 to discuss the scope of work in line with the scope of PSE Facility support that can strategically contribute towards attaining national objectives, providing evidence-based research for the NAP, NDC and the NSDP.
Project details
The Government of Grenada expressed their interest in receiving support from the Scaling up Climate Ambition on Land Use and Agriculture (SCALA) programme, which supports countries to build adaptive capacity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to meet targets set out in their NAPs and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
The government of Grenada has specifically applied to receive support from the SCALA Private Sector Engagement (PSE) Facility, which aims to strengthen private sector participation in adaptation initiatives across selected non-SCALA countries. This assistance will oversee the conception of a feasibility study on organic waste composting starting from the available amounts of organic waste generated and collected in Grenada to assess sustainable business opportunities for the local private sector.
In terms of climate change adaptation, the economic potential of organic waste and composting extends across various sectors, including waste management, agriculture, and soil health, offering opportunities for revenue generation, landfill disposal volume reduction, resilience building, local development, and long-term cost savings for farmers.
Scope of work
Carry out a feasibility study on organic waste composting starting from the available amounts of organic waste generated and collected in Grenada to assess sustainable business opportunities for the local private sector
Activities include:
Assessment of the most suitable composting method/technology for Grenada and associated cost-effective composting plant design and guidelines
Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) of composting at one facility considering production costs and market conditions
Survey of farmers and gardeners about compost demand and smallholder’s capacity to purchase alternatives to chemical fertilizers
Deliver training on the methodological approach for assessing technical, financial and environmental feasibility of composting conversion of organic waste
A final meeting/workshop with key private sector representatives, investors, government officials, researchers and other relevant stakeholders to share the results and lessons learnt and present a roadmap for business opportunities and facilitate the ideation of potential future interventions
- National
- National Governments
- Private Sector Partners
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
- Environment Unit of the Grenada Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, Fisheries and Environment