Transcript Regional Policy Briefing no.7 Reducing vulnerability and

Regional Policy Briefing no.7
Water Resources Management in the
Caribbean
Protecting fresh and coastal waters
and building climate resilience
Christopher Cox PhD
Programme Director
Caribbean Environmental Health Institute
23rd April 2012
Pointe aux Piments, Mauritius
Presentation outline
 Background
 Climate change and water resources
challenges
 Response toward building resilience
• The IWRM approach
• Initiatives
• Lessons learnt
• Partnerships
About CEHI
 CEHI was established by
the Governments of the
Caribbean Community
(CARICOM) 1989 to
respond to the
Environmental Health and
Management concerns of
its Member States.
 Through CARICOM
Protocols it is an Institution
of the Community
 Has 16 Member States
 Located in St. Lucia
Status of freshwater resources
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Water supply
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Internal Renewable Water Resources (IRWR) (source: FAO)
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Surface (rivers, springs, ponds) – dominant overall
Groundwater – drier islands/karstic environments
Desalination - drier, more populous islands
Rainwater harvesting – micro-islands; isolated communities
Antigua & Barbuda – 800 m3/capita/yr
Bahamas - 66 m3/capita/yr
Barbados – 301 m3/capita/yr
Jamaica – 3,651 m3/capita/yr
Bahamas
Main demand sectors:
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Tourism
Agriculture
Industry
Residential
Hydroelectricity
Antigua &
Barbuda
Jamaica
Barbados
Status of freshwater resources
 Uneven rainfall distribution,
periodic drought conditions;
 Infrastructure – high
vulnerability to hurricane / flood
damage
 Poor and aging water
distribution and sanitary system
networks
 Land-based pollution - poor
solid and liquid waste
management & unsustainable
land management
 Force to look at alternatives –
desalination; rainwater;
recycling
Fresh and coastal waters degradation
 Pollution - greatest threat to natural
environment; impacts long-term
socio-economic development
 Fresh and coastal waters –
receiving environments for pollution.
 Primary pollution sources
• Point sources (industries, sewage
treatment plants, marine vessels);
• Urban non-point runoff (stormwater
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runoff and combined overflow
discharges);
Non-urban non-point runoff (farms,
livestock pastures);
Irrigation return flows (irrigation water
return to a lake, stream or canal)
Climate Change and water
 CC will force additional stresses
 Caribbean climate modeling predictions:
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changes in patterns of rainfall accumulation
and distribution
overall trend to less annual rainfall – 25 to
30% reduction
more extreme events
 Serious implications for water security
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reduced aquifer recharge rates
sea-level rise; saline intrusion
storm damage to infrastructure and
contamination: landslides, floods
 Health impacts
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Vector proliferation
Water governance issues
 Institutional and regulatory frameworks not ideal
• no unified WRM policy
• absence of national “apex” bodies
• Inadequate national water laws
• Multiple agencies - fragmentation
• Inadequate data
 WR management - typically within realm of
water utility operations by statutory authority dual, conflictive roles
 Water not valued as an economic good
• Low level of priority; Cost recovery challenges
Integrated Water Resources
Management (IWRM) approach
 Process of sustainable development, allocation
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and monitoring of water resource use in the
context of social, economic and environmental
objectives
IWRM in SIDS must consider both domains of
freshwater and coastal waters
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Other ways of saying; in context of the spatial
dimension:
• Ridge to Reef (R2R)
• Integrating Watershed and Coastal Areas management
(IWCAM)
• White water to Blue Water (WR2BR)
 IWRM provides unified management for water
services provision and waste water
management
• Waste waters are typically discharge to sea with
coastal resource user conflicts
 Work supported under GEF-IWCAM Project
Land-based Sources of Marine Pollution
(LBS) Protocol
 Cartagena Convention (1986) – protection of
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Caribbean Sea
LBS Protocol - General Obligations
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National Planning e.g. EIAs
Integrated Coastal Zone & Watershed Management
Environmental Monitoring & Assessment
 Specific Obligations for Major Pollutants
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Effluent & Emissions limitations, Time Tables for
implementation, & Classification of Recreational
Waters
Best Management Practices
Most Appropriate Technologies
 Embodied within the National Plan of Action
(NPA)
Progress - National actions
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National water policies, strategies developed – highlight climate
change as a key driver
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Grenada, Jamaica, St. Lucia have policy statements
Jamaica advanced toward development of IWRM Plan
Trinidad & Tobago WR master planning process underway
Community mobilization in WRM
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Water conservation
Application of new technologies; water augmentation
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Ground water exploration in Tobago, St. Lucia
Rainwater harvesting – many countries
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Land zoning for water supply protection
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Water supply and sanitation
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Barbados – 5 zones based on sensitivity; longstanding policy
Rural infrastructure expansion – all countries; variable progress
SUPPORTED BY VARIOUS REGIONAL & INTERNATIONAL
AGENCIES – PROJECTS AND PROGRAMMES
Challenges…lessons being learned
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Selling IWRM; concept is vague to most - Climate change provides
a good entry point
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Perceived to be rather academic; tangibles not readily apparent
IWRM remains in realm of water and natural resource professionals
One size does not fit all
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Varying circumstances between countries
• Geography (water regime), demographics, biodiversity
How does it fit in day-to-day?
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How does it affect a business bottom-line, what does it matter to
communities?
What are the costs to implement?
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Current national circumstances; can we afford dedicated resources?
Resource constraints – limits implementation
Water-land management
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Land management and administration creates dysfunction re: resource
supply side
 MOVING FORWARD…
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Development of national IWRM Plans
Partners in water
Caribbean Environmental Health Institute
The Morne, PO Box 1111, Castries, St. Lucia
Tel: 758 452-2501; Fax: 758 453-2721
E-mail: [email protected]
For more resources and
information see our website at
www.cehi.org.lc