Small islands discuss water challenges |10 October 2013

Representatives from various small islands states (Sids) and United Nations (UN) agencies are meeting on La Digue to discuss how they can best manage their water resources for sustainable development.

These Sids and UN agencies represented at the two-day meeting are Cape Verde, Comoros, Maldives, Mauritius, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Office for Project Services (Unops).

They are cooperating in a project entitled ‘Implementing Integrated Water Resources (IWRM) and Wastewater Management in Atlantic and Indian Ocean Small Island Developing States.

Funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the project focuses on strengthening efforts towards sustainable water resources protection and management in the participating Sids. It has been recognised that water resource and wastewater management are critical issues to all Sids throughout the world.

The meeting, followed by a visit to the demonstration site in La Digue, is a rare opportunity for exchanging experiences and lessons learnt between the partner countries which will be integrated in the development of management plans for the coming years.

The discussions highlight the importance of sustainable IWRM for ensuring availability of water resources in good quality and enough quantity in the future; having the right policies in place and ensuring wide stakeholder participation and public education will be a major driver towards long-term sustainability.

Participants are learning about successful approaches and tools, thereby ensuring that good practice is replicated and project impacts are sustained.

“Although the participating islands differ in size and level of economic development, they share common environmental features that can have a profound influence on their development,” says one of the organisers.

“Scarce water supplies, over-exploitation and poor management of water supplies, especially groundwater and increasing pollution due to poor waste management threaten the Sids on either side of the African continent and out into the Indian Ocean.”

This project is designed to address these challenges through development, adoption and demonstration of IWRM mechanisms and water use efficiency strategies, a process of policy and legislative reforms, and institutional and human resource capacity building. Particular emphasis will be given to the protection and rational use of water supplies, both surface and ground waters and improved wastewater management.