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Salutations, Mr Chairman: I have the honour of speaking on behalf of the Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community who because of conflicting obligations could not be here today. I bring you greetings in his name and on behalf of our Caribbean Community, comprising 15 beautiful and salubrious tropical states, paradoxically separated; yet linked, not only by common ideals and goals but also by the Wide Sargasso Sea and further complemented with five associate members, each with its distinct character. Thank you very much for inviting me to share with you some humble perspectives on water security in Caribbean Small Island Developing states. Your hospitality to date has been indescribably warm – tantamount to a Caribbean welcome. I seize also the privilege to congratulate the leadership of the World Water Organisation for its foresight in convening this high level symposium to bring to sharp focus, the critical issue of water security. Indeed this distinguished group of water and development experts, representatives of the corporate, medical and academic communities and governments, has come together to identify threats and vulnerabilities and explore solutions for the protection and preservation of water resources, water infrastructure and systems worldwide. It is my sincere wish that the outcomes of this symposium will be distilled into practical solutions to address the urgent water needs of billions of people around the world and particularly those in developing countries. This Symposium fortuitously pre-empts the 5th World Water Forum to be convened in Istanbul, Turkey in March 2009 where the international community will raise the importance, awareness and understanding of water issues and propose concrete solutions to address global challenges related to water security. I note also that this symposium is convened at a critical juncture when our Caribbean Community and the rest of the developing world are grappling with one of the worse financial crises and at the same time contending with the impacts of the global phenomenon – climate change and the threat that it presents for sustaining and securing water supplies. Ladies and Gentlemen, you will agree that the threat presented by climate change will call for significant adaptation, even in countries that have achieved a basic level of water security. That we gather here this week to treat with this issue, underlines the critical importance of water security to the global village. No one can deny or even understate the social importance of water and its contribution to economic growth and development, yet we dare not underestimate its destructive potential. It is often stated that water is the source of life. Given the double-edged nature of this unique resource, it is perhaps more guarded to posit that “water of the right quality, in the right quantity, in the right place, is the source of life.” One of the fundamental challenges confronting us today relates to how we manage and develop this precious resource to promote growth and alleviate poverty in a responsible manner, without undermining our environmental resources. Therefore, ladies and gentlemen I have been tasked with the formidable imperative of teasing out – flirting with – setting the context for further deliberations. Those of us who enjoy fine-dining will tell you that the appetiser is invariably a strong indicator of what the entrée will be; and yet others will tell you that history has recorded the demise of many a forerunner whose message was not exactly palatable to the receiver. I have the audacity to hope that my audience’s appetite would have been reasonably, if not fully satiated by my precursors’ presentation; and Ladies and Gentlemen in the Caribbean even that scenario poses another kind of ethnic challenge, that has very little to do with the water we drink. Overview of the Caribbean Nevertheless, the issues with which you will need to address in this symposium are many and varied. I will endeavour to place on the table for deliberations, some broad policy issues impacting water security. But before I do so, permit me to provide you with an overview of the Caribbean and in particular, that portion of the Caribbean – South America and Central America – that comprises the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Hopefully this will facilitate your understanding and appreciation of some of the unique challenges we face as developing nations. The Caribbean Region comprises a group of countries which are at varying levels of socio-economic development. Some countries still maintain a strong agricultural base; some have moved to a more industrial base while others have become more service- oriented to support national development. In all cases, water is an important input to industrial development, and growth in these sectors requires exponential increases in water supply. Demographically, the region is expanding rapidly. As a result, the demand for potable water will increase in the future assuming no changes in life style. In many cases, CARICOM Member States are Small Island Developing States (SIDS) with no shared land borders. However, exceptions exist with several CARICOM Member States (Guyana, Suriname, Belize and Haiti) sharing borders, watersheds and rivers with other countries. In such cases, cross border management of the resources is a necessity and is important for border security. Water and national security In some countries, the emphasis is to protect our water resources and delivery systems from deviants who may seek to harm the state by harming the population of the state. In other cases, the protection of water resources and ensuring a sustainable quantity of water at a reasonable price is essential for socio-economic development and maintaining domestic tranquillity. Within the Caribbean, where we have a blend of Developing and Underdeveloped States we struggle with both issues and their interconnectivity. I hasten to cite an example which in itself poses a catch 22 situation: If we police the resources and delivery systems, we are inadvertently increasing the cost of water, which invariably impacts affordability and a consequent potential for civil unrest and down-turn in socio-economic development. On the other hand, if we fail to protect water resources and distribution systems, we run the risk of opening the door to non-state actors to wreak considerable damage to our resources and distribution systems, again impacting our socio-economic development. (Talk about damned if you do and damned if you don’t) As you can see, the problems we face are complex and require carefully crafted solutions that facilitate national development yet protecting the public, the resource and delivery systems. But do we wring our hands and do nothing? No ladies and gentlemen; we tell ourselves, “yes we can and we will” For us in the Caribbean, the discussion of water and security has to start with a discussion of whether water should be treated as a public good or a traded commodity. We recognize water as being a public good and require that all members of society have universal access to a clean drinking water supply as prescribed by the UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG) # 7 – to ensure Environmental sustainability. However, it begs the question, distinguished ladies and gentlemen: Does recognizing water as a public good translate into access to unlimited amounts of water? In recognizing water as a public good, governments in the Caribbean generally subsidize the cost of water to the residential user. However, governments are also cognizant of the economic value and the need to conserve the resource. As a result, a careful balance is reached whereby a specific amount of the resource is made available to residential subscribers at a low subsidized tariff. Beyond this rate, subscribers pay a much higher tariff. This careful balance mitigates poverty and potential social unrest, while at the same time protecting the resource. For us in the Caribbean, water security and national security are inextricably linked. It follows therefore that any insecurity and uncertainty within the water sector is a catalyst for social instability. This is particularly the case when we note that several Caribbean states in keeping with the UN definition are currently labelled as water scarce: meaning that they experience a grave challenge in distributing water to meet the demands of households, farms, industry and environment. The issue of water resources in the Caribbean Region involves many of the same problems that face developing countries in general, including inadequate management frameworks and resources, both human and financial. However, other issues unique to SIDS, notably their highly constrained freshwater resource base and the patterns of development on limited habitable land, pose particular challenges for freshwater resources management and ultimately national and regional security. While freshwater is a priority issue, albeit with different priority weights, the limited access to fresh water creates health hazards. Many official reports on the Latin America and the Caribbean Region indicate that for a region that is “rich in renewable water resources with more than 30 per cent of the world’s total,” in most Caribbean islands (with Dominica and Jamaica as exceptions) rainfall is still the sole source of freshwater, with several islands depending on the use of desalination water. This is particularly the case for low-lying coral-based islands, where groundwater supplies are limited and are protected only by a thin, permeable soil. Even where rainfall is abundant, access to clean water has often been restricted by the lack of adequate storage facilities and effective delivery systems. The challenge is further compounded – ladies and gentlemen – by degradation of upland watersheds, pollution from waste and chemical run-off from agriculture. These are the major factors determining the future quantity and quality of available potable water. The rapid growth of the tourism industry, which is estimated to account for 40 percent of regional Gross Domestic Product (GDP), is also impacting water resources in most islands. Water consumption in the tourism industry is reported to be five or ten times higher than other residential uses, and growing populations are placing huge demands on the islands’ water. And I must hasten to point out that ensuring access to freshwater will become increasingly challenging for Caribbean countries as global temperatures and sea levels continue to rise. The Inter- Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that water resources will be affected negatively as models predict that the Region’s annual precipitation could decrease by about five percent during this period to 2050, and by about seven percent by 20801. The need to strengthen institutional capacity in an effort to mitigate threats to the Region’s water security cannot be over-emphasized. The requirements for managing water resources are not linked to the size of a country but more so to the capacity of its human, intellectual and organisational resources. Consequently, a similar set of expertise is required to manage water resources effectively and for SIDS with limited financial resources and competing demands it has proved difficult to provide for the necessary institutional capacity. Added to that is the outward migration of intellectual capital produced in the Region. This has been a cause for concern for some time. For example, over the last five years, the Water Resources Authority of Jamaica has lost a significant number of its most skilled employees to countries in the Developed World. In addition to the loss of intellectual capacity to the Developed World, low salaries within the water resources sector in some countries such as Guyana, has contributed to the difficulty of recruiting and retaining skilled and experienced persons to fill technical, financial management, and decision making roles in water resources organizations. These circumstances have led to a reliance on a project orientated management approach that addresses short term needs rather than a programme and resources management approach that takes a longer term more integrated approach. It has also resulted in a reliance on recruiting outside expertise at a significant cost but with no continuity, capacity building or institutional strengthening. Ladies and Gentlemen: these are but some of the challenges confronting the Caribbean Region. The question now is how do we respond to these challenges in light of the limited resource-base of many Caribbean countries? I submit that this requires concerted government, private sector and civil society response. I will also suggest that our response must be one in which we view the issue as a development issue, adopting an integrated approach to solutions. There is an emerging consensus from the Caribbean Region that there are certain critical policy elements that ought to be considered in the design of an effective Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) strategy. The genesis of these policy elements is rooted in the special physiographic and socio-economic features that characterize Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The intensification of the sectoral demand for water has also accentuated the recognition that water resources should be best analysed and dealt with in an “integrated” manner. To conduct and implement the changes needed to facilitate this shift in the approach, new/amended laws, regulations and institutions are needed. At the core of this approach is the adoption of a comprehensive policy and legal framework and the treatment of water as an economic good, combined with decentralized management and delivery structures, greater reliance on pricing, and fuller participation by stakeholders. In this context, Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) policy elements for Caribbean SIDS should be directed towards the following areas that fall within the three pillars of IWRM
No policy, however well-intentioned and conceived, will achieve the desired outcome if stakeholder education is not an institutionalized element of the implementation process. This may require strategies aimed at effecting behavioral and attitudinal change, dispelling false notions (e.g. that the resource is ‘limitless’) and enhancing public awareness and understanding of the ‘true’ cost of providing water, arguably one of the most undervalued natural resources. Having said all the above I wish to summarise that Water security is a multifaceted issue not only for the Caribbean but globally. Firstly, Water security is a development issue: This precious resource is central to the larger development agenda and the central goal should be the achievement of the objectives of sustainability. Earlier, I noted that water is critical to achieving Millennium Development Goal 7; what I failed to mention is that it is also central to achieving other MDGs: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; Achieve universal primary education Promote gender equality and empower women; and to a lesser degree Reduce child mortality and Improve maternal health particularly where water-related diseases impact mortality. Policies in all these areas will similarly be influenced by external forces like demographic transitions, advances in technology and communication, globalization, free trade, and above all else climate change. All of these factors must be considered holistically in order to build a sustainable future for our countries. Water security is a management issue: It is indeed a challenge to reduce or mitigate against the destructive impacts of water while simultaneously increasing its productive impacts. For Caribbean SIDS, water resources development and management of water quantity and quality remain at the heart of the struggle for sustainable development, growth and poverty reduction. Prudent management requires that strong national climate and water research programs be maintained; that decisions about future water planning and management be flexible, and that the risks and benefits of climate change be incorporated into all long-term water planning. Rigid, expensive, and irreversible actions in climate-sensitive areas can increase vulnerability and long-term costs. Water managers and policymakers must begin to consider climate change as a factor in all decisions about water investments and the operation of existing facilities and systems. Regrettably, several Caribbean SIDS have yet to implement water management programmes that are sufficiently robust to address current and future water management challenges in an integrated and coherent manner. However, notwithstanding the unmet challenge of effectively managing the water legacy of these countries, we believe that it is a key ingredient in achieving sustainable growth and poverty eradication. Hence we continue to identify ways of addressing these challenges. I want to reiterate that for these countries, IWRM represents an ideal management tool that once implemented could be used to help address current and future management issues. The challenge remains the capacity to implement. However, failure to implement can result in less than optimal decision-making with respect to resource management, development and sustainability. These can have impacts on tariffs in the long run. Water security is an investment issue: The need to increase investments in drinking water supply and sanitation services especially in developing countries is an imperative for reducing poverty and to the achievement of the MDGs. Meeting MDG Goal 7 requires huge investments in infrastructure. The World Bank estimates that the cost of achieving MDG7 by 2015 is US$380 billion. Climate change however places uncertainty in evaluating its potential impacts on proposed investments and few efforts to quantify the diverse impacts and their implications have been made. Water security is an infrastructure issue: To achieve water security, countries need a “minimum platform of water infrastructure and management capacity.” When this platform is achieved, societies are resilient to the impacts of water. They have a level of access to water-related services that enables growth. Water security impacts food security: Food production and water security share a strong inter-dependent relationship. Water is an important input in crop and livestock farming and in food processing and storage. As a result, addressing issues of water pricing, water quality and availability will have significant impacts on food pricing, affordability and availability. In addition, reduction in agriculture will induce population dislocation leading migration away from rural areas to urban areas. Social problems associated with such migration such as the development of slums and associated social ailments are evident in many South American, Asian and African societies. In the Caribbean, the issue of food security is being addressed at the national and regional levels. Conclusion Ladies and Gentlemen: I might have painted a picture of gloom and doom but, here is the good news: Most of the Region’s water problems can be solved through more appropriate planning and management. However, strong leadership is integral to improving water governance, including management practices, institutional arrangements, and socio-political conditions. While specific solutions will vary according to each country’s particular circumstances, some basic principles which I will now highlight are relevant across to the global situation. The water experts have agreed that reliable and accessible data is of critical importance – not only data on water, but data on related social, economic and environmental factors. No country can hope to plan, develop, and manage water resources on a long-term sustainable basis without this. Also of utmost significance is the need to forge strong partnerships. All sectors – governments, the private sector, civil society, development institutions, media and others – have an important role to play in tackling the challenge of water security. Thirdly, water quality management is essential and although it is an area in which we have yet to count the costs, we realize that continued neglect of this area can only lead to serious health, social and economic implications. Finally, we need to focus concertedly on capacity building. Future water-related problems are likely to be quite different from those in the past. Solving those problems will require new skills, new approaches, and new mindsets. In concluding therefore, ladies and gentlemen, I wish to state that whether in the Caribbean or in the global community, for water to sustain lives and for it to form part of our economic growth, we need to ensure that the systems and infrastructure are in place and well maintained; that we have strong institutions which are able to respond to the needs of society; and that we have adequate resources to develop our infrastructure. However, the experts will tell you that the cost of achieving water security for developing countries is phenomenal. Meeting this challenge will require innovations in water resource management, development and governance; we will need to promote policies that encourage efficient management and use of existing water resources; we need to adapt and promote the adaptation of appropriate techniques and methodologies appropriate to the Caribbean Region; we need to enhance integrated planning and management and very importantly, we need a heavy injection of financial resources into our economic main streams – the kind that will see increased flows into the water resources sector and other related sectors. Water is life, ladies and gentlemen; we cannot rest; nay, we must not rest and we shall not rest until we tackle effectively this developmental challenge. This is not only a responsibility for individual states and regions; it is the responsibility of each of us to ensure that we use our scarce water and human resources to achieve sustainable growth and development; we owe it to ourselves; to our respective countries and regions; we owe it to the billions around the world who live without this life sustaining resource and above all, we owe it to God almighty to manage wisely this gift to which he entrusted us as good stewards for future generations. In the words of the most talked about; most popular and arguably the most powerful man in the world who had the audacity to hope and who has brought colourful clarity to the American dream, and in so doing has placed that dream within the grasp of the ordinary, I say, “yes we can.” Ladies and Gentlemen: I thank you. 1 3rd Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, UNFCCC 2002 |
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