Across the Caribbean, climate change is transforming more than just the weather — it’s reshaping livelihoods, culture, and human rights. Once-thriving coastal fishing communities now face mounting challenges as rising sea levels, coral bleaching, sargassum invasions, and increasingly violent hurricanes devastate ecosystems and economies. The migration of key fish species, like Barbados’ iconic flying fish, has even sparked international disputes and underscored the fragility of small island nations’ food security.
Beyond the environmental toll, the crisis reveals deep social inequities. Women — often central to post-harvest work and the preservation of traditional fishing knowledge — bear a disproportionate share of the losses, while their contributions remain largely invisible in policy and media.
This article explores how the erosion of fisheries is also an erosion of rights: to food, water, health, culture, and a clean environment. Drawing on landmark rulings by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, it examines how Caribbean states and the international community share legal and moral responsibilities for the transboundary impacts of climate change.
Ultimately, the piece calls for a new kind of climate justice — one that safeguards not only the environment but also the dignity, identity, and future of the Caribbean’s coastal peoples.
👉 Read the full article to dive deeper into the intersection of climate change, human rights, and the fight for survival in the Caribbean’s fishing communities.