CASCADE focuses on designing and promoting multi-stakeholder climate change adaptation in the water and sanitation sector in Small Island Developing States with an aim to improving human livelihoods.
CASCADE will contribute to:

•  provide a comprehensive Vulnerability Assessment Framework for livelihood impacts of climate change as a result of changes in freshwater systems and to apply this framework to a series of core Caribbean island Case Studies where tourism and agriculture play an important economic role;
•  test the “scaling-up” and research transferability of these methodologies to other small island case study applications by an assessment of mirror Small Island Developing States case studies to water stresses and climate change, in particular with an investigation of effective research between Caribbean and Pacific islands;
• develop generalized adaptation strategies for water management in Small Island Developing States, with an emphasis on community-based risk reduction strategies, institutional strengthening and economic policy instruments for the achievement of water security ;
•  facilite effective dialogue and developing collaborative partnerships among different stakeholders including the water sector, the tourism sector, the agricultural sector, coastal communities, civil society and public officials;
• focus academic, public policy and public attention on the issues of water-related climate change impacts and the necessity of “no regrets” adaptation policies and to promote effective dialogue among these groups and
•  foster knowledge transfer between the developed (EU) and developing (Caribbean and Pacific SIDS) world in the development and application of climate-related water research.