Several executives from the National Institute of Water Resources (INARHY), of the National Observatory of Environmental Quality and Vulnerability (ONQEV), the Climate Change Directorate, of the Integrated Watershed Management and Development Directorate (DAGIBV), of the National Office of Environmental Assessments, the National Directorate of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DINEPA), of the Ministry of Agriculture, among others, attended a 4-day training workshop on situational analysis in the water sector.

The executives who participated in this training acquired the tools needed to conduct an accurate assessment, including effective analyses and a comprehensive interpretation, of the current state of the water sector in Haiti.

Access to water is a priority for the State, insisted Hugo Coles, Coordinator of the Technical Secretariat of the General Directorate of the Ministry, emphasizing that "the institutional framework associated with this priority is growing day by day, thanks to the multiple efforts made to strengthen the level of strategic organization of the sector, in particular the transformation of the Directorate of Water Resources (DRE) into the National Institute of Water Resources (INARHY), which is set to become an autonomous organization."

Coles reiterated "the commitment of the Haitian Government, alongside technical and financial partners, including the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), to improve the well-being of all Haitians, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, particularly in terms of water resource management, systems related to the supply of water resources from the source to the distribution infrastructure to improve the living conditions of the population.

The training on situational analysis is part of the project "Strengthening the climate resilience of the drinking water sector in the South of Haiti, South-East Department" (RESEPSE), funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and administered by UNDP.

Executed by Helvetas Haiti, the RESEPSE project is implemented in vulnerable areas of the South-East Department, including watersheds and recharge areas of the drinking water supply systems (SAEP)/captured sources of Cresson in Jacmel, Marre Calebase/Préchet and Cascade Pichon in Belle Anse, Bodarie in Grand Gosier and K-Royer in Thiotte.

The overall objective of this project is to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable rural and peri-urban communities in the department to the expected impacts of climate change on the availability of and access to drinking water.

3 specific objectives are targeted by the RESEPSE project, planned for 60 months (November 2022 to October 2027):

(i) Have a better understanding and awareness of the vulnerability of the water sector in relation to climate change;

(ii) Strengthen regulatory and policy frameworks, as well as institutional capacities at the national, regional and local levels for better management of drinking water in a context of climate change;

(iii) Identify and promote practices for the conservation, management and supply of drinking water adapted to the conditions of climate change.

HL/ HaitiLibre