Caribbean stakeholders in the water and sanitation sector will gather for the CARIBSAN regional conference on June 13 and 14, 2023 at the Palais des Congrès de Madiana in Fort-de-France, Martinique. This high-level international event will bring together 15 countries from the region, some twenty dignitaries from these territories and over 150 participants. The aim of this event is to promote regional cooperation on sanitation in the Caribbean basin. It will showcase the results obtained during the first phase of the CARIBSAN project, which aims to develop treatment wetland technology to improve sanitation in the Caribbean, and present future prospects.

CARIBSAN is a project that uses the treatment wetland solution to treat wastewater. This technology has already proved its effectiveness in Martinique and Guadeloupe, and is currently being deployed in Cuba, Dominica and Saint Lucia. This solution, which is simpler, more resilient to natural hazards and less costly than other conventional purification systems, is well suited to the Caribbean situation. Various configurations are possible for this technology, and CARIBSAN will support partners in choosing the most appropriate option.

The conference program will include round-table discussions on the challenges of wastewater treatment in the region and on regional cooperation as a tool for tackling climate change, as well as discussions and experience-sharing on the preliminary studies carried out by the Cuban, Dominican and Saint Lucian partners as part of the project. Visits to the Maupéou treatment wetland plant in Rivière-Salée and Taupinière in Le Diamant will take place the following day.