Integrated Water Resource Management

An Integrated Water Resource Management Framework to support the implementation of the Cartagena Convention It has been almost 40 years since governments in the Wider Caribbean adopted the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean (Cartagena Convention), and more than 20 years since the adoption of its Protocol Concerning Pollution from Land-Based Sources and Activities (LBS). While progress has been made in the prevention and control of pollution from wastewater and agricultural runoff, these issues remain a challenge in the region and one solution is to strengthen the incorporation of Integrated Water Resource Management into the Convention.

Through funding from GEF CReW+, a conceptual framework was developed to promote better incorporation of integrated water resource management into the Cartagena Convention. The main purpose of the framework is to identify those strategic approaches or issues that offer the potential to create synergies for the protection of the marine environment and trigger integrated processes for joint investments and governance. This will inform more programmatic and less project-focused approaches in the Wider Caribbean, including through the work of the Cartagena Convention Secretariat.

Why Integrated Water Resource Management?

IWRM is a process that helps to balance competing water demands from across society and the economy, without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems. This is achieved through coordinated policy and regulatory frameworks, management arrangements and financing. In other words, IWRM helps to improve the way we use and manage water which is urgently needed to sustain development (UNEP, 2021).

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