15 August 2019: The Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-Caribbean) and the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) have issued a handbook that provides guidance on monitoring progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal on clean water and sanitation (SDG 6) in the Caribbean region. The production of the handbook is part of the GWP’s broader project of improving SDG 6 monitoring, which includes workshops and training events.

The handbook introduces regionally-relevant approaches, such as specifying a narrow range of chemical parameters for water testing, proposing a limited number of watersheds to be monitored, and taking into account likely budgetary constraints faced by government agencies. The publication also highlights challenges encountered in monitoring, including the lack of human resources and sufficient finances, outdated data on record, and limited comparability of data. It notes that not all data providers are familiar with SDG 6.

Titled ‘SDG 6 Monitoring Guide for Caribbean SIDS,’ the publication contains observations and lessons learned during a pilot phase, during which Jamaica participated in the UN-Water Integrated Monitoring Initiative for SDG 6. A further national training workshop took place in Jamaica from 8-11 July 2019, in which participants agreed to adopt the standards of the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) and designed a template to monitor data from various water bodies.

The GWP expressed hope that the guide will increase understanding of SDG 6, encourage tailoring of monitoring methodologies to suit Caribbean small island developing States (SIDS), and provide guidance on the application of SDG 6 indicators. [GWP-Caribbean Press Release]