‘Our Water Supply is being Managed like a Rumshop’: Water Governance in Barbados

Abstract

The successful development of the country's economy is dependent on the provision of good public infrastructure such as water services. Water and water infrastructure not only provides a fundamental requirement of households but is also essential for productive economic activities. Thus the sound governance of water is also of critical importance to the functioning of the economy. Symptoms of poor governance include: high unaccounted for water, lack of proper metering, ineffective collection of water revenue, uneconomic tariffs, excessive staff of water service provider, lack of accountability and conflict of roles in water management. There is evidence that indicates that most of these symptoms are present in Barbados' system of water governance. At the same time climate change poses a significant threat to the sustainability of the country's water system. However, the paper argues that unless the current deficiencies in water governance are addressed then climate change will only make a poor situation worse.

Water security in small island developing states: the limited utility of evolving governance paradigms

“…There is mounting evidence that these changes are already occurring, and that they exceed normal patterns of climate variability . In the Caribbean, there has been a significant increase in the frequency of hydrometeorological hazards such as droughts and flooding over the past three decades . Not only are key economic sectors impacted by these changes, but the loss of critical ecosystem services, increased transmission of infectious diseases and loss of livelihood opportunities all threaten the wellbeing of socially vulnerable groups like women, children, and the poor .…”

“…8,43 In the Caribbean, there has been a significant increase in the frequency of hydrometeorological hazards such as droughts and flooding over the past three decades. 9,22 Not only are key economic sectors impacted by these changes, but the loss of critical ecosystem services, increased transmission of infectious diseases and loss of livelihood opportunities all threaten the wellbeing of socially vulnerable groups like women, children, and the poor. 8,9 Although attention to climate change is crucial for water security in SIDS, there is also certain degree of climate change 'exceptionalism' in planning, where climate change is abstracted from the broader development context.…”

“…16,18,21 The few studies investigating this problem point to technical, financial, and institutional capacity constraints, issues of political will, poorly developed policy processes, and conflicts over customary land rights as the main obstacles to effective water management. 18,[21][22][23][24] However, there has been little critical reflection on the potential implications of these paradigm shifts for the relations of governance within SIDS contexts. As such, the aim of this study is to interrogate the applicability of each of the paradigms and suggest a way forward.…”

“…Yet, despite such high‐level endorsement, there has been limited actual uptake or successful implementation of these approaches . The few studies investigating this problem point to technical, financial, and institutional capacity constraints, issues of political will, poorly developed policy processes, and conflicts over customary land rights as the main obstacles to effective water management . However, there has been little critical reflection on the potential implications of these paradigm shifts for the relations of governance within SIDS contexts.…”