The Ministry of Energy and Water Resources, in collaboration with the Barbados Water Authority and several critical stakeholders, is pleased to share the Green Paper on the 2020 Water Protection and Land Use Zoning Policy for public consideration.
This document is to be subjected to critical review in a process of open national consultation as we seek to ensure that it clearly represents the new policy direction for water protection and land use zoning.
The Green Paper on the 2020 Water Protection and Land Use Zoning Policy describes the existing groundwater protection zoning policy, outlines its strengths and shortcomings and proposes a new integrated approach to protection of all the island’s water resources, including coastal waters.
The existing policy was created over 50 years ago, at a time of much less freshwater demand, a less densely populated island with most of its population concentrated on the south and west coasts, limited use of persistent hazardous chemicals, and in the absence of modern water and wastewater treatment technologies. Although progressive at the time, the existing policy is no longer adequate. It restricts development over large tracts of land and over the years there has been encroachment in some Zone 1 areas. The existing policy is ineffective against persistent chemical pollutants and only focuses on protecting groundwater to the detriment of coastal waters.