Climate Resilience of the Water Sector in The Bahamas

The document outlines a project preparation request to address severe climate threats to The Bahamas' water sector, which relies on fragile groundwater lenses. It proposes a three-component strategy: establishing a national water Decision Support System (DSS) for evidence-based planning, strengthening governance through a new national water resources agency and independent regulator, and scaling up infrastructure investments on highly vulnerable islands. The project seeks to mitigate risks from sea-level rise, decreasing rainfall, and intense storms while overcoming public fiscal constraints and data gaps.

• Climate change projections for The Bahamas indicate increasing temperatures, decreasing annual rainfall, more intense storms, and sea level rise, all of which threaten the water sector's reliance on limited groundwater supplies.
• The Bahamas' freshwater resources are limited to fragile 'lenses' in shallow karstic limestone aquifers, making them highly susceptible to saline intrusion from sea-level rise and contamination from floods and extreme weather.
• Water sector governance is currently fragmented across multiple agencies with no single entity mandated to coordinate stakeholders, and the country lacks an independent water utility regulator to set evidence-based tariffs.
• Non-revenue water (NRW) rates in The Bahamas are estimated to be between 30% and 60% on many islands, reflecting persistent governance challenges and contributing to water supply shortages.
• Public fiscal constraints, exacerbated by the costs of reconstructing after Hurricane Dorian and the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, limit the government's and the Water and Sewerage Corporation's (WSC) ability to finance adaptation investments.
• The proposed project aims to directly benefit approximately 173,600 people (46% of the population) through utility-scale investments on vulnerable islands, with indirect benefits reaching the entire population of 381,000.
• The project's indicative total cost is USD 49,875,000, with a request for USD 26,512,500 from the GCF, including a senior loan of approximately USD 18,000,000.
• The project identifies several tentatively vulnerable islands for targeted investment, including Abaco, Bimini, North Andros, South Andros, New Providence, Eleuthera, Long Island, Cat Island, Exuma, Ragged Island, and Acklins.

APA

Green Climate Fund (2020). Climate Resilience of the Water Sector in The Bahamas. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/ppf-climate-resilience-water-sector-bahamas.pdf

Chicago

Green Climate Fund. Climate Resilience of the Water Sector in The Bahamas. 2020. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/ppf-climate-resilience-water-sector-bahamas.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Climate Fund |title=Climate Resilience of the Water Sector in The Bahamas |date=23 October 2020 |url=https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/ppf-climate-resilience-water-sector-bahamas.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenclimatefund2020climate, author = {{Green Climate Fund}}, title = {{Climate Resilience of the Water Sector in The Bahamas}}, institution = {Green Climate Fund}, year = {2020}, month = oct, url = {https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/ppf-climate-resilience-water-sector-bahamas.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }