By: Staff Writer
March 24, 2023
A United Nations (UN) report said that in the Caribbean and Central American water withdrawals had increased with a rise in population growth and increased agricultural productivity.
The United Nations World Water Development Report 2023: partnerships and cooperation for water, said: “Total water withdrawals per capita remained flat or declined from 2000 to 2018, except in Central America and the Caribbean, South America and Southeast Asia. In general, these trends are expected to persist as populations grow, partly due to overall increases in water productivity, including in agriculture, and partly due to the prevalence of water scarcity induced by extended periods of aridity in areas of high population density.”
Water withdrawals, or water abstractions, are defined as freshwater taken from ground or surface water sources, either permanently or temporarily, and conveyed to a place of use. This means the water could be used for drinking water, manufacturing, agricultural or some other method.
Water scarcity in fresh water in the region is also becoming a concerning issue, despite the fact that many of the Caribbean countries are surrounded by water, reverse osmosis is not readily available in all Caribbean countries with many rural regions still resorting to collecting rain water for farming and drinking water.
The report also said that water stress during 2000 to 2018 also had a “large increase” for the Caribbean. Water stress occurs when the demand for water exceeds the available amount during a certain period or when poor quality restricts its use. Water stress causes deterioration of fresh water resources in terms of quantity (aquifer over-exploitation, dry rivers, etc.)
There needs to be an “acceleration” of the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), which is simply process that promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources in order to maximize economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems.
The report also said: “In Latin America and the Caribbean, rural drinking water and sanitation services are generally led by community organizations, such as administrative boards or water vigilance committees. An estimated 80,000 of these associations were active in the region’s rural and peri-urban areas in 2011.
“Most of these organizations are responsible for the operation and maintenance of services, which depend on the collection of fees. However, these associations tend to have weak management capacities, mainly due to the lack of funding, insufficiently trained technicians, poor or insufficient infrastructure, and/or the difficulty of agreeing on rates or fees with the local population. Faced with these issues, the promotion of new management models based on efficiency, enhanced technical assistance and appropriate subsidies are generally required to improve and expand overall service for rural and peri-urban populations.”
Although there are valuable examples of water-based partnerships in Latin America and the Caribbean, their performance remains challenged by limited technical capacity and funding. Based on the examination of these, it is possible to conclude that basin-level management is of central importance to both public and private stakeholders. However, the level of adoption of IWRM remains rather low in the region. In this respect, high-level political support for water-related partnership initiatives is identified as a key enabler.