PM: Tackling water scarcity a priority

Prime Minister Mia Mottley says Barbados is taking decisive steps to address water scarcity and protect its marine and coastal environments.

She told the audience at Tuesday’s rebranding ceremony for CIBC FirstCaribbean – now CIBC to align with its parent brand – that innovative approaches to environmental challenges are needed.

Mottley noted that with Barbados ranking among the world’s 15 most water-scarce countries, addressing this issue is a top priority.

She said the government was spearheading projects to augment water resources, enhance groundwater quality, and manage salinity intrusion in aquifers. These initiatives, the prime minister noted, were crucial for sustaining the island’s water supply which is becoming increasingly vulnerable due to climate change.

“ . . . . Just as we’ve done with the debt financial crisis, I hope that your bank and others locally will be energised by the debt for climate swap that we are hoping to put out there that will allow us to be able to rebuild our South Coast Sewage Treatment Plant . . . and upgrade it to the tertiary level, so that the water which is treated can replenish our aquifers and help us not only with augmenting our groundwater but also with our agricultural production in this country . . . and with water that is cleaner than what is now going into the aquifers, for those who have a problem with it,” Mottley said.

She said Barbados’ efforts extend to the marine environment, which is challenged by coastal erosion and habitat degradation.

“Many of you who are my age or more would recall that in Six Men’s, there used to [be] housing on both sides of the road . . . [people] used to be able to play cricket between the houses and where the sea would break. Now, the sea breaks very often, sometimes in the road, which tells you about the scale of erosion that has taken place.

“Now if we’re going to protect other communities in this country, if we are going to protect other coastal communities, if we are going to protect our aquifers from increasing salinity – because when it gets the saltwater intrusion, it means that those aquifers are lost to us forever – if we’re going to do all of these things, then it is important for us to be able to take care of our marine environment and also ensure that we can rebuild our coral reefs over time and protect our beaches,” Mottley added.
(RG)