Call to improve mapping systems

CARICOM countries are being called on to strengthen data systems that will help map urban and rural areas and track and estimate the population density.

The call came at the opening of the five-day workshop on regional population modelling, small-area population estimates and application of the degree of urbanisation (DEGURBA) held on Monday at the Indigo Hotel in Hastings, Christ Church.

Making his remarks via video call, CARICOM Deputy General Secretary Dr Armstrong Alexis highlighted the need for mapping urban and rural areas, noting that this population data helps identify vulnerable communities, address inequalities, assess infrastructure and improve responses during emergency scenarios.

“For many years, CARICOM has grappled with appropriately defining the rural/urban divide. The absence of a standard common scientific definition and methodology has left us with a critical gap, thus leading countries to develop and apply their own national definitions, many of which were not always scientifically grounded and varied significantly from each other.

“They improve the precision and availability of substantial data, help identify high-risk areas, and support targeted responses to inequalities, especially for populations in remote, coastal, lowlying or disaster-prone communities,” he said.

Armstrong explained that the De Gover methodology used by the United Nations Statistical Commission provided a scientifically sound, comparable statistical framework for classifying cities, towns, semi-dense areas and rural areas, strengthening geospatial data analysis and supporting national and regional planning.

Indicators

Additionally, he noted that the global indicator framework for the Sustainable Development Goals placed strong emphasis on geographic disaggregation and urban/rural classification and other substantial levels as

a minimum standard, particularly for indicators of poverty, education, health, water and sanitation and infrastructure.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Development Jennifer Hunte said the workshop connected to national policies and development plans in play in Barbados, such as the Barbados National Population Policy (2023-2040) as well as the Barbados Physical Development Plan.

She added that with the frequency and intensity of weather events, ageing population and shrinking labour force, it is crucial to rethink the approach to physical development.

Development needs

“Across the Caribbean and globally, policymakers are increasingly confronted with complex questions about population distribution, urban growth, and development needs. Yet, traditional definitions of urban and rural have often differed from country to country, making it very difficult to compare trends or design policies that effectively respond to the realities of our communities.

“The development of the degree of urbanisation, the DEGURBA methodology, provides an important step towards harmonising how we understand and measure settlement patterns, allowing our countries to produce more comparable and relevant data,” Hunte said. (JRN)

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