PRESS RELEASE

wastewater%20caribbean.jpg

GEF Approves $20 Million for Wastewater Management in the Caribbean

Part of a $271 Million Effort in Six Caribbean Countries

Washington DC, December 10, 2010: The CEO of the Global Environment Facility has endorsed a $20 million project to establish a Caribbean Regional Fund for Wastewater Management (CReW). It will be jointly implemented by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The main objective is to create pilot financial national revolving funding mechanisms that can be used to provide sustainable financing for environmentally sound and cost-effective wastewater management. In addition to that, the project aims to facilitate policy and legal reforms, regional dialogue, and knowledge exchange with the key stakeholders in the wider Caribbean region.

“This is a great example of the innovative power of the GEF. By establishing this kind of pilot projects we lay the founding stones for widespread mainstreaming throughout the region and for replication elsewhere.” said Monique Barbut, CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility.

Federico Basañes, the IDB Water and Sanitation Division Chief said: “For the Inter-American Development Bank the CReW represents a great opportunity to test innovative financing mechanisms for wastewater investment projects. Through four pilot projects, the CReW will generate knowledge that will benefit not only the pilot countries, but the wider Caribbean Region. The IDB will seek to build on the lessons generated by these projects and apply them to other countries.”

"The Secretariat of the Cartagena Convention welcomes the opportunity to be the lead executing agency for the regional component of GEF CReW project. CreW will provide much needed technical support, training and capacity building to improve wastewater management in the Wider Caribbean. Furthermore, CreW is well placed to assist countries of the region to meet their obligations under the Protocol for the Control of Pollution from Land-based Sources and activities as untreated domestic wastewater discharges pose the greatest threat to the coastal and marine ecosystems and the long-term sustainability of the Wider Caribbean Region" said Christopher Corbin, Programme Officer (UNEP) with responsibility for Pollution Prevention and the LBS Protocol at UNEP CAR/RCU - Secretariat for the Cartagena Convention.

The Jamaican example: A significant proportion of the National Water Commission (NWC) wastewater treatment facilities are ‘aged’ and greater than twenty-five years old. Extensive rehabilitation/upgrade of these WWTPs will be required as they have surpassed there useful economic life and in some instances, consist of operational challenges and deficiencies.

In April 2008, the National Water Commission received a review of its tariff by the Office of Utilities Regulation - OUR. The review is inclusive of a provision called the K-Factor, earmarked for the rehabilitation of Commission’s 44 wastewater treatment facilities across the island.

“The NWC welcomes this innovative financing initiative by the IADB, as it will assist the Commission to leverage the CReW’s fund with the K-Factor funds to encourage the participation of local financial institutions to invest in the wastewater/sanitation sector. The contribution from the CReW Programme will also stimulate and provide a secured source of financing to support the Commission’s trust to increase its sewerage coverage and the population access to the essential service." added Mr. Lewis Lakeman, Assistant Vice President of Systems Development & Planning, National Water Commission (NWC).

Background
The degradation of the Caribbean marine environment, including through the discharge of untreated wastewater, is a serious concern for a number of Countries in the Wider Caribbean Region (WCR), hence they have ratified the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment in the WCR, also known as the Cartagena Convention and signed the Protocol on Land Based Sources (LBS) of Marine Pollution.

The LBS Protocol sets several goals to govern domestic sewage discharges into the waters of the Wider Caribbean. While countries thus increasingly recognize the importance of improving wastewater management, obstacles exist in implementing the obligations of the LBS Protocol and taking required national actions, in many cases due to lack of adequate, affordable financing available for investments in wastewater management in the WCR.

Smaller communities in particular often find it difficult to obtain affordable financing for such improvements. Therefore, developing innovative financial mechanisms and making affordable resources available to assist countries in the WCR to establish or expand domestic wastewater management programs and policies, based on national and local community needs, constitutes a priority for the region.
 

For more information see: http://www.cep.unep.org/gef-crew-caribbean-regional-fund-for-wastewater-management-unep-iadb-gef-partnership-project  

Media contact: Christian Hofer, Senior Communications Officer, GEF, chofer@thegef.org, +1 202 413 4185

About the Global Environment Facility
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) unites 182 member governments — in partnership with international institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector — to address global environmental issues. An independently operating 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.

Established in 1991, the GEF is today the largest public funder of projects to improve the global environment. The GEF has allocated $9.2 billion, supplemented by more than $40 billion in cofinancing, for more than 2,700 projects in more than 165 developing countries and countries with economies in transition. Through its Small Grants Programme (SGP), the GEF has also made more than 12,000 small grants directly to nongovernmental and community organizations, totaling $495 million.

For more information: www.thegef.org