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Last Updated: Feb 6, 2017 - 2:32:04 PM |
Caribbean Ministers with responsibility for water resources management are seen here signing a declaration endorsing key recommendations for addressing regional water security at the 8 High Level Session Ministerial Forum convened by the Global Water Partnership-‐Caribbean (GWP-‐C) and its partner the Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA) on October 5th, 2012 in The Bahamas.
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Nine
(9) Caribbean Ministers with responsibility for water resources
management have committed themselves to making all essential efforts in
addressing water security and climate change in the region. This
assurance came out of the8th Annual High Level Session (HLS) Ministerial Forum in The Bahamas,
held on October 4th and 5th, 2012. The Ministerial Forum is a joint
initiative of the Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) and its
partner, the Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA); and is
an unmatched regional event, being the only meeting of Water Ministers
in the Caribbean to date.
Critical to the declaration signed by the Ministers at the Forum was
their recognition that high level political leadership is key for
meeting water security and climate change challenges faced by Caribbean
countries. This along with other
recommendations recognising the importance of building a water secure
Caribbean, were sanctioned by the Ministers from The Bahamas, Anguilla,
Barbados, Belize, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Jamaica, Nevis, St.
Kitts, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Also deemed imperative by the Ministers was that Caribbean governments
in collaboration with regional partners should conduct national
assessments on the status of Integrated Water Resources Management
(IWRM) implementation in the
Caribbean and keep the implementation of IWRM under continuous review.
During the 8th HLS, Ministers and senior government officials were able
to give their perspectives on national and regional priorities for
water security in the Caribbean; as well as discuss regional water
resource coordination at the
Ministerial level. Some of the main issues brought to the fore in their
discussions were the need for greater focus on IWRM; disaster risk
reduction; closer integration of the water sector with other sectors;
access to water; water tariffs;
the need for more water experts in the region; raising water conservation consciousness at the national and regional level;
looking into various water technologies to control resources; the use
of rainwater harvesting as a mitigation practice; water's impact on
health; climate being key to addressing water security; among other
issues.
The Honourable Margarito Gaspar Vega, Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Natural Resources and Agriculture of Belize, approach to
managing water, citing legislation passed in Belize in 2010 to introduce
an IWRM Act.
The concern of climate change was repeatedly raised by the Honourable
Robert Pickersgill, Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate
Change of Jamaica, who saw climate change as one of the most critical
issues to be addressed in relation to water security. This sentiment was
endorsed by Dr. The Honourable David Estwick, Minister of Agriculture,
Food, Fisheries and Water Resource Management of Barbados who gave
support to building climate change resilience but advised that a lot of
preliminary work should first be done nationally to better understand
how water and other sectors such as sanitation are integrated. He
pointed out that it is crucial that national research is conducted for
Caribbean countries to be fully aware of the status of their water
resources.
On the other hand, the Honourable Carlisle Powell, Minister of
Communications, Works, Public Utilities, Post, Physical Planning,
Natural Resources and Environment of Nevis stressed that as a region,
the Caribbean needs to do more in promoting and communicating the
importance of water conservation. He explained that there is a dire need
to educate communities on conserving water and reporting leaks.
Despite varying national priorities on water amongst the Ministers,
there was a consensus that similar water resource challenges are faced
in their respective countries and a clear means of moving forwarded on
these issues should be decided. The Ministers through their discussions
and informed technical inputs from national, regional and international
agencies such as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Caribbean
Environmental Health Institute (CEHI), the Caribbean Development Bank
(CDB), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); among others
agreed on
seven (7) critical concerns toward achieving national and regional
water security. These areas include water as a national development
issue; Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM); climate change and
water; wastewater; regional cooperation; capacity building; and public
awareness.
The recommendations coming out of the 8th HLS were signed on October
5th, 2012 by the Honourable Philip E. Brave Davis, Deputy Prime Minister
and Minister of Works and Urban Development of The Bahamas; the
Honourable Evans Gumbs, Minister for Infrastructure, Communications,
Utilities, Housing, Agriculture and Fisheries of Anguilla;
Dr. The Honourable David Estwick, Minister of Agriculture, Food,
Fisheries and Water Resource Management of Barbados; the Honourable
Margarito Gaspar Vega, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural
Resources and Agriculture of Belize; the Honourable Reginald Austrie,
Minister of Lands, Housing, Settlements and Water Resource Management of
the Commonwealth of Dominica; the Honourable Robert Pickersgill,
Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change of Jamaica; the
Honourable Carlisle Powell, Minister of Communications, Works, Public
Utilities, Post, Physical Planning, Natural Resources and Environment of
Nevis; Dr. The Honourable Earl Asim Martin, Minister of Housing, Public
Works, Energy and Public Utilities of St. Kitts; and the Honourable
Clayton Burgin, Minister of Health, Wellness and the Environment of St.
Vincent and the Grenadines.
Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) and its partner the
Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association CWWA) are committed to
supporting the realisation of the recommendations coming out of the 8th
High Level Session (HLS) Ministerial Forum, in cooperation with regional
governments and other partners.
© Copyright 2012 by thebahamasweekly.com
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