The UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) has reported on projects carried out in St.
Vincent and the Grenadines and Saint Lucia to address freshwater scarcity.
25 January 2012: The UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) has reported on the work carried out by several Caribbean islands with the Carbon Neutral Tourist Program, which aims to transform the Caribbean region into a carbon neutral destination.
UN/ISDR cites the example of the island of Bequia in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which is partnering with the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) to address water scarcity challenges. It runs a solar-powered reverse osmosis plant is purifying seawater and converting it into drinking water.
In another example, UN/ISDR describes how a hotel chain in Saint Lucia, together with the CCCCC and the support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), under the Vieux Fort Project, reduced water required by the hotel chain by 25%, and made the water available to the community. The Government of Saint Lucia also instituted a policy requiring all hotels to harvest rainwater, and process wastewater. The potential for replication of such systems are being considered in the Eastern Caribbean, the Bahamas and Belize. [UN/ISDR Press Release]