“My grandma and grandfather have now been washed into the sea,” says Mario Muschamp, gazing at the shoreline near his close-knit Creole community. “You know, their graves are gone. That really hurts.”
This is the reality for the residents of Monkey River, who have watched helplessly as the sea claims their soccer field, their homes and even the graves of loved ones who have died.
Man-made activities have been identified by experts as the main cause of the coastal erosion that is ravaging the village and causing great suffering, particularly industrial salt mining and water diversion. The situation has deteriorated to such an extent that some members of the community have moved away.
The Geotube Battle
However, others have chosen to stay and fight and, in the words of local schoolteacher Audra Castellanos, “put Monkey River back on the map”.
Mr Muschamp is the President of the Monkey River Watershed Association, a community-based organization working to maintain and restore the integrity of the entire Monkey River Watershed and ensure it continues to provide a variety of benefits to local residents and the coastal ecosystem.
To this end, the Monkey River Watershed Association has partnered with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), to install one hundred and sixty feet of sand-filled “geotubes” in front of the most threatened properties.
Local residents are teaming up with UNDP to install the geotubes, massive synthetic sandbags that form physical barriers against wave energy and erosion, and other measures to slow shoreline degradation.
“We need climate justice”
“Monkey River Village is one of those coastal communities that we are prioritizing,” said Leonel Requena, UNDP’s national coordinator of the GEF Small Grants Program. “Monkey River residents are not responsible for the climate crisis, but they are the ones suffering the greatest loss and damage. What we need is climate justice.”
The story of Monkey River is about a biodiversity hub where the river meets the sea – but more than that, it’s about a community that, like so many others, is coming together to turn the tide on climate change, with the support by the United Nations.
Since 2022 United Nations Global Lens A video documentary on the community was produced in 2022, another home was claimed by the sea, but residents who have decided to protect their village say nothing will quench their determination to fight coastal erosion.
“We’ve done our best to try to keep what we have,” Mr Muschamp said. “I don’t want more graves going into the sea.”
