Trinidad: The Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) under its Water, Climate and Developmental Programme hosted a regional workshop for stakeholders to highlight sustainable development and management of their water resources resulting from the effects of climate change.
The confab was commenced (Thursday, December, 18) at the Hilton Hotel, Trinidad. The meeting titled Caribbean Media and Youth Workshop on Water Security and Climate Change aimed to develop activities and programmes to building awareness and capacity among stakeholders at all levels on IWRM and most recently building climate resilience in the Caribbean water sector. This is due to the launch of GWP-C’s largest programme to date, its Water, Climate and Development Programme (WACDEP) for the Caribbean which was launched in October 2013. The GWP-C WACDEP recognises the potential impact of climate change on water resources and aims to promote water security and climate resilience in Caribbean states as a key part of sustainable regional and national development for economic growth and human security.
Noted at the conference was the support for young people and youth organisations to be fully active and engaged in learning and sharing knowledge on water and climate change issues. The GWP-C values youth as an important target group in its work and is dedicated to empowering them to become agents of change.
GWP-C recognises the critical importance of the role of Caribbean media and communication practitioners in advocating and building awareness on key development issues such as water security and its relationship with climate resilience. GWP-C is committed to using its technical expertise and knowledge to build capacity among media and communication professionals so that they are equipped with the relevant skills and knowledge about water security and climate change issues and are able to share this knowledge with various audiences.
Objectives of the Workshop
The overall aim of the workshop is to provide Caribbean media and communication practitioners and active members of environmental youth organisations with relevant information and training on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and Climate Resilience. More specifically, the workshop aims to:
• Familiarise media and communication professionals and youth with the work of the Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) and its Water, Climate and Development Programme (WACDEP) for the Caribbean.
• Provide training on key concepts such Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), water security, climate change, climate variability, climate adaptation, climate resilience and the link between IWRM and climate change.
• Raise awareness about water security and climate resilience with particular focus on the Caribbean region and the role of the media and communication professionals and youth in disseminating information.
• Assist media and communication practitioners in identifying and developing interesting news and features on IWRM, climate change and related issues.
• Obtain inputs from media and communication practitioners and youth on innovative and creative ways of communicating information on IWRM and climate change to various target audiences.
• Promote dialogue and knowledge exchange between media and communication practitioners and youth.
• Generate feedback from media and communication practitioners and youth on ways to empower other practitioners in their field to share knowledge and build awareness on water and climate change issues in the region.
Established in 2004, the GWP-C is 1 of 13 Regional Water Partnerships of the Global Water Partnership (GWP); a network of over 3000 partners worldwide, all working towards fostering water security through the promotion of and advocacy on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).
IWRM is a holistic approach to managing water that takes into account that different uses of water are interdependent. The approach is grounded in the understanding that water resources is an integral component of the eco-system, a natural resource, and a social and economic good.
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