Online workshop: Ask a water expert: Caribbean edition
On 5 November 2026, NWP gathered a group of Dutch and Caribbean water sector experts together with the objective of facilitating connections, and exchanging information and best practices to encourage collaboration between water professionals in the Caribbean.
To address the region’s climate challenges related to water, the interactive session explored key topics such as climate adaptation, mitigation, integrated coastal zone development, and funding opportunities for resilience in the Caribbean.
The session, which was held in partnership with the Embassies and Consulates of the Netherlands in the Caribbean, created an environment where participants could directly engage with water experts in an ‘ask me anything’ format to learn from the guest speakers’ experiences in tackling water-related challenges across the Caribbean.
Themes
The event was structured around five themes relevant to the Caribbean context:
- resilient coastal management
- water tech solutions for resilient coasts
- water scarcity and efficiency solutions for islands
- energy-efficient water solutions
- public-private partnerships
Anaitee Mills of the Inter-American Development Bank opened the workshop with a plenary reflection on ‘Strengthening Water Resilience Through Nature-Based Solutions, Innovation & Collaboration’ by highlighting three essential enablers for scaling water and climate resilience in the Caribbean:
- Partnerships and governance that connect regional institutions with technical actors and coordinated decision-making.
- Financing mechanisms that link project pipelines to multilateral, climate and private-sector funding.
- Knowledge sharing and capacity building that strengthen utilities, communities and young professionals.
Her framing of these interconnected elements set a strong foundation for the event and helped guide the subsequent ‘ask me anything’ discussions, which brought Caribbean and Dutch perspectives together around practical pathways for adaptation.
