 I think we are ready to go, I think we are ready to go, we are all panel here, we have to go, I think we are ready to go, I think we are ready to go, I think we are ready to go, I think we are ready to go, I think we are ready to go, I think we are ready to go, I think we are ready to go, I think we are ready to go, I think we are ready to go, can help those countries to sustain water sustainability and availability. Today in our panel, Honorable Minister Matiu Samuda, Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Jamaica, Mr. Manuel Sapiana, Energy and Water Agency, Melta, and Mr. Martin Krause from Technical Cooperation Department, International Atomic Energy Agency. Honorable Minister Matiu Samuda, please, can you tell us how climate change affected water availability in Jamaica so far? Well, first of all, thank you all so much for having this very, very important dialogue. The reality is water supply is one of the greatest casualties of climate change. And oftentimes when those outside of the scientific community and outside of the climate change advocacy group discuss it as a future concept. Oftentimes, persons don't realize how much the climate has changed and how much our weather patterns have changed. Over the last 30 years in the Jamaican context, we have seen a steady decline in rainfall. And the decline is one issue, but it has also changed in terms of its traditional patterns. So not only have we seen that areas that used to be or used to receive our highest rainfall have actually shifted from the northeast to the northwestern end of the island, which would affect how we caught water, how we stored water, and how we used and how we developed. But we've also seen the rainfall itself become very erratic. So for instance, in this year, May, in Kingston and St. Andrew, which is our capital in Jamaica, it is at the southeastern end of the island, we had 11% of our 30-year average for May in rainfall. Not 11% below, but 11% of that 30-year average. The very next month, I think in week two, we had an afternoon where within two hours we had the equivalent of your 30-year average of rainfall in two hours. So that is a prime example of just how erratic rainfall has become. No one has built storage to deal with 11% of 30-year rainfall and no one has built drainage that deals with a shower that has 30-year average in two hours, so that it creates its own issues. You also don't have catchment facilities that can absorb that sort of rainfall into hours either without causing other problems to your facilities. So the reality is water has become a greater challenge, certainly globally, but in particular in the developing world and Jamaica is no exception. We have a particular challenge. On top of the climatic issues that we face, we had 30 years of under-investment because of bad fiscal management. In 2012, we started the process to change that. We moved from being an economic basket case to being relatively stable in our macroeconomic affairs. Coming out of COVID, we haven't had to borrow. We've actually reduced our debt over the last 12 years and that has created the fiscal space for investment, well-needed investment in our water space because the reality is you can't depend solely on the international community. Now the pillars of water supply are well known. Whether it's rainfall or your ground water, which also is determined by your microclimate, that in many ways is their parts of it outside of our control. As it relates to our microclimate, we've been moving rapidly to protect 30% of our landmass at about 25% now. We've also declared two new protected areas, one which is 78,000 hectares the largest in the English-speaking Caribbean, and we've also recently declared the Black River Marass, which is one of our more sensitive areas and one of our larger water supply areas for ground water just this year. But additionally, we've planted over 2.4 million trees over the last three years as a part of our 3 million tree national tree planting initiative to impact the microclimate. The next issue now is storage. We've been building significant tanks and catchment areas right across the country as a part of our capital expenditure. The other element which has bedeviled us and is a bit of mitigation and adaptation, depending on how you look at it, is energy supply. Jamaica pays 42 cents per kilowatt hour for energy. Our single largest user of energy is indeed the National Water Commission. So in reducing this and stopping leakage and managing your water supply with better technology, you immediately reduce your energy usage, which is a critical part of your NDCs. But beyond that, it gives us a fiscal space to put in place the infrastructure in line with the guidance of science and in line with the data that we have to make sure that our water supply is indeed stable. So one of the things that we've done, we broke, I wouldn't say broke ground, we cut ribbons, we launched recently a floating solar system for a 100 acre reservoir that is 45 megawatts of firm capacity and that will significantly lower the cost of our energy supply as we wheel current to our other locations. We will save approximately 7 million US dollars annually with this particular project. We're also exploring hydro energy for our reservoirs and dams which are in the hills. We're doing the solar power for our offices. We intend to make ourselves over time energy independent, but that will take some work. The other part of water supply which is well known throughout the developing world is what we call non-revenue water. Our distribution network is creaking at the seams and has been for a long time. When we would have formed government in 2016, we found that 70% of our caught and produced water would leak before it got to pipes, either by way of theft or by way of a weak distribution system. In the capital city, which is about 1.2 million people in the city and in its environs, which is just under half of our population, we have caught from 70% to 38% in six years and we are targeting best practice of 18% by 2025. So we will have a modern distribution network with pressure monitoring, with technology gauges changing out the old meters that gives you water distributed to half of your population in an efficient manner. That's critically important if you're going to have reduced inflows of rain. We've also started dredging our reservoir which is a part of the installation of our main reservoir, which is a part of the installation of our solar panels. So these are some of the basics that we're doing to improve water supply. Now we've considered all the things that are traditional. We've considered deep sea desalination. We've considered damming of rivers. We've considered a number of investment options to fix source issues where there are source problems and we continue to invest in a manner that deals with the distribution network. But why this forum I believe is particularly important to small island developing states and indeed the entire developing world is because we actually need the science to tell us what will happen next, where salt water intrusion is most likely. And we're happy that the IAEA is focusing on this and using their studies of isotopes to tell us where the climatic impacts are likely going to be strongest. So for that we're thankful and we're happy to participate this afternoon. Thank you very much. Thank you so much to make invest important nexus between precipitation. Often we are facing we have too much water or we have too less water. And connection not only precipitation but also investments and technology play important role. Isotope hydrology is excellent tool here because we can trace source of water. We can see how water is moving and also you can check how water is available for different users. Thank you. And Manuel, could you tell us do you have the same problem in Malta? Yes, so definitely. We're looking at another small island where we have had an increase in demand an increase in water demand because of a growing population and an economy which has been expanding but in the same time the onset of climate change has reduced resources. Particularly changes in rainfall but also changes in the pattern of rainfall. So let's say propensity to flood events as opposed to smaller rain events which generate more recharge. In this context we've been working at a policy development which focuses on both demand management so leakage management as was mentioned by the minister which is very important but also informing people on how to use water effectively. In the same time we were looking at issues of diversifying our water supply. So looking at desalination and water use but still our fresh water resource which is our groundwater resource we do not have any lakes or rivers is an important player which today sustains more than 50% of the total water demand and we're looking at ways of understanding our groundwater resource better understanding the challenges including sea water intrusion and looking at how exploitation can be undertaken without harming the aquifer system and also therefore getting the best quality water out of the system in a sustainable manner and this is where we're working with the Atomic Energy Agency in looking how the mechanisms of sea water intrusion prevail is it fracture flow or is it more matrix flow because that also then defines the way which groundwater can be exploited to better protect the aquifer system. We're working on this project which hopefully will give us information on the age of the intruding sea water because that will help us define then conceptual understandings of how intrusion is occurring. Is it fresh sea water coming through fractures or it is old sea water coming through the rock pores and upwelling from beneath the freshwater zone. That will therefore define what interventions we need to make around water abstraction stations to limit sea water intrusion protect the aquifer system and better the quality of water which is supplied to consumers but also for agriculture. Thank you very much. We can see what climate change impacting both islands very strongly and we need to look at the technology we need to look also at availability for different users at different stage. To battle this climate change or to develop the mitigation strategy we need to look at the strategies. Honourable Minister Matthew please could you tell us what are some of the key strategies to ensure water security in your country? So, Jamaica is an interesting case. It's 70% of our population live within 5 km of the sea usually in low lying areas between sea level and maybe 8 meters above. Now, you risk greater water loss the further your source is away from your community usage. We have traditionally pulled water either from groundwater resources coming from the hills which is the centre spine of Jamaica if you know the Jamaican geography or wells which tend to be littered right around the coast. Many of our wells are already seeing significant salt water intrusion. This has put our traditional or other water systems which really are groundwater coming out of the hills under added pressure. This is a major issue. For us we have done a few things. We've developed a system which recharges 12 or major aquifers which is an artificial recharge facility. So taking water which would have run after the sea naturally putting it back in the aquifers that has significantly helped us in one of our more compromised systems. Between 5 and 10 million gallons a day is what we've estimated has been saved for one of those aquifers which is absolutely important when you consider or rather you wouldn't know but we use about 55 million gallons a day in our capital city. So saving 5 to 10 million and protecting that water system is particularly important to us. The other strategy I have mentioned is our NRW strategy which is significantly repairing our distribution network and electronics behind it because that is absolutely necessary if you're going to protect your water supply. Thirdly however it always comes back to how you manage your water resources. Our water resources authorities actively looking at all of our water resources and ensuring that those which are in the most vulnerable areas are indeed protected under law that we acquire the water resources that we needed to protect for all citizens and that we're very careful in terms of not contaminating our water supply. Climate change is a more recent issue over the last 20, 30 years but the traditional issues of effluent discharge and sewage discharge into ground water hasn't suddenly disappeared for the developing world. It's still a major challenge. We are putting in unprecedented sums of capital investment to ensure that there is less direct discharge into our rivers and into our aquifers. We're making the largest investment over the next four to five years ever made in Jamaica into our sewage line capacity to not contaminate our water table and beyond that we are ensuring that we engage with the best science that is available to us to study our water supplies to make sure we take care of this precious resource. Thank you very much. You highlighted a very important aspect about the discharge of ground water and isotope hydrology is an excellent tool for that because we can look and understand water age. It depends how old is your aquifer. Is it ten years, one hundred years or a thousand years? Why? Because you need ten, one hundred, one thousand years to replenish this aquifer when you use it. And let me, because you did very nice connection with investment to tell about that we feel like about the bank account. So if you have money available the same as with your water and you are using it continuously definitely you will have less money and you need to make investment and inputs also. You need to protect recharge zones. Thank you for highlighting this important issue. And Manuel, please, the same question to you. What are some of the key strategies to ensure water security in Malta? So what our supply security is basically ensuring that you are producing enough water to satisfy the demands of the system and the population. So first of all it is production and our strategy with regards to production is trying to diversify supplies. Historically Malta has been dependent totally on groundwater which was not sufficient throughout the years because of population increase to meet the demand. So by the 1960s our aquifers were failing and in the late 1960s we started with introducing the salination of sea water to complement groundwater. The first I would say diversification of supply. At that time it was multi-stage flash distillation, energy dependent and when the energy crisis of the 1970s came we had a problem. So here one can look at the duopoly between energy and water. At that time there was a fall back once more on groundwater creating problems because even the water supply became saline but in the 1980s we introduced the salination with reverse osmosis and from then on the salination with reverse osmosis continued to increase capacity to meet the demand. What we saw however was that demand was going to increase up to the 90s but our water supply was still not measuring up to it and that was because of leakages and in the mid 90s we introduced this policy of increasing supply yes, managing demand and reducing leakages and today since the mid 90s that has ensured that multi has a reliable security of supply no water cuts as we had before the 90s and increasingly now we are looking at making our water resources development sustainable. Energy efficiency in the salination protecting groundwater but also moving towards reuse of wastewater which is an important aspect when it comes to the need for secondary class water for irrigation, landscaping or industry but also rehabilitating and pushing once more the traditional water management of the island which related to rainwater harvesting rainwater harvesting at source because we don't have the topography to allow big reservoirs but there are a lot more at the point of view so at the household level at the farm level at the field level but augmenting what is available each year and therefore through this diversification of supply we are looking at maintaining our security of supply but making it more environmentally sustainable. Thank you very much to show and please let me to show the video to show how azatop hydrology applied and melted. Thank you. Who would have thought that nuclear science could help solve an issue which has been a problem in water for thousands of years? Drought has been an issue on the small island of Malta since the Stone Age. No one knows for sure why the famous temple builders of 8000 years ago left the island but one likely theory is a lack of water because Malta has always lacked fresh water. In fact it's in the top 10 most water stressed countries in the world. It has no major rivers or lakes so all water supplies come from deep underground and are fed only by rainwater. These supplies are constantly threatened by overuse and the intrusion of seawater. Ground water exists in a very delicate balance between what is coming down, so what is in terms of recharge and what is being lost. Understanding how much water is actually infiltrating and recharging our aquifers and what is being abstracted and controlling this balance is a very big challenge, especially with so many people. In terms of water management we are many people on a very small rock. This issue is only getting worse due to climate change as seas rise and rainfall patterns shift. Whenever we meet farmers and we tell them we work with the water agency this is the first thing they tell us that they speak about climate patterns changing which is impacting their daily work. To address this issue the Maltese water authorities have turned to nuclear physics. Isotope hydrology is a branch of science that is used to track water by measuring the unique atomic fingerprints of different water samples. This will help the experts learn how long it takes for contaminants to seep in to groundwater reserves where seawater is making the reserves undrinkable and how quickly these reserves are being used up and refilled. With the support of the IAEA and other international bodies the Maltese water experts are measuring water from different spots across the islands. Through the project with the IAEA looking at understanding the concentration of normal gases in groundwater the big question is how long does groundwater take to penetrate through our rock and remain within the system. The IAEA has been gathering water samples from around the world for 60 years and helps countries use this data to get a full picture of water systems. This insight can then drive policies on water use agriculture, the location of industries and housing developments and more. It was a nice example to show what you told about salinization problem and how isotope hydrology been applied there. Also you mentioned but met you about water quality it's not always availability in quantity but also in quality of water what you have in your aquifer in your groundwater. And isotope hydrology is also excellent to hear because using isotopes in nitrate we can understand the pollution sources and if there is a salt water intrusion you always confess with additional contaminants. We displayed here about our 60 years of the data on isotopes and precipitation would help us to estimate zone recharge areas here. Manuel, please could you tell us a little bit more how has isotope hydrology improved monitoring capacity in your country? Yes, so we have adopted different initiatives related to isotope hydrology. First of all groundwater quality when it comes to nitrate contamination so finger printing the nitrate content in groundwater and then pinpointing it to the sources which are present in the surface and that has served to indicate over fertilization of fields as being the primary source and therefore provide a scientific answer to the ongoing I would say conflict between farmers and the sanitation services on who is responsible. Apart from that when we had that reply we could also approach farmers and tell them look, the nitrate which is going down is nitrate which you are losing is a cost which you are having without having any benefits from it. So had an argument, a win-win argument which we could go through. In this last project we are looking at the mechanisms of sea water intrusion. Now this has been done through the drilling of deep wells which traverse the whole freshwater zone and go also into the sea water zone. We have a floating lands aquifer. In so doing we will be dating the lower reaches of the freshwater zone and the upper reaches of the salt water zone and seeing the age of the highly sea line interface and this would enable us to see the origin of sea water intrusion because we are suspecting that instead of sea water intrusion we actually have three water bodies playing between each other. So we have fresh water we have sea water which is intruding but we also have an old sea line groundwater body possibly dating back to the last ice age which is there and let's say it's contributing to intrusion as well. So whereas fresh sea water intrusion would primarily come through carcification to fractures and therefore it would be enough to locate fractures in a borehole and seal them if the issue is of old sail and groundwater coming up through the pores of the rock then stopping fractures, sealing fractures would not solve the problem and we will have to move towards balancing more obstruction and trying to adopt techniques which can preempt the problem so trying to keep the water levels high enough to obstruct according to seasonality and therefore developing a new management approach which can reduce sea water intrusion. So the scientific answer to this question is very important because then it will not just be something to write in a paper but will also affect the management techniques which we will be developing to protect groundwater. Thank you very much to show us about isotope hydrology application about different technology what can be used and also about science. So we are transferring this technology to different member states and I have a next question to Martin. Martin please can you tell us how we can transfer this nuclear technology in efficient way to island states. Yeah, thank you very much Julia and listening to the this is working even closer like this. Listening to the experiences from Jamaica and from Malta and looking actually across the world we are in the IEA working with 148 member states we have programs and projects in all the island states that are members of our organization. What we see is that island states they have a very high vulnerability to climate change and they have on the other hand a low capacity to react to adjust, to adapt and that is a bad combination. If you are highly vulnerable yet have a low capacity then you are in trouble and that is what we see in particular in the small island development states. Maybe Malta and Jamaica they are in a little bit better position than some of the islands in the Pacific or in the Caribbean where the economy is very small the population is very small but yet you have to deal with the complexity of the issues that were described by our colleagues here. Water is one of the issues it's a very important issue because it has repercussions on agriculture it has repercussions in the industrial sector on tourism so water is one of the critical issues that climate change is exaggerating in small island development states and in general on island states. Now low capacity to adapt why I am saying that because often the administration, the public administrations are overwhelmed with the complexity of the issues. I don't know how many staff you have in your institute that is dealing with water issues that are making the connection from science to policy we need to translate the science into policy. How many staff are really working on those issues in your countries? I don't know it would be interesting to know but what we have seen in many countries that's a number of dedicated staff that are working on transferring the data that we are generating through isotopic investigations that we are doing to translating them into policies, programs the number of staff is very small and how many hydrologists are working there that have that knowledge to deal with nuclear techniques, with isotopic techniques. So here is the good news the technical cooperation program of the IEA and in fact many other UN organizations they have dedicated and special programs for island states and especially for the SIDS the small island development states recognizing the specific needs that islands have. For example in the IEA we have the technical cooperation program that is operating both in Malta and in Jamaica and in other countries as well and what do we do? We train scientists we train practitioners we train people who want to acquire specific knowledge that is related to the nuclear techniques we send them on fellowship programs we help them to attend capacity building seminars so that they acquire the latest knowledge when it comes to working in laboratories that deal with isotopic hydrology for example. So these kind of programs that we have available for your countries and in fact for all the countries all the island states and small island development states these programs are accessible are available and you can engage through the technical cooperation program with the IEA to generate and to enhance your own capacity to deal with these complex issues. Thank you very much. Yes, we have technical cooperation program and we are working also with science and we are producing some scientific knowledge in our isotopic hydrology section and we are transferring it through technical cooperation to member states including small islands. Small islands have some issues that can be remote area. So establishment of capacity can be not easy there and we are trying to develop the best mechanism to deliver the capacity laboratories to train people to improve national capacity in each country and maybe can I ask you what steps need to be done from us to increase national capacity in Jamaica for example? So we already have a long standing relationship with IAEA and I know we are even having conversations around energy we are having conversations around national security I think it's time to significantly increase the cooperation on water and in studying water resources. The issue is not as chronic as it would have been described in Malta but I definitely see similarities and reasons for entrenching that cooperation and expanding our partnership because we do have other issues with pollution we do have other risks to ground water. There is water risk certainly with wells which are several hundred years old and I think there is great opportunity for establishing through isotope hydrology what our risks are and understanding where that point of over extraction exists. As you mentioned earlier the thinking of water as a bank account certainly in these facilities man made and otherwise I think is an important way to approach it and hopefully we can figure out how to work together more through our water resources authority which is different than our national water commission which deals with potable water but that agency actually deals with stability and health of all water supplies so I'll work with your team to you know we have worked together in the past but there is room for a lot more work in the coming months. Thank you very much Martin you would like to do it Thank you I think if I may just to highlight one point and that is regional cooperation amongst island states amongst regional body such as let's say in the Caribbean or in the Pacific I think is very important why because it's not to create the capacity on all the aspects of nuclear science and other sciences on each island it's not possible it's simply because you don't have enough trained scientists you know available so the regional cooperation for example by sharing laboratories across a number of islands where your scientists work together in the Caribbean basis with other scientists from other islands you share the knowledge you learn from each other in these kind of regional cooperation and I know you know in there are many regional organizations available actually specifically in the in the Caribbean less so in the Mediterranean sea but in the Pacific we also have that I think that could be one way of quickly increasing the capacity across a number of islands to deal with you know sophisticated scientific technologies such as isotopic technologies and also let's not forget you mentioned the isolation of some of the islands when it comes to the programs that we are supporting often also we are supporting the shipment of equipment you need special equipment in the labs you know for isotopic analysis and the shipment of those laboratory equipment often is a challenge because of the remoteness and the isolation of some of the islands but there also in the IAA we have a procurement office there that is dealing with the shipment of actually hardware equipment to remote places so that is something that we can also contribute thank you I think one of the mechanisms that could facilitate greater knowledge transfer and participation of all the islands and take advantage of something like CARICOM would be the University of the West Indies which is our regional University and does have some capacity and has been exposed through the IAA to nuclear technology in the past so I think that could be the mechanism it does service virtually all the islands in one way or another so I think that gives us an opportunity and we don't want to turn your forum into a bilateral but certainly we will work in that direction so we can see what there is opportunity to cooperate between islands but also non-island states there because islands have advantages they don't have transboundary water so you don't need to deal with your neighbors sometimes neighbors can be solution because they can transfer your water and you still stay alone with your water problem there and cooperation is very important point here can I switch on from the cooperation to social engagement probably this is question to Manio yesterday I was swimming and I saw coral reefs and some of the coral they've been dead already and I was thinking if my children would be able to see all this beauty and if my grandchildren will see corals at all there's a question how we can improve the engagement of different social group to climate change problem to water availability and maybe to isotope hydrology also let's start with the last so one of the difficulties of reaching out with isotope hydrology is actually explaining it to non-technical people unless you forget all the technical and just go in a descriptive way one one big missing aspect in water management and this is something which I'm very keen on is that most of the time we tie in water management just with engineering and sciences but there's also a social element to it and particularly because when we're talking about water management we're also affecting people's lives directly so if we're saying that you should use less water it could mean that you must spend less time at the shower that's affecting your comfort if we're saying that water is unavailable it means that you will have water cuts that affects your lifestyle as well so however sometimes this element this intimate element between our lives and water is forgotten or is not so much appreciated particularly when reaching out because we tried a campaign in Malta where we tried to put people in the center of the picture so it is you can be the change because that litter which you save every day can make a big problem the first reaction which we had are you saying that it's our fault so even how you put it you need to understand people's needs understand people's concern perceptions and that's an element of sociology which sometimes let's not say something but much of the time we tend to forget when it comes to water management but just focus on the technical side so going forward yes we need more let's say a better influx of social sciences and hydrology which unfortunately we tend to forget Thank you Honorable Minister Mati would you like to add something from Jamaica perspective about the engagement of different social groups to water problems in your country so we use the phrase water is life very casually and we sometimes forget that it is the basis of human health it's the basis of human nutrition but it's also the basis of human dignity so I think very important the point that would have been made a while ago we focus so much on the technical aspects that sometimes we don't remember the absolute need socially to provide water in all the varying communities to give them a chance at economic prosperity so I think it's always important to bring citizens in to have the information so they understand why you're making particular decisions and when those decisions will benefit them because invariably policy and implementation and investment benefit everyone all at the same time in the same way so I think from our perspective we have 78% of our households connected to the National Water Commission which is the primary provider of portable water we have established a public body of rural water which also goes to rural communities and connects communities to small systems and we believe that is the mechanism that will help us move closer to that 100% targets over time thank you very much so I will switch to another question so Manuel what would you say is a primary need to improve water security in your country right now I would tie this with energy so given also the current crisis which we are living and our dependence on non-conventional water resources there is an intricate link between water and energy which were energy efficiency and good use of energy is required to ensure water supply even in the case of groundwater because it has to be pumped up and it has to be blended and therefore the duopoly between water and energy through applications such as the water the WFNexus so the water energy food ecosystem nexus and developing our policies increasingly nexus based and therefore giving the right concerns and giving the right safeties when it regards to actually the energy needed for water supply is a key factor and is an important factor in water security right now thank you very much Martin I just want to fully agree with the last point that was said here and also previously by the minister which is we need to look at the nexus we cannot look at water and the specific technology such as isotope hydrology which is of course very important but we cannot look at it in isolation we need to look at the nexus between water energy and food and then if you consider that that suddenly makes it a very complex issue when we are talking about adaptation to climate change on island states we realize when we consider the nexus wow this touches upon all aspects of the economy of the society of everything that we do and how we live and that is I think the challenge that can become very overwhelming very quickly so we need to look at the big picture but then we need to also again because then it can become too overwhelming we need to then slice it and dice it in small pieces and see what can we do about this and that and there we are again with isotope hydrology is one particular instrument is one particular methodology is one way that can help us but then we need to reconnect it again to the bigger picture so both is necessary to zoom in and to zoom out and that is I think especially for the policy makers a big big challenge and here is one other thing in the IAA this is the nuclear institution but we also do not work in isolation we partner with FAO for example the food and agricultural organization we partner with other UN organizations which offer different solutions so to compliment what we can offer to you we need to look at the UN system and to other international organizations which do have other technologies other instruments that are complimentary to what we do thank you this is an important highlight about partnership so it's cooperation between islands but also cooperation between member states and different UN organizations because different UN organizations have different tasks and objectives so cooperation and joint together on problems can help us to get more benefit together and also transferring our agent is unique because we are transferring directly technology technology that help people to create new data by their self we learn how to treat this data how to use this data in policy how to engagement also of the different social group is highly important because young specialist we have more experienced specialist engagement, interaction and education also play important role in national capacity building development and you highlighted about regional project this is important aspect what we are working together on common problem what we face now in islands not only islands but also in different member states I would like to ask you also what would you say is the primary need now to improve water security in Jamaica not to localize too much or to parochialize too much but our fiscal situation is the biggest challenge we have admittedly we have the benefit of partnerships and access to the best science in the world through the IAEA we have the benefit of great water suppliers from Israel from France from the US from the UK who all do work within our space the fiscal capacity to put in place the varying things we know we need is I would say the greatest inhibitor of doing these things within our 2030 target it's why a small island developing state like Jamaica comes to somewhere like because it's absolutely important and critical that we're able to mobilize the funds we need for mitigation and adaptation and you know I think it's impatient at the debate that those funds have not been forthcoming in the way that they've been pledged or in the way that they're needed but that is certainly why we're here because water security is the baseline security for all states and I think that's going to come increasingly a forefront issue but it's very good that IAEA is giving us a science and providing that sort of certainty in knowing exactly what is required so that money isn't spent in a way that it doesn't need to be spent so that resources aren't overused or underutilized and you don't exacerbate problems as they are thank you so much you clearly stated us that water security very well connected to agricultural security to health security so we cannot isolate water security for other sectors and other cooperation and agency we have different departments dealing with different direction but helping us to focus on the country and to contribute to different sectors not isolating only one direction we're coming to the end of our panel please can you provide a simple message about how we can be efficient to work on climate change issues together I think this forum in many ways gives us a roadmap the first pillar in that efficiency is partnership and that partnership can bring about the scientific data that you require to feed into policy to feed into investment decisions beyond partnership I think there has to be some conscience from our more developed partners to mobilize the funds and mobilize the investment that we need to then activate the ambition that would be stated from the scientific information that feeds into that policy and beyond that local governments have to be committed to acknowledging that scientific information and to ensuring that that scientific information does form the policy changes that we need and move with a lack of the other risk thank you very much and Manio please quite on the lines of the approach which the minister has outlined the importance of partnerships particular partnerships at island level because the context and the scale of challenges in islands is different from that of larger countries and therefore the experience which is developed in islands most of the time in isolation to counter climate change can only be shared if island partnerships at island levels are developed where this isolation is broken so that would be a very important way to move forward not just on isotope hydrology but all on the aspects related to water management thank you and Martin from the agency point of view direction how we can work together and what is the important steps to be done and take home message from the panel today a lot needs to be done and the resources will never be enough to do everything that needs to be done so in my view partnership of course is a very good approach what is also a good approach is the pooling of resources the minister has mentioned the University of the West Indies which serves the Caribbean that is a very good example instead of trying to establish a cutting edge you know technology university or faculties on each island you do one for the region where you are pooling the resources and here I am talking about the intellectual resources the scientific resources you pool them and then you make them available to all the countries in the region that is a very good example of how I think we can work must work giving the overwhelming complexity of the problems that we are dealing with as we have discussed here so partnerships and the pooling of intellectual and financial resources I think is the key if we want to you know make a difference in this fight against climate change or on this way of adapting to the climatic changes that are to come thank you very much the discussion we can see what availability and what security is a complex problem what effect both island states but also non-island states but island states due to remoteness and the specific location are much more affected by different climate change problems and they need support but also they need cooperation in some cases and would like to conclude here today because we are coming to the end of the session where partnership is a key aspect cooperation is a key aspect here and production of their own data and translating science to policy help us to understand much help us to improve water management in the country and so I would like to thank all panelists today for the participation in our panel and would like to close this event today thank you so much