The first ever river conference hosted by the Adopt a River Programme was held this week at the Trinidad Hilton and Conference Centre in Port of Spain. The Adopt a River Programme is an initiative designed to involve the community and corporate entities in the improvement of water sheds in Trinidad and Tobago in a sustainable, holistic and coordinated manner.
Its main objective is to implement improved watershed rehabilitation and conservation projects, identified by stakeholders at national and community levels, for water supply management improvement and to build awareness to local watershed issues, in a bid to improve the status of rivers and watersheds in Trinidad and Tobago.
One notable feature of the conference was the opportunity afforded participants to have direct interaction during breakout sessions with various stakeholder and adopted agencies. During the conference presentations on several adopt a river projects were done by the University of the West Indies, the Cashew Gardens organisation, the Ministry of Planning and Development and the Brasso Seco Community.
The Ministry of Public Utilities was represented by Sara Jade Govia, Water Sector Specialist. In her address Ms. Govia noted some of the dangers for contamination that watercourses are exposed to. These she identified as indiscriminate dumping, improper discharge of industrial effluent, poor agricultural practices, unplanned housing and excessive water consumption. These she said, all have the potential to continuously threaten the quantity and quality of the country’s water supply.