Nature-based solutions for wastewater management : barriers and opportunities in the Caribbean

Abstract

Wastewater pollution is a serious problem in the Caribbean. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is assessing wastewater management in four island nations—the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, and Grenada—to understand the barriers and opportunities for addressing this issue. The assessment focuses on scientific/technological approaches; policy, legal, and institutional frameworks; and stakeholder engagement. This assessment will also determine the best role that TNC can play to support the prevention and reduction of pollution from untreated or inadequately treated wastewater discharges in order to sustain the region’s remarkable biodiversity and to ensure human well-being. Through support from the United Nations Environment Programme Cartagena Convention Secretariat, TNC has taken on separate, but complementary, research on how nature-based solutions (NBS) can be used to treat wastewater in the region. As a point of reference, the Land-Based Sources of Marine Pollution and Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (LBS and SPAW) Protocols of the Cartagena Convention provide a regional legal framework for addressing the issue of wastewater management in an integrated manner including through the use of NBS. The research in this report complements the LBS and SPAW protocols by focusing on the aforementioned countries and includes an analysis of existing research and interviews with subject-matter experts in the region.