The UWI Cave Hill Campus Annual Report to Council 2021/2022

Research and Innovation | 119

Needs better quality

Development of a Geospatial System to Identify Vulnerable Communities in Barbados

The Department of Management Studies engaged the Ministry of People Empowerment & Elder Affairs for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in the design and implementation of a geospatial system to identify vulnerable persons in communities in Barbados. The system also provided analyses related to the relative location of social care amenities and facilities in relation to vulnerable and at-risk families. Unprecedented Research on Climate and Wildfires in Barbados The Centre for Biosecurity Studies (CBS), Faculty of Social Sciences, commenced an initiative to develop a system to predict wildfires (fires that burn biomass or vegetation including sugar cane, trees, grass, and rubbish fires) in Barbados. The resultant will be significantly reduced costs associated with this occurrence and its adverse impact on health. It will also provide an opportunity to estimate the costs (dollar value) of these wildfires. The proposed initia- tive, which is a key component in a research grant proposal to the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF), will include a Wildfire Warning Index to forecast the number of wildfires and their location based on the climate forecast. The index will account for only the influ- ence of climate variables on wildfires. It has the support of the Department of Emergency Management of Barbados and the Barbados Fire Service. Support will also be sought from the Barbados Water Authority. This research is strengthened by the work of H3E Caribbean Initiative (Human Heredity, Environment and Health in the Caribbean), a partnership comprising The UWI faculties of Medical Sciences, the Jamaica Cancer Care & Research Institute (JACCRI) and Harvard/MGH Center on Genomics, Vulnerable Populations, and Health Disparities, and in which the CBS is involved as Co-Chair of the Environment Working Group. Furthermore, it is part of a wider Caribbean Initiative, I Can’t Breathe: Caribbean Air Pollution Initiative . The initiative was launched virtually on April 29, 2021 to support Caribbean governments in fighting

Promotional Flyer – CBS Big Ocean States Initiative Part 1

global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions and a range of air pollution threats to human, environmental and ecosystem health. An Initiative Underpinning the Importance of the Blue Economy The Big Ocean States (BOSS) Initiative is an initiative by CBS which seeks to combine the rich Caribbean biodiversity, strong intellectual prowess led by The UWI, social communities and existing infrastructures to chart a path of sustainable economic development using the Blue Ocean Economy against biosecurity threats in the Caribbean. The CBS launched its Big Ocean States (BOSS) Initiative on November 25, 2021, on the theme Unlocking the Potential of the Blue Ocean Economy . It featured several exciting presenters including Dr Dayne Buddo, Ms Sanya Compton, Mr Antonio Hollingsworth and Dr Reia Guppy.

THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES CAVE HILL CAMPUS ANNUAL REPORT TO COUNCIL 2021/2022

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