Short-GEF%20logo%20colored%20NOTAG%20transparent.png
IWlearn.png
IWlearn%20logo.png
Bridgetown, 28 October 2013 – Barbados is the host of the seventh biennial Global Environment Facility (GEF) International Waters Conference, bringing the portfolio of freshwater, coastal, and marine projects together to discuss progress and challenges. The conference is taking place at the Hilton Barbados Hotel from October 26-31, with the aim of increasing capacity in economic valuation to help better translate scientific findings to policy decisions and to share experiences and good practices in the improved management of transboundary freshwater and marine systems. Through the GEF and its agencies, 149 countries are working together to secure the future of their shared waters: river basins, lakes, groundwater and large marine ecosystems. About US$ 9.8 billion of GEF funding inclusive co-finance have been leveraged to support countries in these efforts so far.
“The GEF Secretariat together with our partners in the GEF agencies have been privileged to be able to support cooperation on international waters for over two decades – this effort has catalyzed regional, legal and institutional frameworks for cooperation, supported “action-on-the-ground” through regional, national and local investments, and lead to testing and up-scaling of innovative approaches and technologies for environmental stress reduction and improved environmental management” said Astrid Hillers, International Waters Cluster Coordinator of the Global Environment Facility. “Economic evaluation of science based priority actions – including trying to put a dollar figure to the value that ecosystems provide – is not an easy task, but urgently needed as part of the solution towards long term sustainability and on-the-ground results."
Most of the world’s largest, most economically important and environmentally sensitive water ecosystems span national borders. Not being under the jurisdiction of a single state, they are often managed in fragmented ways. The existence of life itself on the planet fully depends on the availability of fresh water, and the natural resources in these freshwater and marine environments, which in turn fully depends on trustful co-operation between countries.
Barbados, with a resident population of 260,000, covers an area of approximately 430 square km and comprises of uplifted coral limestone terraces. The island faces many of the environmental and socio-economic challenges that are generally associated with being a Small Island Developing State (SIDS). Of particular concern and relevance to this the 7th GEF International Waters Conference is Barbados’ global recognition as a water scarce country. SIDS are also inevitably tied to the state of the surrounding ocean, being heavily dependent upon the bounty that it provides. As such, they are particularly vulnerable when a lack of international action leads to unsustainable ocean practices.
“For Barbados and the Collection of SIDS that comprise the CARICOM sub-region, the Caribbean Sea represents the only shared water body requiring co-management considerations and actions for its sustainability” explained Dr. Honorable Dennis Lowe MP, Minister of Environmental and Drainage. “The Caribbean region has benefited significantly from the support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) International Waters (IW) portfolio through the execution of projects that have enhanced the governance and resource management practices that impact upon the Caribbean Sea”.
Barbados and the countries of the Caribbean are facing the challenges of management of transbondary waters by partnering with Global Environment Facility and UNDP on a variety of major projects. The largest project is the Caribbean Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) project aimed at bringing the countries of the Caribbean to sustainably manage the LME’s shared living marine resources. This project, involving 25 countries has just recently come to an international agreement on a collective program to manage the shared waters of the Caribbean sustainably for present and future generations.
One of the most serious threats to Caribbean ecosystems that has been identified is the introduction of pollution from wastewater. To combat this threat, the IADB, UNEP and the GEF has partnered with the countries of the region in the Caribbean Regional Fund for Wastewater Management project to pilot revolving financial mechanisms to provide sustainable financing of environmentally sound and cost-effective wastewater management measures.
The GEF UNEP-UNDP Caribbean Coastal Integrated Water and Coastal Areas Management (IWCAM) project assisted countries to improve their watershed and coastal zone management practices. Working in lockstep with the wastewater project through the Caribbean Environment Program, the results from the project are already emerging. Rivers, and the sensitive near shore environments that they empty into are improving from reduced introduction of harmful nutrients and waste. Further, the project was assisting the countries in the region in the process of ratification of the Protocol Concerning Pollution from Land-Based Sources and Activities under the Cartagena Convention.
Adjacent to the Caribbean LME, the Gulf of Mexico Large Marine Ecosystem faces many of the same pressures of its neighbors. The GEF UNIDO Gulf of Mexico Large Marine Ecosystem project is building capacity and initiating policy, legal, and institutional reforms to implement region-wide efforts to address habitat loss, management of living resources; and land-based sources of pollution.
As the only transboundary freshwater system in the Caribbean islands, the GEF UNDP Artibonito River Basin project is working to ensure the sustainable development of the Artibonito watershed through the promotion of integrated ecosystem-based reforms, demonstrations and investments for the sustainable management of a strategic international watershed.
As the major global response to assist developing countries to reduce the transfer of invasive species from one region to another through ships' ballast water. The GEF UNDP/IMO GloBallast Water Partnerships project resulted in the creation of a Global Industry Alliance for Marine Biosecurity and a new Convention on Ship’s Ballast Water and Sediments. The Wider Caribbean region was chosen as a high priority sub-region due to the presence of many developing countries, and a production mainly based on its coastal resources (such as tourism and fisheries), and an extremely sensitive environment that is particularly at risk from invasive aquatic species.
These results are just a small sample of the projects from around the world that will be sharing their experiences and best practices over the following four days at the 7th GEF International Waters Conference in Bridgetown. Participants will attend one of three technical sites options that were developed under the theme “Ridge to Reef, Barbados”. These sites highlight a range of water management challenges faced by the country including traditional and new management approaches in the areas of land use planning, coastal risk reduction and ground water protection. The conference attracts over 250 participants from over 80 countries around the world, representing almost 50 active GEF IW projects.
###
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) – www.thegef.org, unites 183 member governments - in partnership with international institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector — to address global environmental issues. An independent financial organization, the GEF provides grants to developing countries and countries with economies in transition for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, the ozone layer, and persistent organic pollutants. These projects benefit the global environment, linking local, national, and global environmental challenges and promoting sustainable livelihoods.
The GEF International Waters (IW) focal area targets transboundary water systems, such as shared river basins, lakes, groundwater and large marine ecosystems. The IW portfolio has delivered substantive results and replicable experiences to be scaled-up and mainstreamed globally. Since the inception of the GEF in 1991, the IW focal area has funded more than 240 projects and some US$ 1.4 billion of GEF grants that has been invested in 149 different countries. This investment has leveraged approximately US$ 8.4 billion in co-financing.
More information on the IWC7 is available at http://www.iwlearn.net/iwc2013.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Mish Hamid, GEF IW:LEARN Project, mish@iwlearn.org.
bridgetown.jpg.jpeg
Bridgetown, Barbados is the IWC7 host city