Network for Cooperation in Integrated Water Resource Management for Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean No. 39

Editorial remarks.-- Open discussion: Tariff policies for the achievement of MDGs ; Natural resources within UNASUR ; The human right to water and sanitation.-- Meetings: Tariff and Regulatory Policies ; Transboundary Water Cooperation ; Latinosan III.-- News of the Network: National Water Resources Strategy ; Hydroelectric Development in Chile.-- Internet and WWW News

Energy efficiency potential in Jamaica: challenges, opportunities and strategies for implementation

Incluye Bibliografía

Activities report of the initiative group of the working group on environmental statistics

Includes bibliography

Overview of the water profile and the capacity of national institutions to implement integrated water resources management (Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada)

Includes bibliography

National accounts of Caribbean countries: methodologies, sources and quality, and a comparative Caribbean study

Includes bibliography

Revisiting privatization, foreign investment, international arbitration, and water

Includes bibliography

Belize: effects of climate change on agriculture

Incluye Bibliografía

Renewable energy sources in Latin America and the Caribbean: situation and policy proposals

Includes bibliography

Network for Cooperation in Integrated Water Resource Management for Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean N° 41

• Editorial remarks.-- Open discussion: Tariffs and subsidies: the current situation and trends in the region ; State-owned utilities and the flight from public law: challenges and trends ; Challenges and opportunities in access to water and sanitation in rural areas.-- Meetings: Proposals based on the Water and Environment Initiative consensuses.-- News of the Network: Peru’s Compensation Mechanisms for Ecosystem Services Act ; Ecuador’s Act on Water Resources and Water Use and Exploitation ; The environmental dynamics of groundwater in Mexico ; The Water Citizenship Programme in the province of Mendoza, Argentina.-- Internet and WWW News

An assessment of the economic impact of climate change on the water sector in Saint Vincent and The Grenadines

Water security which is essential to life and livelihood, health and sanitation, is determined not only by the water resource, but also by the quality of water, the ability to store surplus from precipitation and runoff, as well as access to and affordability of supply. All of these measures have financial implications for national budgets. The water sector in the context of the assessment and discussion on the impact of climate change in this paper includes consideration of the existing as well as the projected available water resource and the demand in terms of: quantity and quality of surface and ground water, water supply infrastructure - collection, storage, treatment, distribution, and potential for adaptation. Wastewater management infrastructure is also considered a component of the water sector. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has two distinct hydrological regimes: mainland St Vincent is one of the wetter islands of the eastern Caribbean whereas the Grenadines have a drier climate than St Vincent. Surface water is the primary source of water supply on St Vincent, whereas the Grenadines depend on man-made catchments, rainwater harvesting, wells, and desalination. The island state is considered already water stressed as marked seasonality in rainfall, inadequate supply infrastructure, and institutional capacity constrains water supply. Economic modelling approaches were implemented to estimate sectoral demand and supply between 2011 and 2050. Residential, tourism and domestic demand were analysed for the A2, B2 and BAU scenarios. In each of the three scenarios – A2, B2 and BAU Saint Vincent and the Grenadines will have a water gap represented by the difference between the two curves during the forecast period of 2011 and 2050. The amount of water required increases steadily between 2011 and 2050 implying an increasing demand on the country‘s resources as reflected by the fact that the water supply that is available cannot respond adequately to the demand. The Global Water Partnership in its 2005 policy brief suggested that the best way for countries to build the capacity to adapt to climate change will be to improve their ability to cope with today‘s climate variability (GWP, 2005). This suggestion is most applicable for St Vincent and the Grenadines, as the variability being experienced has already placed the island nation under water stress. Strategic priorities should therefore be adopted to increase water production, increase efficiency, strengthen the institutional framework, and decrease wastage. Cost benefit analysis was stymied by data availability, but the ―no-regrets approach‖ which intimates that adaptation measures will be beneficial to the land, people and economy of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines with or without climate change should be adopted.

Network for Cooperation in Integrated Water Resource Management for Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean No. 38

Editorial remarks.-- Open discussion: Using performance indicators to monitor drinking water supply and sewerage services ; Implications of biofuel development for water management and use.-- News of the Network: Reflections of URSEA in Uruguay, 10 years after its creation ; National Environmental Sanitation Strategy of El Salvador.-- Meetings: Workshop on Transboundary Water Cooperation (Buenos Aires, Argentina) ; Importance of the value of water: lessons and challenges (Lima, Peru).-- Internet and WWW News

Network for Cooperation in Integrated Water Resource Management for Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean No. 40

Editorial remarks.-- Open discussion: Regulation under the public model of service provision ; Regulatory progress and challenges in Argentina ; Twenty years of SUNASS: development, experience, lessons learned and challenges ; Possible conflict between efficiency and sustainability ; Best practices in regulating State-owned and municipal water utilities.-- News of the Network: Water use charge in the Province of Buenos Aires ; National Drinking Water and Sanitation Sector Policy of Guatemala ; Sanitation Services Modernization Law of Peru ; Internet and WWW News