Financial support provided by GWP-C contributed to various key aspects of this project. One major activity being five (5) national consultations in Grenada targeted at a wide cross-section of stakeholders, to get their views and inputs on various aspects of water resources management in the country to support the development of the IWRM Communications Strategy and Implementation Plan. This series of focus group consultations were held on:
- February 11th, 2021 (in-person)
- February 12th, 2021 (in-person)
- February 15th, 2021 (in-person)
- February 16th, 2021 (in-person)
- February 19th, 2021 (online)
The different focus group consultations allowed for the participation of stakeholders from government ministries, non-government organisations (NGOs), community-based organisations (CBOs), youth organisations, water bottling companies, the private sector, farmers, media practitioners and more.
The various consultations provided participants with relevant and crucial information on the status of water resources management in the country and Grenada’s revised National Water Policy and IWRM Plan. The Policy and Plan were revised between 2018 and 2019 and approved by Cabinet in November 2020.
Setting this context was important, so that stakeholders if not already aware would be properly informed of the existing IWRM frameworks and related information. Assisting with doing this were Dr. Everson Peters and Mr. Terrence Smith (Consultants who worked on Grenada’s revised Water Policy), Mr. Trevor Thompson, GWP-C Chair and Chair of Regional Chairs of the Global Water Partnership (GWP) and Ms. Raelene Lazarus, Communications Consultant for the project.
The final and largest consultation in the series was held virtually on February 19th, 2021. Speaking at the online event were:
Mr. Elvis Morain, Permanent Secretary in Ministry of Agriculture, Lands and Forestry of Grenada who stressed his appreciation for the Implementation Plan to support the National IWRM Communications Strategy. This is explained, would allow for the actual execution of the Strategy.
Mr. Thompson, GWP Chair of Regional Chairs and GWP-C Chair shared that the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands and Forestry has been active in supporting IWRM. He stressed the critical importance of IWRM in managing Grenada’s water resources and pointed out that the final consultation would be very important in providing more guidance in the development of the IWRM Communications Strategy and Implementation Plan. He encouraged stakeholders to be interactive and to share their insights.
Ms. Simone Lewis, GWP-C’s Regional Coordinator shared with participants, key areas of the organisations work and its mandate to foster and support IWRM implementation in the Caribbean. She also highlighted GWP-C’s long-standing partnerships in Grenada. Ms. Lewis also indicated that she hopes the IWRM Strategy for Grenada could be used as a model for the rest of the Caribbean.
During the virtual Consultation, Dr. Peters and Mr. Smith (Consultants who worked on Grenada’s revised Water Policy) were able to share important background information on IWRM in Grenada and the revised National Water Policy and IWRM Plan. Additionally, Ms. Lazarus, Communications Consultant for the project, gave participants a snapshot of the past focus group meetings leading-up to the final Consultation. She also encouraged participants to share their perspectives, as this would be essential to developing the IWRM Communications Strategy and Implementation Plan.
Overall, the consultations were deemed a success with a significant cross-section of the Grenadian population represented by the participants. Stakeholders’ inputs have contributed significantly to the development of the country’s IWRM Communications Strategy and Implementation Plan which will be finalised in April 2021.