Tennyson S. D. Joseph builds upon current research on the anticolonial and nationalist experience in the Caribbean. He explores the impact of global transformation upon the independent experience of ...St. Lucia and argues that the island's formal decolonization roughly coincided with the period of the rise of global neoliberalism hegemony. Consequently, the concept of "limited sovereignty" became the defining feature of St. Lucia's understanding of the possibilities of independence. Central to the analysis is the tension between the role of the state as a facilitator of domestic aspirations on one hand and a facilitator of global capital on the other. Joseph examines six critical phases in the St. Lucian experience. The first is 1940 to 1970, when the early nationalist movement gradually occupied state power within a framework of limited self-government. The second period is 1970 to 1982 during which formal independence was attained and an attempt at socialist-oriented radical nationalism was pursued by the St. Lucia Labor Party. The third distinctive period was the period of neoliberal hegemony, 1982-1990. The fourth period (1990-1997) witnessed a heightened process of neoliberal adjustment in global trade which destroyed the banana industry and transformed the domestic political economy. A later period (1997-2006) involved the SLP's return to political power, resulting in tensions between an earlier radicalism and a new and contradictory accommodation to global neoliberalism. The final period (2006-2010) coincides with the onset of a crisis in global neoliberalism during which a series of domestic conflicts reflected the contradictions of the dominant understanding of sovereignty in narrow, materialist terms at the expense of its wider antisystematic, progressive, and emancipator connotations.
During the 1990s, the Eastern Caribbean was caught in a bitter trade dispute between the US and EU over the European banana market. When the World Trade Organization rejected preferential access for ...Caribbean growers in 1998 the effect on the region’s rural communities was devastating. This volume examines the “banana wars” from the vantage point of St. Lucia’s Mabouya Valley, whose recent, turbulent history reveals the impact of global forces. The author investigates how the contemporary structure of the island’s banana industry originated in colonial policies to create a politically “stable” peasantry, followed by politicians’ efforts to mobilize rural voters. These political strategies left farmers dependent on institutional and market protection, leaving them vulnerable to any alteration in trade policy. This history gave way to a new harsh reality, in which neoliberal policies privilege price and quantity over human rights and the environment. However, against these challenges, the author shows how the rural poor have responded in creative ways, including new social movements and Fair Trade farming, in order to negotiate a stronger position for themselves in the in a shifting global economy.
Tennyson S. D. Joseph builds upon current research on the anticolonial and nationalist experience in the Caribbean. He explores the impact of global transformation upon the independent experience of ...St. Lucia and argues that the island's formal decolonization roughly coincided with the period of the rise of global neoliberalism hegemony. Consequently, the concept of "limited sovereignty" became the defining feature of St. Lucia's understanding of the possibilities of independence. Central to the analysis is the tension between the role of the state as a facilitator of domestic aspirations on one hand and a facilitator of global capital on the other.
Joseph examines six critical phases in the St. Lucian experience. The first is 1940 to 1970, when the early nationalist movement gradually occupied state power within a framework of limited self-government. The second period is 1970 to 1982 during which formal independence was attained and an attempt at socialist-oriented radical nationalism was pursued by the St. Lucia Labor Party. The third distinctive period was the period of neoliberal hegemony, 1982-1990. The fourth period (1990-1997) witnessed a heightened process of neoliberal adjustment in global trade which destroyed the banana industry and transformed the domestic political economy. A later period (1997-2006) involved the SLP's return to political power, resulting in tensions between an earlier radicalism and a new and contradictory accommodation to global neoliberalism. The final period (2006-2010) coincides with the onset of a crisis in global neoliberalism during which a series of domestic conflicts reflected the contradictions of the dominant understanding of sovereignty in narrow, materialist terms at the expense of its wider antisystematic, progressive, and emancipator connotations.
Can historically marginalized, threatened languages be saved in the contemporary global era? In relation to the wider postcolonial world, especially the Caribbean, this book focuses on efforts to ...preserve and promote Lesser Antillean French Creole - Kwéyòl - as the national language of Saint Lucia and on the legacy of colonialism and impact of globalization, with which English has become the universal lingua franca, as mitigating factors undermining these efforts. It deals specifically with language planning for democratization and government; literacy, the schools and higher education; and the mass media. It also examines changes in the status of and attitudes toward Kwéyòl, English and French since national independence and presents language planning implications from these changes and steps already undertaken to elevate Kwéyòl. The book offers new insight into globalization and its impact on linguistic pluralism, language planning, national development, Creole languages, and cultural identity in the Caribbean.
The passage of a tropical storm, as the main driver of storm surge and high waves in many coastal regions, can also generate heavy rainfall and cause river overflow. The resulting combination of ...riverine, pluvial, and coastal flood hazard can result in catastrophic losses particularly in densely populated coastal environments. In this study, we characterize compound flooding caused by Tropical Storm Matthew and assess the significance and associated uncertainties of multiple contributing factors over a data‐scarce coastal region. A hydrological model combined with a simplified two‐dimensional hydrodynamic model are set up and validated to investigate the compounding effects of storm tide, wave runup, rainfall, and river overflow at the southern coast of Saint Lucia in the Caribbean Sea. Pléiades‐1 and Sentinel‐1 satellite imageries are used to determine the flood‐impacted areas. The analyses are performed based on deterministic and probabilistic approaches and the effects of uncertain boundary conditions and model parameters are investigated. Results show that the individual analysis of flood hazards, in isolation, can lead to substantial underestimation of flood risks. Heavy rainfall and wave runup are the most significant contributors to compound flooding in Saint Lucia. In addition, the interactions between seawater and streamflow can exacerbate riverine flood hazards particularly upstream of the river mouth. Communities in western Vieux Fort, and the Hewanorra International Airport, have high exposure to compound flooding, which is projected to intensify under climate change.
Key Points
We set up and validate a 2‐D flood model to study the compounding effects of pluvial, riverine, and coastal (storm tide and wave) flooding
We characterize the contribution of individual flood drivers to compound flooding, the effects of different forcings, and the corresponding uncertainties
We assess the impacts of compound flooding on communities and infrastructure facilities to provide insights for flood mitigation strategies
St Lucia is the world's oldest protected estuary and Africa's largest estuarine system. It is also the centerpiece of South Africa's first UNESCO World Heritage Site, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, ...and has been a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance since 1986. Knowledge of its biodiversity, geological origins, hydrology, hydrodynamics and the long history of management is unique in the world. However, the impact of global change has culminated in unprecedented challenges for the conservation and management of the St Lucia system, leading to the recent initiation of a project in support of its rehabilitation and long-term sustainability. This timely volume provides a unique source of information on the functioning and management of the estuary for researchers, students and environmental managers. The insights and experiences described build on over 60 years of study and management at the site and will serve as a valuable model for similar estuaries around the world.
Genomic insights into the early peopling of the Caribbean Nägele, Kathrin; Posth, Cosimo; Iraeta Orbegozo, Miren ...
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
07/2020, Letnik:
369, Številka:
6502
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
A complex dispersal into the Caribbean
The settlement of the Caribbean and genetic relationships among pre-European Caribbean people remain a mystery. After examining 93 ancient genomes dating to a ...range from about 3200 to 400 years ago, Nägele
et al.
suggest that at least three separate colonization events, including a previously unknown wave, were connected to radiation events in North America. The two more ancient lineages coexisted in Cuba but were fully separate genetically, with later movement into the region from a third group from South America. The study not only informs on the settlement of the Caribbean but also lends insights into the broader-scale intercontinental radiation of humans across the American landscape, including across substantial water boundaries.
Science
, this issue p.
456
Genome-wide data for 93 ancient Caribbean islanders reveals evidence of at least three separate dispersals into the region.
The Caribbean was one of the last regions of the Americas to be settled by humans, but where they came from and how and when they reached the islands remain unclear. We generated genome-wide data for 93 ancient Caribbean islanders dating between 3200 and 400 calibrated years before the present and found evidence of at least three separate dispersals into the region, including two early dispersals into the Western Caribbean, one of which seems connected to radiation events in North America. This was followed by a later expansion from South America. We also detected genetic differences between the early settlers and the newcomers from South America, with almost no evidence of admixture. Our results add to our understanding of the initial peopling of the Caribbean and the movements of Archaic Age peoples in the Americas.
Landslides have large negative economic and societal impacts, including loss of life and damage to infrastructure. Slope stability assessment is a vital tool for landslide risk management, but high ...levels of uncertainty often challenge its usefulness. Uncertainties are associated with the numerical model used to assess slope stability and its parameters, with the data characterizing the geometric, geotechnic and hydrologic properties of the slope, and with hazard triggers (e.g. rainfall). Uncertainties associated with many of these factors are also likely to be exacerbated further by future climatic and socio-economic changes, such as increased urbanization and resultant land use change. In this study, we illustrate how numerical models can be used to explore the uncertain factors that influence potential future landslide hazard using a bottom-up strategy. Specifically, we link the Combined Hydrology And Stability Model (CHASM) with sensitivity analysis and Classification And Regression Trees (CART) to identify critical thresholds in slope properties and climatic (rainfall) drivers that lead to slope failure. We apply our approach to a slope in the Caribbean, an area that is naturally susceptible to landslides due to a combination of high rainfall rates, steep slopes, and highly weathered residual soils. For this particular slope, we find that uncertainties regarding some slope properties (namely thickness and effective cohesion of topsoil) are as important as the uncertainties related to future rainfall conditions. Furthermore, we show that 89 % of the expected behaviour of the studied slope can be characterized based on only two variables – the ratio of topsoil thickness to cohesion and the ratio of rainfall intensity to duration.
•A framework to combine hydrodynamic modelling with network-based flood risk analysis is proposed.•The effects of direct and indirect relationships between infrastructures are considered.•The risks ...in major infrastructures are prioritized to develop effective flood mitigation strategies.
Compound flooding driven by multiple marine and hydrologic processes can lead to catastrophic impacts in densely populated coastal environments. Such impacts can propagate through a network of infrastructure systems causing cascading failures. In this study, a network-based framework is proposed to characterize compound flood risks in coastal environments. Pluvial, fluvial and coastal flood characteristics associated with Tropical Storm Matthew (2016) are simulated using a 2D hydrodynamic model over the Island of Saint Lucia. The complex network of infrastructure systems and the corresponding interdependencies are characterized by a risk assessment platform based on the Strongest Path Method (SPM). The model investigates the impacts of direct and indirect connections among infrastructure systems, explores their relative importance in the network and prioritizes the associated risks for more efficient resource allocation. The overall risks are assessed under non-flooding and flooding scenarios and the uncertainties are characterized by sensitivity analysis. Modelling results over Saint Lucia suggests that flood mitigation plans should prioritize the Hewanorra International Airport's backup electricity generators, runway, and taxiway/apron followed by transportation, electricity services, information and communication services. The proposed framework can be applied to study the impacts of compound flood risks on interdependent infrastructure systems in other regions around the world.
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