Adrian Cashman

Urban flood management.

1. Introduction Andras Szollosi-Nagy & Chris Zevenbergen 2. Land use & urban floods in developing countries Carlos Tucci & Adolfo Villanueva 3. Cities, lakes and floods: the case of the Green Hyderabad Project, India Joep Verhagen 4. Co-operation within Europe on flood management and spatial planning Roelof Moll 5. Spatial measures and instruments for flood risk reduction in selected EU countries - a quick scan Willem Oosterberg & Jasper Fiselier 6. Risk perceptance and preparedness and flood insurance Paul Baan 7. The role of private insurance companies in managing flood risks in the UK and Europe David Crichton 8. New strategies of damage reduction in urban areas proned to flood Erik Pasche & Timm Ruben Geissler 9. Flood resilience in the built environment: damage and repair Stephen Garvin 10. California climate change: hydrologic response, and flood forecasting Norman Miller Conclusions Andras Szollosi-Nagy & Chris Zevenbergen

Climate Change in the Caribbean: The Water Management Implications

Concerns over the status of freshwater availability in the Caribbean region and in particular the eastern Caribbean states have been expressed for at least the past 30 years. There is a growing realization that availability will be vulnerable to extremes of climate behavior and increasing demand for water. Climate modeling for the Caribbean region under a range of scenarios suggests a continuation of a warming in average temperatures, a lengthening of seasonal dry periods, and increases in frequency of occurrence of drought conditions. Using information from the most recent IPCC report and regional downscaling, the authors suggest what some of the macrolevel changes in temperature and rainfall might be and the implications for water resources availability. This article evaluates the existing availability of water resources, the implications of the most recent climate change modeling for the Caribbean region, and the impact of on existing service provision strategies.

Water use efficiency in the hotel sector of Barbados

Barbados is water stressed, with water production close to its renewable freshwater resources. The hotel sector uses far more water than the general population (756 vs. 240 L/cap-d); water savings there would improve the overall water balance. No comprehensive analysis exists for water use by the Barbados hotel industry; this study addresses the gap. Data were collected from the Barbados Water Authority and from onsite surveys; consumption patterns were compared with international studies which had established environmentally acceptable benchmarks. The water use efficiency of Barbadian hotels was also studied as a function of “influential variables”: unit water consumption was somewhat correlated with the number of rooms, average room rate, property size and number of employees. The lack of success in reducing hotels water consumption is tied to the fact that water bills represent less than 5% of their annual expenses. A model for unit water consumption was derived using two influential variables: the annual number of guest nights and the number of employees. Ways of fostering sound water practices include promotion among guests of the need to save water, schemes to promote the financial benefits of water conservation by relating unit water pricing to total consumption and awareness-raising among hotel managers.

Costing the long‐term demand for water sector infrastructure

Purpose – The water sector is set to continue to face severe challenges in meeting the financial requirements for maintaining, extending and upgrading new and ageing water systems in the face of growing water scarcity, stricter regulatory requirements and competition for capital. The gap between the required financing and the projected financing is said to be growing but there are no good estimates available. The purpose of this paper is to present a recent analysis of the investment requirements of the water sector in OECD countries, Brazil, Russia, India and China up to 2030, taking into account the likely impact of socio‐economic trends, internal politics, environmental challenges and technological change.Design/methodology/approach – In order to estimate the required financing, present expenditures as a percentage of GDP were analysed. Estimates of projected annual GDP growth coupled with an evaluation of the impact of country specific socio‐economic, political, environmental and technological trends ...

The effects of climate change on tourism in small states: evidence from the Barbados case

Purpose – Since the decline of export agriculture and the loss of trade preferences, most Caribbean countries have shifted their economies towards the provision of tourism services. Barbados, for example, receives more than two‐thirds of its foreign exchange earnings from tourism. The sustainability of tourism in the Caribbean can potentially be affected by climate change. This paper aims to address this issue.Design/methodology/approach – This paper provides an assessment of the likely effects of climate change in the small state of Barbados and suggests some recommended adaptations. Climate change is expected to impact on temperature, rainfall and severe weather, sea levels and sea surface temperatures, biodiversity loss, and lead to erosion and seasonal shifts on the island.Findings – The paper finds that, in relation to tourism demand, as travellers from source markets become more conscious of their carbon footprint and the implementation of green taxes, there might be some alteration in demand for lo...

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

The successful development of the countrys 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 countrys 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.

Impact of El Niño and Climate Change on Rainwater Harvesting in a Caribbean State

The water situation of the Pusey district in St Catherine parish of Jamaica is acute because of the district’s hilly terrains which made connections to centralised public water supply difficult. Residents depend on rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems to meet potable needs, like many other catchments across Jamaica. Rainwater collecting practices and water use habits of the residents were surveyed and the present and future RWH capacity was evaluated using the available 18xa0years (1996 to 2013) rainfall data and downscaled PRECIS model A2 and B2 climate change scenarios. In addition, the effect of El Niño episodes on rainfall patterns was evaluated. The coefficients of variations for annual rainfall were found to be higher for the El Niño years than in normal years. In two of the El Niño years (1997 and 2009), rainwater harvesting capacity is negatively impacted as rainfall annual total is (42xa0% and 34xa0%) lesser than the average annual rainfall. The ability of RWH to meet potable needs in 2030s and 2050s will be reduced based on predicted shorter intense showers and frequent dry spells. A storage tank of 2.5 to 4.0xa0m3 per household (4 persons) is proposed to meet water demand during the maximum consecutive dry days, and January and February water shortage periods. Design of efficient RWH systems and provision of government subsidy on storage tanks will enable the residents to capture more rainwater to meet their daily domestic needs.

Confronting the Challenges of Sewerage Management in the Caribbean: A Case Study from the Island of Barbados

On a clear day on the west coast of Barbados, a vacationer walking barefoot on white sand past modern, high-end hotels, swaying palms, and the clear blue-green sea will be hard pressed to find anything amiss. It’s a paradise, to most minds, to which upward of a half million tourists flock each year. The idea that Caribbean islands like Barbados continue to face concerns over wastewater and sewage management is not likely to intrude into most vacationers’ imaginations. Yet evidence for it lies just beneath the surface of the sea: coral reefs are under threat or degrading throughout the waters surrounding the Caribbean islands.1 A growing body of research has identified two of the most serious contributing factors as coastal developments that give rise to sewage discharge and sediment and pollution from inland sources. Estimates hold that these and other human activities threaten nearly two-thirds of the reefs in the region.2 As in other developing countries, sewerage infrastructure in the Caribbean has not kept pace with the ecoby Leonard Nurse, Adrian Cashman, and John Mwansa CONFRONTING THE CHALLENGES OF SEWERAGE MANAGEMENT IN THE CARIBBEAN:

The mosquito, the elephant and the House of Lords Water Management Inquiry

Abstract In 2005, sensing that there was growing public interest and concern about water, the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee decided to hold an Inquiry into Water Management in England and Wales. The nature of such inquiries is that they seek to elicit evidence of the latest thinking, experience and opinion from a wide cross-section of persons and sources, and to weigh such evidence in an impartial manner in order to make recommendations to Government with regard to policies and actions. In this paper we examine three of the issues that provide communication spaces for the sense-making of policy, science and technological thinking around the subject of water management: levels of affordability, debt and disconnections; the appropriateness or otherwise of defined economic or sustainable levels of leakage; and burgeoning housing development and associated projections of water demand. Although in policy matters the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee has limited formal powers, it can exercise a significant nuisance factor on Government, much like a mosquito on an elephant.

Exploring the economic impacts of adapting abstraction policies in response to climate change and variability: application for Small Island Developing States

Vulnerability to climate change, water scarcity, and food security in tropical Small Island Developing Sate (SIDS) are attracting increased attention. Water scarcity induced by climate change and variability could have serious consequences for economic development and food security and has led to calls for more efficient and sustainable adaptation measures. This research details the investigation of the economic impacts associated with adapting groundwater abstraction policies to address the sustainability of meeting competing needs for groundwater. An integrated optimization framework is developed that contains climate scenarios, land use, agronomy, groundwater, economic performance and an abstraction adaptation strategy with a numerical example of a tropical island. The findings indicate increased adverse economic impacts of climate change (being just a shift in the long-run average condition) on water availability, food security, and urban livelihoods as compared to those impacts associated with climate variability alone. Variability in precipitation associated with climate variability (no change in the climate baseline) tends to alleviate the negative impact of the climate change. Those economic impacts, however, are found to have an unequal distribution across the different competing sectors. Food producers and household users would bear the adverse consequences of climate change and variability. This is especially the case when an adaptation policy based on maintaining water sustainability is imposed. The framework provides a holistic tool for exploring the effectiveness of groundwater adaptation strategies and possible policy responses to climate change and variability.