Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C):

An Introduction To Our Work & IWRM

Presented by Floyd Homer, PhD, CEnv., MIEEM

The 8th Biennial Caribbean Youth Environment and Development Congress and Environment Summit of the Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN).

Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines - October 28th, 2010

Who is GWP-C?

Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) is a working partnership among

all stakeholders in water management in the Caribbean and was launched in

Tobago in June 2004.

GWP-C is the Caribbean arm of the Global Water Partnership (GWP)

Organisation. This makes it 1 of 13 Regional Water Partnerships of GWP, which

is a global network of partners who believe that an integrated approach to

managing water is the best way forward in working toward a water secure world.

Our Mission The mission of GWP-C is to support Caribbean countries in the sustainable

management of their water resources and to fully promote and apply an

Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approach at the

community, national and regional level.

GWP-C is guided by an IWRM philosophy.

Its core objectives are:

To promote IWRM as the approach to water resources management in the Caribbean and to gain national commitment towards IWRM implementation.

To establish partnerships in water resources management that endorse an integrated approach to water resources management.

To improve water governance in the Caribbean through the promotion of IWRM and to implement IWRM policies and programmes.

Key Objectives of GWP-C

Our Partners GWP-C currently has 60 partners spanning 20 Caribbean territories which encompass the English, Spanish, French and Dutch Caribbean and 2 partners in North America.

These countries include: Anguilla, Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, The United States of America and Canada.

GWP-C’s partners include some of the following types of organisations: Public Water Management; Government Agency; Water User Association; Private Water Management; Non-Governmental Organisation; Consultancy Organisation; Youth Environmental Organisations; Research / Education / Training Organisations; Professional Association among others.

CYEN became a partner of GWP-C in June 2006.

Governance Structure

General Assembly

Meeting of Partners at the Annual General Meeting, decisions on workplan and other business, voting on resolutions, election of partners to Steering Committee.

Steering Committee

Chairman, Deputy Chairman, seven other partners and the Network Officer from GWPO in Sweden.

Secretariat

Regional Coordinator, Communications Officer, Administration Officer, housed by Host Institution (NIHERST).

Our Work, Our Niche

Four (4) key areas highlight the focus of GWP-C’s work:

Advocacy - GWP-C advocates the implementation of IWRM as the best way to achieving water security.

Convening Power - GWP-C has partners from various sectors and provides platforms at various levels to facilitate the development of IWRM policies and laws.

Technical Expertise and Knowledge Sharing - As a regional arm of the GWP Organisation, GWP-C has the support of a global network and can provide technical expertise on IWRM and has access to various tools for knowledge sharing on IWRM.

Capacity Building - GWP-C is committed to awareness building on IWRM at the community, national and regional levels targeting all demographics.

Specific Activities

Annual High Level Session (HLS) for Caribbean Ministers of Water to discuss critical areas in water resources management and the approach to creating and implementing IWRM policies in the region.

Awareness building on water conservation and IWRM in the Caribbean.

Capacity building and training in the following areas: - Climate change and its effects on water resources - Climate change and disaster management - Water and sanitation - Youth forums with environmental youth councils in the Caribbean- Economic and financial instruments for IWRM (Water Financing)- Water use efficiency in the Agriculture and Tourism sectors- Impacts and policy implications for water resources management

Engaging Youth In Our Work

Empowering Youth to Respond to Climate Change

Activity: Climate change workshop targeting students and teachers in Barbados in December 2009.

Purpose: To empower young people to respond to climate change as well as to communicate climate change issues to other stakeholder groups. The workshop also aimed to discuss the implications of climate change on Barbados.

Engaging Youth In Our Work Empowering Youth to Respond to Climate Change

Students developing a climate change vulnerability map of Barbados.

Completed vulnerability map of Barbados showing that housing, agriculture and fisheries, tourism facilities and other coastal settlements and activities could be impacted from climate change.

Engaging Youth In Our Work

Youth and Climate Change Workshops

Activity: Youth consultation with high school students and members of CYEN-Grenada on Climate Change and the Implication for Water Resources. The activity was put on by GWP-C and its partner CYEN in 2007.

Purpose: To educate and engage students in a discussion on the effects of climate change on water resources and to get their feedback on what methods are most appealing to them when trying to disseminate this information.

Engaging Youth In Our Work

Youth and Climate Change Workshops

High school students and members of CYEN-Grenada at the climate change workshop in Grenada on May 14th, 2007.

Engaging Youth In Our Work A look at some more activities put on by GWP-C over the years targeted at the youth:

Water and Sanitation Workshops

Activity: Water and sanitation workshop targeting young persons and members of the National Youth Council in Grenada. The workshop was held in Grenada on October 12th, 2004.

Purpose: To build awareness on the topic of water and sanitation and to initiate action among the youth in dealing with this issue.

Outcome: The National Youth Council of Grenada affirmed its full support towards water and sanitation.

Engaging Youth In Our Work

Water Sanitation and Hygiene Workshops

Activity: Water sanitation and hygiene workshop targeting students in an urban community in Jamaica. The workshop took place in Jamaica in 2005.

Purpose: To sensitise urban communities on the issue of water conservation and its safe use; appropriate sanitation and different and cost effective sanitation solutions.

Outcomes:

Students showed an awareness of the uses of water and how it affects health

and hygiene; they were made aware of proper sanitation methods; they learnt

about various hazards of water such as hurricanes, floods, uncovered drains,

swimming pools; among other areas.

Engaging Youth In Our Work

Awareness Building on GWP-C and Environmental Education Workshops

Activity: Workshop on environmental education and awareness building on GWP-C, targeting high school and university students in Cuba. The workshop took place in Cuba from May 27th - 30th , 2008.

Purpose:To provide a forum for students from environmental groups, environmental youth leaders and young people across Cuba to discuss the national and local environmental problems (such as climate change, coastal zone problems etc.) and recommendations in combating them. The workshop was also an avenue to build awareness on GWP-C and its work.

Engaging Youth In Our Work

Awareness Building on GWP-C and Environmental Education Workshops

Participants of the Environmental Education workshop held in Cuba in 2008.

The Partnership and Youth One of GWP-C’s partners in Trinidad and Tobago called the Fondes AmandesCommunity Re-Forestation Project (FACRP) incorporates activities in its work that engage the youth. FACRP is an agro-forestry organisation that promotes conservation of the forest eco-system.

GWP-C participated in the FACRP’s annual celebration commemorating conservation of the forest on March 12th, 2010.

The Partnership and Youth GWP-C’s partner in Suriname, The Anton De Kom University of Suriname was one of

the organisers behind a recently held IWRM training workshop for secondary school

students in Suriname.

Students doing experiments with water at the workshop.

School teacher explaining the theory of water to students.

GWP Information Support for Youth GWP Toolbox - A knowledge sharing tool created by the global organisation which can best be described as on “Online IWRM Library.”

The tool box is: Free Comprises of IWRM case studies from across the globeReference that can be used by water experts, decision makers and anyone interested in learning about the management of water resources

Within the toolbox young persons, teachers/lecturers etc. can find a wealth of information on sustainable water management topics that can be incorporated into all levels of education. Bringing water issues into education programmes can encourage young people to better understand not only the wider water concepts but also the effects of their own behaviour on water, its quality and eco-systems.

GWP Information Support for Youth

IWRM Publications and Promotional Material

GWP-C is committed to knowledge sharing on water resources management and other environmental topics such as climate change etc among the youth.

Here are some of the GWP-C resources available to you:

GWP-C brochures and leaflets GWP-C water videos IWRM leaflets IWRM books (GWP-C has donated IWRM books to tertiary level institutions) CDs with information on “How to Manage the World’s Water Resources” Other publications on IWRM, climate change, water and sanitation, among other areas.

IWRM Publications and Promotional Material

GWP-C Water Videos - GWP-C currently has 3 video productions on water scarcity and the flood risk management in the Caribbean. These videos are available by request to the GWP-C Secretariat.

The videos include: Flood Risk Management and the Caribbean Water Scarcity and Population in the Caribbean Water: Is there enough for tomorrow?

An Introduction to Integrated Water Resources Management

IWRM

What is IWRM?

Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is:

A process of managing water, land and related resources in a way that meets society’s long-term need for water while ensuring that economicand social welfare is not compromised and that there is no harm to the environment.

IWRM is about: Managing water resources at the lowest possible level. Managing demand for water and optimising the supply. Providing equitable access to water resources by a participatory approach. Establishing policies to help manage water resources. Engaging all sectors of the economy in the IWRM process.

Water Demand

Key components are:

• Domestic - people• Agriculture – irrigation, aquaculture, etc.• Industry - manufacturing• Ecosystem – wetlands, rivers, etc.

IWRM in PracticeA. Enabling Environment

Policies Legislative Framework Financing and Incentive Structures

B. Institutional Mechanism Institutional Framework Institutional Capacity Building

C. Management Instruments Water Resources Assessments Planning for IWRM Demand Management Social Change Instruments Economic Instruments Information and Communications

Water Governance

• The GWP defines Water Governance as the range of political, social, economic and administrative systems that are in place to develop and manage water resources and the delivery of water services at different levels of society.

• It is really the traditions and institutions by which authority is exercised in a country. Governance deals with who is really in charge and how power is used to decide who gets what and when.

Water Resources Assessment

Opportunities for community

field projects

Water Resources Assessments – why?

• Knowledge of the current status of water resources

and trends in demand and use is a precondition for

successful water management

• Understanding of the factors affecting patterns of

access and entitlement to water is fundamental to

working with stakeholders

• Shared access to a body of agreed (and trusted)

information is the basis of good (transparent)

planning and decision making

Water Resources Assessments – how?

• Identify the minimum information needs required to make a

good decision: minimum acceptable precision and maximum

permissible uncertainty

• Consolidate, quality control, reconcile, and gap fill

information from a wide range of sources

• Establish a common, agreed and trusted information base

that can be used by stakeholders

• As much as possible stakeholders should be involved in all

aspects of the WRA – supported by expert facilitators

RIDA Framework

• Resource (water resource in space and time): size and location of watershed, condition of watershed, how much water, who manages it, water quality, how is it managed, how much human and financial resources used.

• Infrastructure (supply/demand capacity): what infrastructure, what condition, unaccounted for water, what capacity, who controls, what rules/laws, how much human and financial resources.

• Demand (entitlement/need): what kind of users, how many users, what institutions, what legal framework.

• Access (actual use): what sub-groups, periods of scarcity, coping strategies, barriers to access.

RIDA Analysis – example for domestic water…1

Checklist for organising information collection – village demand & access

How much water do people get every day?

• Water meter reading; Using buckets to measure; Water use diary

Are there major differences in the access of different user groups? • Social mapping; Household water use surveys

How much water would people LIKE to get/ be willing to pay for?

• Focus group discussions

How reliable is the supply?

• Focus group discussions

Is the quality acceptable?

• Focus group/ household discussions; Water quality testing

What are the key institutions involved in managing access to the supply?

• Social mapping

RIDA Analysis – example for domestic water…2

At the river/aquifer (resources)

What is the quantity/quality of water available for the water supply

system? Are there issues with variability? • Hydrological data

• Expert opinion

What is the licensed/permitted limit to abstraction • Expert opinion

• Reports, etc

Who are the main actors/institutions involved in water resource

management? • Key informant interviews etc.

Information Management

What do you do with the data?

• Quality control• Data organisation• Data input and storage• Data analysis• Data products• Data access and management

Information collected, provides the basis for initiating the preparation of an IWRM strategy and action plan.

For more information on GWP-C, please visit our website at:

www.gwp-caribbean.org

Thank You!