The definitive limit is nowhere more experienced than in Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which are surrounded by saltwater from the ocean, with limited catchment areas for rainfall and little storage capacity on land. This has led to regular water shortages signalling permanent water stressed conditions. Many SIDS now have reduced water quality as a result of unsustainable life patterns. The situation is worsened by the frequent natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods which destroy infrastructure and cause massive damage to the environment.

The Caribbean region has the least water available per capita compared to other SIDS regions. It is therefore important to promote the use of ‘non conventional’ water resources and in particular rainwater harvesting (RWH) in SIDS.

RWH is a simple and low cost water supply technology that has been practiced for thousands of years. It is not widely used in the SIDS, and many countries have not included rainwater harvesting in integrated water resources management (IWRM) plans and/or water polices as has been done for ground and surface water.

As a result, minimal funds are allocated towards RWH. Inadequate awareness, skills and knowledge among citizens and their governments also contribute to the poor allocation of resources . Because of this, there is inadequate capacity to undertake rainwater harvesting activities.

The thirteenth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD 13) which focused on water policy called for the use of rainwater harvesting to meet water demand and for the development of capacities in rainwater harvesting in accordance with the countries’ needs involving all stakeholders in particular women, youth and local communities.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has embarked on an initiative to promote the use of RWH. It has implemented projects in Asia, Africa and the Pacific SIDS. UNEP has also facilitated the formation of the Rainwater Partnership. The Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI) has partnered with UNEP has extended the initiative to the Caribbean to promote the RWH in Grenada using the lessons learnt from other areas especially from the Pacific SIDS.

More...