The CARIBSAN project
is cofinanced bythe European Union through the INTERREG Caraïbes programme.
The majority of the Caribbean population lives near the fragile ecosystems of coastal areas and so-called sensitive usage (especially swimming areas).
Wastewater is often insufficiently treated, leading to considerable pollution, which causes nuisances and which can be dangerous for human health as well as ecosystems.
The CARIBSAN project
aims at promoting wastewater treatment using treatment wetlands throughout the Caribbean region.
In the French West Indies, (Guadeloupe and Martinique), the use of a local plant (of Heliconia or birds-of-paradise type) together with a substrate to filter and treat wastewater based on natural wetlands has proven effective for several year now. This nature-based solution has the benefit of being simpler and less expensive to put in place and to manage than other wastewater treatment systems. Moreover, this solution is also more resilient to the natural hazards of tropical regions (cyclones in particular).
Designed and conducted by the Water Office of Martinique (ODE Martinique), the CARIBSAN project (June 2021 – December 2022, 1.7 million euros) is implemented with the French partners of the Water Office of Guadeloupe (ODE Guadeloupe), the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), the International Office for Water (OiEau), and also technical partners in beneficiary countries: the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources of Cuba (INRH), the Caribbean Water and Sewerage Association, the Water and Sewerage Companies of Saint Lucia (WASCO) and Dominica (DOWASCO).
The CARIBSAN project is cofinanced by the EU through the INTERREG Caraïbes, under the European Regional Development Fund, by the French Development Agency (AFD), and the Water Offices (ODE) of Martinique and Guadeloupe.
