Tools for the implementation of integrated water resources management (IWRM) in the Caribbean

Abstract

While many countries and regional authorities in the Caribbean have embraced the concept of integrated water resources management (IWRM) and recognized its guiding principles as beneficial, few have possessed the capacity to implement it since its enunciation in the Dublin Principles of 1992. The Caribbean Water Initiative (CARIWIN) endeavoured over a 6-year period, 2006–2012, to build capacity in a collaborative process with national governments and regional and international agencies. The result of this collaborative process was the selection of three Caribbean-specific tools to support the implementation of the key components of IWRM. These tools were National Water Information Systems, the Caribbean Drought and Precipitation Monitoring Network, and Community Water Strategies. This paper describes these three tools and the process promoted through CARIWIN for their successful adoption and implementation, i.e. a program including professional development, institutional partnerships, research, and dissemination of knowledge.