The challenge presented by climate change is, by its nature, global. The populations of the Mexican Caribbean, the focus of this book, are faced by everyday decisions not unlike those in the urban North. The difference is that for the people of the Mexican Caribbean evidence of the effects of climate change, including hurricanes, is very familiar to them. This important study documents the choices and risks of people who are powerless to change the economic development model which is itself forcing climate change.

The book examines the Mexican Caribbean coast and explores the wider issues of managing climate change in vulnerable areas of the tropics. It also points to the inability to integrate development thinking into climate change adaptation. The authors suggest that failures in local governance – the transparency of state actions and the lack of effective power of local populations – represents a greater threat to adaptation than the absence of technical capacity in vulnerable areas.

Using local case studies of communities, fishing villages and tourist destinations, this well-researched book will appeal to international students and academics working on climate change and professionals in the development, conservation and tourism industries.