Caribbean Regional Fund for Wastewater Management Project

The Caribbean Regional Fund for Wastewater Management (CReW) is a four year financing mechanism established in 2011 by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and co-implemented by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Component 2 is currently under way in Trinidad and Tobago and proposes to support capacity building activities for wastewater management under a  project entitled “Resource Valuation Study for Wastewater Management” at the Caroni Swamp in Trinidad and the Buccoo Reef / Bon Accord Lagoon Complex in Tobago. This study will be conducted by consultants from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), through the World   Resource Institute (WRI).

The objectives of the valuation study include:

•  To determine the ecological and health benefits of improved wastewater management; 
•  To conduct a cost benefit analysis of different wastewater management options and evaluate their merits to aid in priority setting.

Participants at the 1st  National Workshop for the GEF CReW   Workshop  (Trinidad) including Ms. Gardiner  (front row, right) of  EPPD, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources.

Implementation of the Project commenced following the establishment of an Ad hoc Committee and the convening of its first meeting in August, 2014 with the project consultants. The Ad hoc Committee comprises suitable representatives from the Environmental Policy and Planning Division, (Ms. Keima Gardiner, Environmental Engineering Specialist), the Environmental Management Authority (EMA), the Water and Sewage Authority (WASA), the Institute of Marine Authority (IMA) and the Ministry of Finance.

As a requirement of the project, two sets of national workshops must be conducted in Trinidad and in Tobago. The first set of national workshops were held with key stakeholders from government and state agencies, the Inter-American Development Bank, NGOs, and academia and were facilitated by the project consultants.

 

Participants at the 1st National Workshop for the GEF CReW  Workshop  (Tobago)

The workshops were held at the EMA’s, Port of Spain Office on October 17th, 2014 and in Tobago on October 21st, 2014. Members of the Ad hoc Committee and the project consultants also participated in site visits at the respective sites on the days prior to the Workshops. 

The attendees at the Workshops were afforded the opportunity to offer their input on the current management challenges and positive and negative trends at each site, as well as project some positive future scenarios and create a potential outreach strategy for effectively spreading the key outcomes once the validation study is completed.