BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – In many island territories, water is a limited and fragile resource. Declining rainfall, more frequent and prolonged droughts, saline intrusion into groundwater and increased flood risks are making water management increasingly complex. These challenges have direct impacts on daily life, agriculture, economic development, and ecosystem preservation.
The GO Programme’s Barbados workshop aims to address these issues by focusing on practical and territory-specific approaches, through the sharing of operational experiences, existing initiatives and solutions that can be transferred from one territory to another.
A format focused on exchange and action designed to encourage concrete and operational exchanges, the workshop will be structured around territorial presentations, thematic panels and collective exercises, enabling participants to compare practices and discuss their on-the-ground realities.
It will bring together primarily representatives of OCT governments and public administrations, alongside water service managers, engineers, public operators, environmental and climate experts, as well as a limited number of representatives from international organisations and local elected officials. All participants are
directly involved in the operational management, planning or governance of water resources within their territories.
Barbados as a living example Barbados was selected as the host territory due to challenges widely shared across many OCTs: limited water resources, strong dependence on groundwater, high tourism pressure, population growth and visible impacts of climate change.
To address these issues, Barbados has implemented a range of initiatives to better manage and valorise its water resources. During the workshop, participants will have the opportunity to discover several local initiatives through site visits, including desalination facilities, wastewater treatment plants, flood protection infrastructure and wetlands.
Embedding the workshop within the Green Overseas dynamic as part of the ongoing activities of the Green Overseas Programme, this workshop builds on the outcomes of six workshops dedicated to energy transition and three workshops focused on climate change resilience.
Centred on resilient water resource management, it aims to strengthen exchanges between territories, deepen the sharing of operational experiences, and reinforce synergies within the GO Climate Change Resilience community.
Insights from discussions and field visits will contribute to the development of a catalogue of good practices, produced by Ramboll as part of the Green Overseas Programme, with the objective of capitalising on and disseminating solutions implemented by OCTs.
The Green Overseas Programme supports Overseas Countries and Territories in their transition towards more resilient development models in the face of climate change.
It promotes capacity building, experience sharing and cooperation between territories on key themes such as water management, climate resilience, energy transition and climate finance.
