Amplify Cayman is a grassroots organisation that works to educate and empower civic action and increase effective democratic participation in the advocacy of sustainable development within the Cayman Islands.t. Since their inception, the team has helped register over 1,000 voters, produced campaigns to galvanize the community to protect the islands natural resources and oppose unsustainable development, and met with Members of Parliament and civil servants to amplify Cayman’s socioeconomic needs based on outreach and research we have conducted.

On February 6, 2024, the three Cayman Islands were struck by a historic, intense Nor’Wester storm that brought near gale-force winds, which caused damage to coastal road infrastructure, luxury homes, tourist accommodations, and businesses. In the Cayman’s infancy as a country, these annual storms gave, pun intended, rise to stilted wall houses our Islands’ built heritage is now defined by. Very few modern homes are built this way, which is a cause for concern to many, not least because climate scientists have predicted the 2024 hurricane season to be quite active for the Caribbean, but also because the effects of damage to coastal properties ripple predominantly to those who don’t have an equitable ability to regain what is lost. This particular storm hasn’t led to a boom in disaster capitalism, it mostly just put a short pause on the construction of unsustainable coastal developments. However, prior local major weather events have brought disaster capitalism to our shores, and this storm season will, more likely than not, bring the same if it is as strong as predicted.

In response to the February 2024 Nor’Wester, the Cayman Islands Department of Environment published a coastal development setback map, which highlights the recommendations they made to the Planning Department who approved the buildings that were greatly impacted by the Nor’wester. The map showed where the DOE recommended that these properties be constructed a certain distance from the sea, and revealed how their recommendations to approve setbacks on a case-by-case basis (vs the current model of a standard setback limit) were largely ignored. It is Amplify’s sincere hope that the map will be used as a learning lesson for future developments – we will continue to do our part to help Cayman’s citizens play their role in demanding that our coasts remain protected, to promote sustainable development, and to increase local activism to prevent disaster capitalism.