An assessment of mechanisms to improve energy efficiency in the transport sector in Grenada, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Like many other Caribbean countries, Grenada, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are almost entirely dependent on imported petroleum as their primary source of energy. In this regard, many countries in the subregion have taken a strategic approach to long-term planning in the energy sector towards creating higher levels of efficiency on both the demand and supply sides as well as promoting diversification in the energy mix. Within this context, this study was conducted to present mechanisms to improve energy efficiency (EE) in the transport sector in Grenada, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. For each country, the report presents a brief description of current trends in energy consumption generally as well as energy issues in the transport sector and programmes, initiatives and regulatory mechanisms currently in place that are contributing to energy efficiency in the sector.

Welcome to new Heads of the Gender Department

In this issue of Gender Dialogue, we wish to congratulate Ms. Ingrid Charles- Gumbs, St. Kitts and Nevis; Ms. Miriam Roache, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Ms. Lera Pascal, Saint Lucia, on the assumption of the positions of heads of the national machineries in those countries. One of the purposes of this newsletter is networking and we are therefore providing some information on these three new officers, in our ‘Profiles of the new Heads of the national machineries for women’. We have also invited some of the “older hands” to share some of their experiences as head of national machineries and to give some advice. We are grateful to have received contributions from Ms. Anita Zetina (Belize) and Ms. Sheila Roseau (Antigua and Barbuda). We note that Ms. Jeannie Ollivierre, a long serving coordinator of the Women’s Bureau in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, has now retired from the public service and we wish her all the very best. Ms. Bernadette Springer of Saint Lucia is now the Administrator of the Gros Islet Polyclinic and Ms. Rosalyn Hazelle has been promoted to Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Social Development in St. Kitts and Nevis.

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.

Bryozoan biodiversity in Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago, Brazil

Among the marine invertebrate groups recorded from oceanic islands, bryozoans stand out because they can live and reproduce in suboptimal habitats, which may enhance their dispersal capabilities. This study aimed to update the checklist of bryozoans known from the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago (ASPSP) and discusses their distribution. During the five expeditions conducted between 2007 and 2009, 22 species were found, of which 16 were new occurrences for the archipelago. The bryozoans were collected from different biotic (algae and invertebrates) and abiotic (rocks, rubble and wrecks) substrata. The bryozoan community in ASPSP includes: eight new and probably endemic species, five species that belong to widespread species complexes, three species known only from the Brazilian coast, two species reported from the Western Atlantic and one species recorded from oceanic islets in the Atlantic. Additionally, three species are widespread in tropical to subtropical waters. Margaretta buski can be highlighted as the most conspicuous and abundant species between 1045 m deep and acts as an "ecosystem engineer".

Saint Petersburg and Kronshtadt Region, Russia, 1855 (Raster Image)

This layer is a georeferenced raster image of the historic paper map entitled: [Plan Kronshtatskoĭ bukhty s S. Peterburgom : i beregami Finskago zaliva do Krasnoi Gorki]. It was published by izdanīe A. Beggrova in 1855. Covers Saint Petersburg and Kronshtadt Region, Russia. Scale 1:125,000. The image inside the map neatline is georeferenced to the surface of the earth and fit to the European Datum 1950, Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) Zone 36N projected coordinate system. All map collar and inset information is also available as part of the raster image, including any inset maps, profiles, statistical tables, directories, text, illustrations, index maps, legends, or other information associated with the principal map.This map shows features such as roads, railroads, drainage, built-up areas and selected buildings, ground cover, and more. Relief is shown by hachures. Depths shown by soundings and contours. Includes indexes.This layer is part of a selection of digitally scanned and georeferenced historic maps from The Harvard Map Collection as part of the Imaging the Urban Environment project. Maps selected for this project represent major urban areas and cities of the world, at various time periods. These maps typically portray both natural and manmade features at a large scale. The selection represents a range of regions, originators, ground condition dates, scales, and purposes.