Managing water issues across the region will be the topic of discussion at a workshop being hosted by the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH), over the next four days.

Entitled: Building Regional Climate Capacity in the Caribbean, the workshop, which is also hosted by the World Meteorological Organization and the National Drought Mitigation Centre of the United States, will see twelve participants, including meteorologists and water resource managers from across the region, focus on drought management and planning.

During the opening ceremony earlier today, Principal of the CIMH, Dr. David Farrell, said that the CIMH had worked on many programmes throughout the years to address droughts in the Caribbean.

He expressed the belief that it was essential for the CIHM and the region to create plans which were sustainable, and thanked the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), for providing financial support for the current programme.

USAID representative for Barbados and the Organisation of the Eastern Caribbean States, Ted Lawrence, stated that one of the critical issues, as it related to climate change and droughts in the region, was the collection of data and information which could be shared throughout the region.

He noted that the training workshop would assist regional stakeholders in addressing the increasing threat of droughts.?????The results of your time will be able to help the region to better understand how the climate is changing in terms of drought occurrences and how to respond strategically.

???USAID is supporting CIMH to strengthen the availability and use of climate science in the region. Through our partnership and support, we are strengthening both the capacity of CIMH and national institutions across the region,??? Mr. Lawrence said. ??He was also of the view that it was essential to improve water conservation efforts and drought management efforts in the region.

???Drought can directly impair a region???s food security, and negatively impact human health and the overall livelihood of the citizens living in the region. By tracking and forecasting rainfall data, our work with the CIMH is enabling countries to develop national policies and plan to take action to reduce the impact and the cost from impending drought,??? the USAID representative said.

aisha.reid@barbados.gov.bb

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