Disaster Capitalism and the Climate Emergency: Lessons from Barbuda

After Hurricane Irma displaced Barbuda’s residents, disputes over communal land, airport construction, and luxury development intensified. In this webinar, Sophia Perdikaris, Trevor Walker, and John Mussington examine what recovery means when decisions about land, cultural heritage, and climate resilience are made without the community’s meaningful participation.

Hurricane Irma devastated Barbuda in 2017 and displaced its residents to Antigua. In this CLX webinar, archaeologist Sophia Perdikaris, Barbudan community leader and marine biologist John Mussington, and Barbudan parliamentarian Trevor Walker discuss what happened during the island’s recovery. Moderated by César Rodríguez-Garavito, the conversation asks who gets to decide how a community rebuilds after a climate disaster.

Walker explains the importance of Barbuda’s communal relationship to land. The Barbuda Land Act of 2007 recognized land held in common by Barbudans and required the agreement of the Barbuda Council and the consent of the people for major developments. He describes changes to the law after Irma threatened a system that supported farming, hunting, fishing, homebuilding, and shared use of the island. For the speakers, land is also inseparable from Barbudan culture and the community’s ability to shape its future.

Perdikaris challenges the description of undeveloped land as “uninhabited.” She explains that archaeological sites, hunting grounds, waterways, and familiar places can carry cultural meaning even when they contain no buildings. She and Mussington raise concerns about airport construction and luxury developments near sensitive habitats. They draw particular attention to Codrington Lagoon, a wetland of international importance that supports wildlife and livelihoods, including fishing and the island’s frigatebird sanctuary.

The panelists use disaster capitalism to describe their concern that the disruption following Irma made it easier to advance land and development decisions without meaningful participation by the people most affected. Mussington discusses residents’ protests and legal efforts, while Rodríguez-Garavito connects their demands for information, participation, and access to justice to the Escazú Agreement, which Antigua and Barbuda had ratified.

Highlights

What does “disaster capitalism” mean in the context of Barbuda?

The speakers use the term to describe their concern that Hurricane Irma’s disruption created an opportunity to advance longstanding plans for changes to land ownership and large developments while Barbudans were displaced and focused on recovery. They discuss the repeal of communal land protections, airport construction, and luxury projects. The webinar asks who benefits from those decisions and whether residents have a meaningful role in deciding how the island rebuilds.

Why was Barbuda’s communal land system central to the dispute?

Walker explains that shared access to land supported cultivation, hunting, fishing, housing, and mutual assistance. It also reflected a longstanding cultural relationship with the island. The 2007 Barbuda Land Act recognized communal landholding and required the Barbuda Council’s agreement and the people’s consent for major developments. Walker argues that changing those rules affected more than property arrangements: it affected Barbudans’ control over their livelihoods and future.

What happened with the airport while residents were displaced?

Airport works began around September 2017, when most Barbudans were off the island following Irma. The speakers question how construction and planning decisions proceeded without adequate community consultation and raise concerns about archaeology, water, and wildlife. The later Privy Council ruling records that work began before a development permit had been obtained and describes gaps identified in an early environmental impact assessment. It did not settle the lawfulness of the permit challenged by residents.

Why does the webinar challenge the idea that land without buildings is “uninhabited”?

Perdikaris explains that a landscape can hold archaeological remains, hunting routes, ecological knowledge, and places tied to collective memory. Calling it empty can make those relationships invisible when development is planned. She argues that cultural heritage surveys and local knowledge should inform decisions before sites are cleared, and that residents must be able to explain what a place means to them.

Why is Codrington Lagoon important to this discussion?

Codrington Lagoon is a Ramsar wetland of international importance. The speakers describe its role in sustaining fish and lobster, birdlife, and Barbudan livelihoods. They worry that development around the lagoon and its surrounding landscape could damage both ecological systems and the community’s ways of using them. Ramsar designation highlights the area’s importance; it does not, by itself, mean that every proposed development is automatically prohibited.

How does the Escazú Agreement relate to Barbuda?

The agreement concerns access to environmental information, public participation in decisions, access to justice, and protection of environmental defenders. Antigua and Barbuda ratified it before the webinar. Mussington and Rodríguez-Garavito point to a gap they see between those commitments and Barbudans’ experience of development decisions and protest. The agreement later appeared in the Privy Counc

What did the Privy Council decide in John Mussington’s airport case?

In 2024, the Privy Council held that Mussington and another resident had standing—a sufficient interest to challenge the airport development permit through judicial review. It took account of their local ties, environmental concerns, and the planning process. The decision allowed their appeal on that threshold question. It did not rule that the airport permit was unlawful or decide what remedy, if any, should follow.

Who benefits from this webinar, and how can they use it?

Community advocates, environmental lawyers, researchers, and planners can use Barbuda’s experience to examine how disaster recovery decisions affect land rights, cultural heritage, biodiversity, and climate resilience together. The discussion offers concrete questions to ask of a proposed project: Who was consulted? What environmental information was available? What does the land mean to its users? Who receives the benefits, and who bears the risks?

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