IN A move to reduce the stress on freshwater resources in the Caribbean, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and its partners are to implement a new multimillion-US-dollar project with a focus on wastewater management in the region.
The US$14.9-million effort, which assumes even more importance following the emergence of COVID-19, together with prevailing climate-change threats, builds on the earlier ‘Caribbean Regional Waste Management Fund (CReW)’ project.
Among the specific provisions under the project are targeted institutional, policy, legislative, and regulatory reforms for integrated water and wastewater management (IWWM), including a look at the reuse of treated wastewater.
Among other things, another provision is for knowledge management and advocacy on the importance of IWWM in order to achieve, in particular, Sustainable Development Goals 6 and 14.
Freshwater security as vital to the preservation of public health has been cemented by the experience of COVID-19, the public health response to which has emphasised, among other things, frequent hand washing, as well as the sanitisation of surfaces.
