Basseterre, St. Kitts, March 14, 2023 (SKNIS): The Federation is one step closer to accessing a USD $40 million Green Climate Fund (GCF) Grant for Transitioning the Water Supply in St. Kitts and Nevis to a Low Carbon, Climate Resilient Sector also known as the St. Kitts and Nevis TransWater Project.
This was recently announced by the Honourable Dr. Joyelle Clarke, Minister of Environment and Climate Action.
“St. Kitts and Nevis received its fifth Green Climate Fund (GCF) Readiness Support, and this is to support our Nationally Determined Contributions (NCDs). We have reached the furthest we have ever reached in terms of GCF Grants, and we are now much closer to accessing our USD $40 Million Grant for our TransWater Project,” said Dr. Clarke. “We at the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development recognize that we are uniquely poised to support critical ministries – environment, water, energy, tourism, education and, of course, we continue doing so with the support of the Ministry of Finance.”
Dr. Clarke expressed thanks to all for their “continued support in mobilizing the ministry to adopt and move forward with the government’s agenda for our transformation to a sustainable island state.”
The St. Kitts and Nevis TransWater Project is a cross-cutting climate-resilient development project that is the first of its kind in the water sector in the Federation. The Project seeks to reduce the Federation’s carbon footprint and increase climate resilience and sustainability for the water supply sector. It prioritizes and directly and tangibly supports the implementation of outputs and activities from five (5) of six (6) investment programmes identified in the Federation’s Water Adaptation Plan.
More specifically, it aims to implement soft and hard measures to transition St. Kitts and Nevis to a low-carbon, climate-resilient water supply by strengthening the enabling environment at the national and institutional levels; reduce non-revenue water (NRW); and mainstream low-carbon, climate-resilient water supply systems at national and community levels.
The GCF grant financing will facilitate the mainstreaming of low carbon, climate resilient water supply systems and will strengthen capacity for their management by the Water Services Department, Nevis Water Department, SKELEC and NEVLEC, as well as improve population knowledge on the capacity for climate resilient WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene). This intervention has the potential, therefore, of normalizing climate-smart approaches to water supply and water demand management and creating a paradigm shift toward low emission and climate-resilient development.
