The workshop which was held on May 18th, 2012 in Barbados, sought to launch a consultancy initiated by the CDB to conduct an assessment of the state of the Water Sector (WS) in its Borrowing Member Countries with the exception of Haiti. The countries to be assessed therefore include: Jamaica; Trinidad and Tobago; Belize; Guyana; The Bahamas; St. Vincent and the Grenadines; St. Kitts and Nevis; Anguilla; Montserrat; Barbados; Antigua and Barbuda; Dominica; St. Lucia; Cayman Islands; British Virgin Islands; Grenada; and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The proposed consultancy is aimed at evaluating and rationalising the major development challenges facing the WS in the Caribbean and for the CDB to determine its future role within this context. The major expected outcome of the Water Review project is that it would present up-to-date information, analyses and recommendations to aid in the CDB’s strategic planning for its interventions in the WS.
The workshop provided a good platform for local and regional water stakeholders to be fully sensitised about the project and their future involvement in the consultancy process. This is because the consultants hired to conduct the WS review would be expected to gather various types of information from participating countries, through a mix of country visits, interviews and information surveys. Moreover, participants were able to meet the members of the consultancy group hired to undertake the project.
The consultancy is expected to span a year and entails a robust and detailed scope of work. The first stage of the research will involve the preparation of Water Sector Profiles for the various countries that will form part of the study. In building these profiles, evaluations will be conducted on areas such as:
- Policies, legislations and institutions governing the WS.
- Existing or proposed strategies related to managing climate change impacts on the WS.
- Effectiveness of Water Resource Management Systems in each country.
- Geology and Hydrology assessments.
- Adequacy of water supply service provision.
- Water for agriculture in the relevant country.
Other areas of the project will comprise of assessments of the role of: regional organisations; funding agencies; and an evaluation of the potential role of the CDB.