Project Detail

Rainwater Harvesting to reduce the impacts of drought exacerbated by Climate Change in the community of Bouton, Saint Lucia.

This project emerged from a Planning Grant that funded a technical study, which calculated that the community has for a while been suffering from a water deficit of 29% per day. With the impacts of CC, the expectation is that the situation will deteriorate and exacerbate the outmigration which is occurring and the negative impacts on agriculture and livelihoods. The goal of the project is to: "increase the capacity of the community of Bouton to carry out rainwater harvesting and household water management." The objectives are to: "(i) install thirty-eight (38) rain water harvesting systems with full disinfection amenities and a pumping devise to twenty five (25) homes in the Bouton community within eight months of project commencement; (ii) build resilience through education of at least 38 residents of the Bouton community on various aspects of housholds water management before culmination of the project; and (iii) build capacity of the Bouton Community Development Committee for effective project management within the first month of project execution."

The project will contribute to two outcomes in the CBA - CPS, id est, "complementary and supplementary water resources for households and community established and protected as a means of increasing resilience; and (ii) capacity of existing structures and systems improved to create learning and nurture civic responsibilities."

The baseline VRA score was 2.5 which emphasizes the lack of capacity in the community to address the impacts caused by CC.

Project Snapshot

Grantee:

Bouton Community Development Committee

Country:

Saint Lucia

Area Of Work:

Community Based Adaptation
Community Based Adaptation

Operational Phase:

OP5 – Y4 (Jul 14 – Jun 15)

Grant Amount:

US$ 43,288.00

Co-Financing Cash:

US$ 14,444.00

Co-Financing in-Kind:

US$ 36,474.00

Project Number:

STL/SIDS/CBA/14/04

Start Date:

1/2015

End Date:

8/2018

Status:

Satisfactorily Completed

Project Characteristics and Results

Replication of project activities

All project activities are replicable because of their transparency and the high level of documentation from the baseline to the third VRA score. The results can also be visibly seen in the community and in the quality of life enjoyed by the people of Bouton.

Gender Focus

No issues anticipated.

Policy Impact

None anticipated at this time.

Linkages gef projects

None at this time.

Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods

Not applicable at this time.

Inovative Financial Mechanisms

Not applicable.

Significant Participation of Indigenous Peoples

Not applicable.

Planning gef grant

Not at this time.

Planning non gef grant

Not at this time.

Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment

THs focus will be on increasing awareness in the community only through meetings and presentations.

Project sustainability

The project has a high degree of sustainability because it responded to a need which was present for several decades, i.e., water shortages. The project also met the needs of 32 households, which was identified during the baseline as having a deficit in water storage capacity and therefore decreased vulnerability.

Policy Influence

This project did not have any effect on policy at the time of its completion, but during its implementation the Government of Saint Lucia announced the commencement of a new water system for the community. At the closure of the project, the Government's project was significantly delayed. One could conclude that the SGP project highlighted the need for water in the community. In addition, when the Government's project is implemented, the SGP project will be the back-up and the source of water in the immediate aftermath of disasters.

Notable Community Participation

This project engaged a number of persons in a VRA session from which this project was designed and approved by the community. During the Planning Grant phase there was also broad community and stakeholder participation.

Capacity - Building Component

This project will help to build the capacity of the grantee by developing the knowledge and skills of the membership and selected community persons in maintenance and management of the water system, as well as imparting skills in conflict resolution and management; project management and report writing.

Project Results

The community of Bouton is located on the north-western periphery of the Soufriere Volcanic Centre or the Qualibou Caldera. In that community of close to 200 persons, they have suffered for decades from water shortages. The baseline study revealed that they suffered from a 26% deficit in water supply over several decades. During the aftermath of the last hurricane, the community went for over 4 months without water. This project is therefore meant to address this need or vulnerability.

Of the three VRA (Vulnerability Reduction Assessment) exercises undertaken at the commencement of the project, in the middle stage of the project and at the end, the VRA scores were 2.5, 2.3 and 2.5 respectively. These scores reflected the major community conflicts during project implementation. SGP had to intervene on several occasions to prevent the premature end of the project. One group of persons in the community, continuously criticised the existing President of the Bouton Development Committee and wanted her to resign, due to reasons related to community politics. SGP had to intervene on may occasions to confirm that the President of the group, a woman, had not mis-used funds and that the project, though slow in implementation, was on its way to meeting its main output. Towards the end of the project, the community group seemed to be on the brink of its demise, despite several attempts by SGP to assist.

Notwithstanding these challenges, the project met its main result, i.e., Thirty-two households representing over 128 persons had functioning rain water harvesting systems, producing over 26,000 gallons of water, which could last for over 67 days in the immediate aftermath of a disaster.

During project implementation 33 persons (2 women and 31 women) were employed, in a system in which they contributed 50% of their time free and was paid for the other 50%. Approximately US$1930 income was received and eight persons were trained in CC mitigation methods.

At the end of the project, though there is decreased vulnerability in post disaster situations where there is a serious water shortage, one cannot conclude there is sustainable resilience, because the mechanism for community learning and action was comatose at the end of the project.

One major lesson is that addressing one cause of vulnerability, does not confer resilience, until a community demonstrates a proclivity to continue learning, adapting and planning in a proactive manner.

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