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CARIBSAN project - Wastewater Treatment in the Caribbean
© CARIBSAN
On September 27 & 28, 2021, the virtual inauguration of the CARIBSAN project will beheld by videoconference. This high-level event will bring together political leaders aswell as all technical and institutional partners of the participating countries.

CARIBSAN is a Caribbean cooperation project that aims to deploy an innovative,environmentally friendly technology adapted to the tropical context for wastewater treatment using local plants. The impact of wastewater is an environmental emergency in the Caribbean. The majority of the Caribbean population lives near a fragile aquatic environment that is subject to impacting uses, where sanitation infrastructures are often insufficient and leadto pollution that is dangerous for health.


Plant-based sanitation in the Caribbean

CARIBSAN aims to promote and develop plant-based wastewater treatment throughoutthe Caribbean. In the French West Indies, wastewater treatment plants using local plants (Heliconia psittacorum "birds of paradise") have been demonstrating their effectivenessfor several years. This nature-based technology has the advantage of being efficient,environmentally friendly, simpler and cheaper to manage than a conventional systemand resistant to the climatic disturbances of our regions.


Main participants
  • Saint-Lucia State Representative in charge of water issues and Mr. Edmund REGIS, Managing Director of WASCO
  • Dominica State Representative in charge of water issues and Mr. Bernard ETTINOFFE, General Manager of DOWASCO
  • Mr. Fermin E. SARDUY QUINTANILLA, representative of the State of Cuba, Directorof International Relations of the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INRH), representative of the Ministry of External Relations of Cuba
  • Mr. Lucien SALIBER, President of the Assembly of the Territorial Collectivity of Martinique and President of the Martinique Water Office
  • Mrs. Isabelle AMIREILLE-JOMIE, President of the Guadeloupe Water Office
  • Mrs. Marie-Marthe BREDAS, Regional Cooperation Officer at the Prefecture of Martinique
  • European Union Representative
  • Mr. Clément MEDEE, from the Environment Department of the French Ministry for Overseas France (to be confirmed)
  • Mrs. Christel OUTREMAN, Counsellor for Regional Cooperation at the French Embassy to the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), resident in Saint Lucia (to be confirmed)
  • Mr. Jean-Michel PORTEFAIX, French Embassy in Cuba
  • Mr. LACOGNATA, Atlantic Regional Director, AFD
  • Representative of the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE)

CARIBSAN project partners and funders

Led by the Martinique Water Office (ODE) with the assistance of the Guadeloupe WaterOffice (OE971), CARIBSAN (June 2021-December 2022, 1.7 million euros) is implemented by the French technical partners, in particular INRAE (National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment) and OiEau (International Office for Water), as well as by the technical partners of the participating countries, which are:INRH for Cuba (National Institute of Hydraulic Resources), CAWASA (Caribbean Water and Sanitation Association) and WASCO for Saint Lucia (Water & Sanitation Management Company) and DOWASCO for Dominica (Dominican Water and Sanitation Company).

CARIBSAN is financed by the European INTERREG Caribbean programme, AFD, the Water Offices (ODE) of Martinique and Guadeloupe.