From June 13 to 15, over 50 regional water sector professionals participated in a workshop at the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), which aimed to strengthen their capacity to establish climate-resilient water sector policies and investment plans in their countries. The workshop was part of CDB’s Planning for the Integration of Climate Resilience in the Water Sector in the Caribbean Project.

Speaking at the opening session, L. O’Reilly Lewis, Division Chief, Economic Infrastructure Division, CDB, said that climate change is already having an impact on the water sector around the Caribbean. He noted that a regional approach for adapting the sector to climate-change impacts is a necessity.

“At CDB, we believe that the sector challenges are best addressed at both regional and national levels. Regional deliberations can bring harmonisation in approaches, which can be adapted to national contexts. This workshop brings together regional learning and best practice for integrating climate resilience in the water sector,” said Lewis.

During the workshop, participants were provided with a draft Training Manual, which guides users through identifying and implementing climate resilience actions and investments, and that can be tailored and adapted for use in country specific contexts.  

“The Draft Training Manual presented in this workshop represents a regional resource and knowledge product to support national implementation. It is meant to be a catalyst for national action. It will be for the participants to take this forward in our own national process and contexts,” Lewis added.  

It is expected that following the workshop, attendees will return to their countries and train sector practitioners to use the manual to develop robust and implementable climate resilience water sector policies and investment plans.

The project was funded under the African Caribbean Pacific-European Union-Caribbean Development Bank- Natural Disaster Risk Management in CARIFORUM Countries programme, which aims to reduce vulnerability to long-term impacts of natural hazards, including the potential impacts of climate change, thereby supporting the achievement of national and regional sustainable development and poverty reduction goals.