Photovoltaic Powered  Systems: Water and Power for Remote Island Communities

WorldWater and Power Corporation has been delivering both stand alone and grid connected large scale photovoltaic powered systems capable of directly driving 600 HP compressors and pumps for more than two years. This paper looks at the impact that these proprietary systems are having both in the developed and developing world.

Participatory Evaluation of Local Level Water Quality Management Programs: 
An Examination of Three Watershed Management Programs in Jamaica

This study utilizes a participatory perspective to examine the factors that contribute to and/or constrain the success of water quality management programs. The study utilizes an inductive approach to generate conceptual frameworks and testable propositions by analyzing implementation efforts in three watersheds: Great River; White River; and Rio Grande in Jamaica.

The Positive Energy Store: A Concept for Providing Clean Affordable Energy for Small Island States

Currently 1.6 billion people world wide have no access to basic energy services. Providing people with the clean, reliable and affordable energy necessary for essential needs such as clean water, health care facilities, production needs, heating and lighting to improve the social well-being and health of communities is one of today’s most pressing problems. But providing such services by expanding the use of fossil fuels is not only costly for developing countries, but adds to the already overburdened concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which is causing global climate change. As part of a possible answer to providing such needs without threatening the climate, Greenpeace presented the Positive Energy Store at the WSSD in Johannesburg in 2002. The Positive Energy Store powers small businesses in remote rural areas with renewable energy. With solar panels, small wind turbines and micro-hydro the store can generate renewable energy for local community businesses. The concept is flexible so that the store can be adapted to the needs of the area in which it is placed; training is provided so that local people can not only operate the store but also earn back their investment and manage it themselves making it possible to preserve the store in the long term. It is believed that the concept would provide a viable proposition for many communities within the Small Island States. The community is involved in the project from an early stage. The range of businesses can vary for example, a craftsman’s workshop, a barber, a communications unit with phone and computer services or a business that leases out charged batteries to power people’s homes. Following the WSSD the store was located in a village community in South Africa and its progress monitored. The results of this trial are presented in this paper. The initial findings from further pilot projects currently underway in Mexico and Brazil are also presented as well as proposals for how this concept can be developed and replicated not only for rural communities in large developing countries, but also for many within the Small Island States.

ICZM Framework Development: Proposal for Small Islands

Management of coastal systems has become the focus of many national and international projects. Coastal systems extend beyond jurisdictional boundaries and are affected by impacts of many local users and by decisions made by different levels of government. The management of coastal systems thus requires involvement of many bodies - the interconnected calling for an integrated approach. This paper presents a model for designing an effective, comprehensive Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Framework for the small islands, including coastal profiles, with the goal of promoting ecologically sustainable use and development of the coastal zone. Furthermore, it contains an important component of addressing policy and strategy development related to ICZM at national level in line with the requirements of various relevant Conventions and Protocols of which the islands are party to. The strategy and plan to be formulated will contribute to ICZM strategies at national and regional levels. It will enable exchange of knowledge and experience in such management within the region, and assist in addressing coastal and marine resources management problems and their transboundary effects. The ICZM Plan shall provide the basis for protecting, restoring and preserving the coastal zones important and diverse coastal resources. The ICZM plan will set a number of objectives that shall be achieved in order to fulfill its aim. The objectives will then divided into several measurable and achievable targets. The Plan will outline the resources that will be targeted, who are responsible for actions, what actions are needed, how they will be managed and how to implement them, in order that sustainability is achieved and the available resources can benefit the future generations.

Lagoon Reefs of Mauritius: health, hazards, and history

Mauritius is blessed with an extensive lagoon system which attracts tourism, supports fisheries, and protects the coastline. In these lagoons are extensive and colorful reef patches, largely dominated by the branching coral Acropora. These reefs are the source of the sand on the beaches.

Use of the RAISON Decision:
Support System to Evaluate the Health of Coral Coasts of Small Island States

Small island states with coastlines fringed by coral reefs face the problem of attempting to monitor the health of the reefs, and determine the relative importance of threats, while working with human resources that are stretched to the limit. Decision-support systems, or “expert systems”, are computer programs employing a user interface, a knowledge base and a series of decision trees that are governed by rules-written by experts. RAISON (Regional Analysis by Intelligent System ON microcomputer) was developed by Environment Canada has been adopted by the UN as the global standard water-resource management tool. It is in use in >60 countries, runs on a PC, and may be learned in a few days.

Significance of Palaeo-environmental Research and Implications for Sustainable Ecological

Management in the Solomon Islands and the Tropical Pacific

A palaeo-environmental record for the Western Solomon Islands, inferred from samples selected from modern vegetation, three lowland lake sites and one alluvial swamp in the New Georgia Group, was used to determine a history of environmental change in the past 4000 years. The research showed that a backdrop of natural dynamic change related to episodes of tectonic and sea level movement set the stage against which early populations of an Austronesian speaking Lapita culture were able to colonise the Western Solomons, and subsequent development of the complex Roviana chiefdom in later centuries occurred.

Oceanographic Monitoring for Sustainable Development in Pacific Island Nations

GOOS is a globally initiated program established in response to the 1992 Earth Summit, which specifically called for the establishment of a long-term Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) to enable effective sustainable use, management, and prediction of future change of the ocean environment and its resources, which is the greatest common heritage on earth and without which humans cannot exist.
The Pacific Island Region:
• contains the largest ocean volume in the world;
• faces economic difficulty; and
• is ecologically fragile.

The PINs are the most vulnerable and at risk to the effects of accelerated climate change and associated sea level rise, salt water intrusion in coastal environments (especially fresh groundwater supplies), loss of biodiversity (both animal and plant) and the associated spin-off weakened social and economic structure. Furthermore, the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a Pacific wide phenomenon that influences the ecology, economy and social structure of PINs. The Pacific Region is lacking in its ability to locate, catalogue and disseminate ocean information and data. The Pacific Ocean and coastal environments need management via an integrated and holistic approach to ensure the ecologically sustainable economic development of the region. The Pacific Island (PI) GOOS Program has been established to confront these challenges. The PI-GOOS and its role in data retrieval, storage, analysis and forecasting are imperative for the future management of the area, especially in major industries such as fisheries and aquaculture.

NGO Consultation Meeting
Review of the Implementation for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States

This draft report contains the outcomes of a consultation exercise undertaken with 60 NGOs representing the national concern of our island.

The workshop discussions was focussed on the following themes: Climate change and sea-level rise, Natural and environmental disasters, Management of wastes, Coastal and marine resources, Freshwater resources, Land resources, Energy resources, Tourism resources, Biodiversity resources, National institutions and administrative capacity, Regional institutions and technical cooperation, Transport and communication, Science and technology, Human resource development, and New emerging issues

Access to Energy: The Key to Poverty Alleviation

The relation between access to energy and indicators of development is well-established. It is predicted that access to energy will become an acute problem in developing countries in the near future, mainly under the impact of population growth and the rising cost of fuels. Reliance on non-fossil fuels is also expected to increase significantly. Hence, developing ways of managing energy in order to promote access to energy for the most vulnerable sections of the population is a necessity.