Understanding Integrated Water Resources Management

The Caribbean Community Climate Change Center launched the Global Climate Fund’s National Adaptation Planning for Integrated Water Resources Management earlier today. The recently approved N.A.P. for integrated water resources management is crucial in better understanding Belize’s ground water for better management practices. Keith Nichols is Head of Project Development and Management Unit with the 5C’s.

Keith Nichols

Keith Nichols, Head of Project Development & Management, Caribbean Community Climate Changer Center

“The Belize N.A.P. or the National Adaptation Plan, as it’s probably better known is an attempt to bring rational management to the use of our water resources here in Belize.  Why? And for everything we’ve mentioned, there are problems associated with water resources management, from use, from extraction of resources or what’s called abstraction from the rivers. We destroy the integrity; we have compromised the integrity of the system so there’s a need to bring some sort of rationalization to the use of those water resources through a variety of interventions. I mean water is key to our economic development; every single sector is dependent on water to be successful. For the country to survive, it requires water. Belize’s situation is that some of the water resources originate outside of Belize, so we have those trans-boundary issues that already add an additional level of complexity to managing the resource. So we have to develop a sort of stewardship approach to how we manage those resources. We need to bring on board the private sector and we need to bring on board all the critical stakeholders.”