Introduction
The economic and social well-being of small island countries, particularly those in the Pacific and in the Caribbean, are dependent upon the quality and quantity of their water. However, the ability of small island countries to effectively manage the water sector is often constrained by their small size and limited human resource base. In many island countries, trends such as climate variability, increasingly variable rainfall, accelerating storm water runoff, increasing demand for water are so disturbing that they threaten their economic development and the health of their people.
The vulnerability and particular needs of small island countries has been acknowledged by the World Water Council by the inclusion of the "Water in Small Island Countries" theme in the 3rd World Water Forum. The Forum is a global initiative to promote sustainable water management and is to be held 16 – 23 March 2003 in Kyoto, Japan. More information on the small island countries preparations for the world water forum can be found at
http://www.adb.org/Water/theme3.asp.As part of the preparations for the World Water Forum a global "Dialogue on Water & Climate" has been established which aims to improve the capacity in water resources management to cope with the impacts of increasing variability of the world's climate, by establishing a platform through which policymakers and water resources managers have better access to, and make better use of, information generated by climatologists and meteorologists. More information on the dialogue can be found at http://www.waterandclimate.org.
The Pacific and Caribbean region will be engaged in a Dialogue on Water and Climate led by the Water Resources Unit of the South Pacific Applied Geosciences Commission (SOPAC), and the Unit for Sustainable Development and Environment of the Organization of American States (OAS), and the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI). They will provide a contribution to both theme sessions at the World Water Forum.
Pacific and Caribbean Dialogue on Water and Climate
The participating small island countries of the Pacific and the Caribbean represent 28 nations, with a wide range of cultural heritages, languages, economic activities, and political systems. The populations vary in size from 2,000 (Niue) to 8,500,000 (Dominican Republic). The two regions are home to a plethora of fragile ecosystems and vulnerable hotspots, such as coral reefs, mangroves, and tropical forests. The small island countries in the two regions vary from low-lying atoll islands to raised coral atolls and high volcanic islands. They are at great risk from the impact of increased climate variability, especially evident in relation to water resources. Increased extreme weather events due to global climate change are already resulting in coral reef bleaching, droughts, floods, and stress on the water supply for all sectors of the population and economy. The Small Island Countries Dialogue on Water and Climate seeks to highlight this critical issue and promote an exchange of information among key stakeholders and other affected sectors of the economy.
Objectives
The Small Island Countries Dialogue on Water and Climate seek to achieve the following objectives:
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Enhance public awareness |
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Exchange views and experiences |
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Develop political commitment to achieve improved policies, institutional frameworks, and approaches to adaptation |
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Build capacity to address the challenge of climate change and variability in regard to water |
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Promote inter-regional collaboration between small island countries of the Caribbean and the Pacific |
Activities and outputs
The following activities and outputs are expected until the 3rd World Water Forum:
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Synthesis of data and trends |
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Interactive web-sites |
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Public awareness campaigns |
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Case studies |
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Regional meetings in Pacific and Caribbean |
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Joint Small Island Countries paper |
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Sharing knowledge and experiences through networking |
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Pilot projects |
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Best practices and lessons learned |
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Proposals for critical actions |
Participating Countries
Island Ccountries that are members of SOPAC and OAS will be involved in the dialogue:
Pacific: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji Islands, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Nauru, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu
Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago
If you are interested in participating in this dialogue please contact:
Pacific
David Scott / Clive Carpenter / Marc Overmars
Water Resources Unit
South Pacific Applied Geosciences Commission (SOPAC)
Private Mail Bag, GPO
Suva, Fiji
Tel: 679-381377, Fax: 679-370040
E-mail:
Website: http://www.sopac.org.fj/Secretariat/Units/Wru
Caribbean
Patricia Aquing, Executive DirectorCaribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI)
The Morne, Castries
St. Lucia
Tel: (758) 452-1412
Fax: (758) 453-2721
E-mail: cehi@candw.lc
Website: www.cehi.org.lc
Jan C. Vermeiren
Unit for Sustainable Development and Environment (USDE)
Organization of American States (OAS)
1889 F Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006 USA
Tel: 202-458-3006, 202-458-3064, Fax: 202-458-3560
E-mail: jvermeiren@oas.org
Website: http://www.oas.org/usde
Other initiatives will go here as hyperlinks
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