Antigua & Barbuda

McKinnons Pond Antigua January 2019. Photo: IWEco

Title of IWEco National sub-Project

Targeting Land Degradation and Effective Land Management through the Development of Innovative financing Methodologies.

Introduction

Land degradation has long been a problem for Antigua and Barbuda due to inappropriate land use practices, including the improper disposal of wastes that include wastewater and oily waste residues. The weak enabling environment has compounded the problem. In addition, there are generally insufficient infrastructure investments to deal with effluent generation that results in indiscriminate waste disposal across various locations on the island, and on mainland Antigua the main receiving area is the municipal landfill at Cooks. The contamination and consequent degradation of landscapes is acute in particular areas of Antigua and is of growing concern given that these areas are adjacent to croplands and commercial investments that presents a direct conflict and poses constraint to further expansion of these economic investments thereby compromising future livelihood opportunities.

Antigua & Barbuda ranks as one of the most water-stressed countries in the Caribbean (average annual total renewable water resources at 578 m3/yr/capita; FAO Aquastat, 20141), therefore water availability is a serious issue. Given development patterns across the island, availability of suitable land for farming and water to service these farms is extremely limited. As ground water resources are increasingly threatened by land-based sources of pollution, water availability for farming is placed at high risk.

One of the critical areas is the McKinnons Salt Pond in northwest Antigua, an important ecological area that is located within close proximity to farm holdings and touristic development. This however has been severely degraded by pollution influxes.

Previous measures have been undertaken through donor support to address the issues of sustainable land management (SLM) as well as pollution control within the McKinnon’s area and the IWEco Project will seek to build on these efforts. Under the Sustainable Island Resource Management Mechanism (SIRMM) Project, aquatic vegetation was established over portions of the McKinnon’s pond as a phyto-remediation effort to immobilize and absorb excess pollutant loads, as well as to enhance the ecological quality of local environment and add to eco-touristic potential for visitors. This effort helped to alleviate the situation but more work is required to further reduce the influx of sediments entering the Pond partly due to the erosion and instability of the watercourses’ embankments in the mid to upper reaches of the Cedar Grove Watershed.

The IWEco Project will complement existing and future efforts to address the land degradation and pollutant loading issues by targeting the pollution and land degradation sources within the Cedar Grove watershed and by installing and upgrading control measures for reducing sediment, nutrient and chemical loadings. A best practice approach will be adopted to the diversion of effluent, collection and reuse of treated wastewater through downstream users that include farmers and hotel operators.

The McKinnons wastewater treatment facility which was commissioned through contributions of the IWCAM Project, is to be upgraded. This effort will be augmented by establishment of runoff control measures to the McKinnon’s pond through the installation of vegetated drainage channels to minimize sediment eroded from and transported along the main watercourses to the wetland. Additionally, to enhance the ecological and landscape value of the area and make more resilient to coastal erosion in consideration of rising sea levels associated with climate change, reforestation and afforestation of mangroves will be undertaken along the pond’s periphery. These mangroves will lend further benefits to phyto-remediation. Through on-site land and forest cover investments within 15 hectares over the target Cedar Grove and Cooks watershed areas, it is expected that an estimated 1,223.5 equivalent tonnes of CO2 over the life of the project, or an average of 244.7 tCO2eqv/year will be sequestered.

The project will facilitate education and awareness of land degradation activities and the best practices to mitigate its impacts in hopes of behavioural change against improper liquid waste disposal methods. Farmers will also be educated on best practices for irrigation and soil conservation. The project will also contribute to a financial sustainability management mechanism that will enhance private-public partnerships in utilizing recycled wastewater and contribute to sustained investments at the national level in addressing land and water resource degradation.

Status of Project

The Antigua & Barbuda National sub-Project Cooperation Agreement was signed on December 2017 and the Project is being implemented over a four-year period.