Islands & Water Task Force

Islands around the world come in all different forms. There are at least (probably more) three groupings that can be important from a science / policy perspective. First, depending on their geological nature and climatic conditions islands will rely on different freshwater sources (groundwater, rainwater, desalination). Second, depending on capacity and resources islands will be able to rely more (or less) on their freshwater resources. Whilst there are official UN related classifications, such as SIDS, there may be other (and better) ways to differentiate islands based on criteria other than GDP and economic growth. Third, islands can be more easily grouped into sovereign island states, sub-national island jurisdictions and oversea island territories. Furthermore, within any of these categories main and outer islands can be considered.

Building on the above-mentioned categories, there is an important question that drives the work of the Task Force: to what extent the management of freshwater framed around the concept of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) aligns and responds to island realities. In some policy circles this is called “island proofing”. Two further aspects related to IWRM (or missing therein depending on the context) are the importance and integration of coastal marine waters and the role that informal institutions can (or should) play in shaping and implementing IWRM at an island level. Whilst IWRM related questions are for the Task Force to tackle, it is very likely that they will lead to a nuanced answer based on the different island context. It is also very likely that different parts of the ridge to reef water cycle of IWRM may require different approaches from an island perspective, whilst others may be more aligned to more general approaches that apply also to the so-called mainland. What is clear is that IWRM, as a concept, has not been developed having islands in mind. However, whether there is an island alternative to IWRM, or even an overarching alternative to IWRM, both for islands and non-islands, is something for the Task Force to look into. Finally, it will be important to better understand, in the context of the overarching question of islandness and IWRM, the science / policy space and how IWRA can contribute positively there to.

Further background to the development of the Task Force is the international policy environment that focuses directly and indirectly with islands and freshwater. An initial screening calls for attention to the implementation of the SIDS-4 outcome (islands focused) and on the UN Water Conference (water focused). However, there are many other “fora” that are relevant, such as, just to name a few, the UN Finance for Development Cooperation Conference, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change process, and the UN Biodiversity Convention process. There are also important regional initiatives that call for special attention, such as the Pasifika Engagement Strategy for Water Security 2025-2030, the Regional Integrated Water Resource Management Framework for the Caribbean (2024) and the Regional Strategic Action Plan for the Water Sector in the Caribbean to Develop Resilience to the Impacts of Climate Change (2021). IWRA, through the Task Force, needs to explore how best to leverage its science / policy interface and expertise within this complex and fragmented water and islands related international policy environment. Furthermore, IWRA has started to not only contribute, but also lead in the islands and water environment by contributing to the MOU establishing the Torshavn Dialogue on the Sustainable Management of Freshwater on Islands.

Francesco Sindico is a member of the IWRA Executive Board and a Professor at the University of Strathclyde Law School in Glasgow where he founded and was Director for ten years of the Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance (SCELG). From an islands’ perspective his work centres on the role of law in promoting public participation towards greater sustainability and resilience. From a freshwater perspective, his research focuses mainly on the international law of transboundary aquifers and water governance. Francesco is currently on secondment with the Scottish Government (since September 2021) where he leads the Carbon Neutral Islands Project. Francesco is also the co-chair of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law Climate Change Law Specialist Group and a Director of the Climate Change Litigation Initiative (C2LI). Francesco has experience in advising governments and international organisations before international courts and contributing to capacity building programmes in developing countries.

Alana S. Mahabir (PhD Candidate, Civil Engineering) is Head of the Water Resources Agency (WRA) at the Water and Sewerage Authority of Trinidad and Tobago. She provides strategic oversight and technical guidance for national water-resources management, with a strong emphasis on policy and regulatory strengthening. Her portfolio includes advancing abstraction licensing and administrative fee reform, supporting inter-agency water–climate coordination, and representing WRA in regional and international capacity-building initiatives. Alana also serves as Trinidad and Tobago’s national counterpart on isotope hydrology, applying environmental isotopes to protect groundwater and identify sustainable sources for national supply. Her PhD at The University of the West Indies centres on underserved rural communities, generating actionable evidence on rainwater harvesting governance to advance water equity, strengthen climate resilience in Small Island Developing States, and share transferable lessons globally through practical, field-informed research.

Katic is an Associate Professor in Economics at the Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, UK. She was previously based at the West Africa Office of the International Water Management Institute. Pamela is an environmental and water economist whose work focuses on water governance, justice, and sustainability at the interface of development, ecology, and society. Her research advances relational and transdisciplinary approaches that integrate Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge systems, multiple values of water, and nature-based solutions to address water and food insecurity and injustice(s) and socio-ecological vulnerability. She has extensive experience working in climate-exposed and data-scarce contexts, mobilising and co-creating knowledge to inform just water, food, and ecosystem governance. This work is directly relevant for SIDS and island Indigenous communities, where water systems are deeply embedded in cultural heritage, livelihoods, and wellbeing, and are increasingly threatened by climate change, environmental degradation, and structural inequities. Within IWRA, Pamela is an Associate Editor of Water International, IWRA’s flagship publication.

Celso García serves as Professor of Physical Geography at the University of the Balearic Islands in Mallorca, Spain. His research focuses on the Balearic and Canary Islands, with a particular emphasis on the interplay between tourism development and water sustainability. Additional research areas encompass surface and groundwater hydrology, managed aquifer recharge, social perceptions of flood risk and flood management strategies, and integrated water resource management in island environments

Manuel Sapiano is the Chief Executive Officer of the Energy and Water Agency (EWA) within Malta’s Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Enterprise.  In this role, he coordinates a team of experts with responsibilities for the formulation, evaluation, monitoring and implementation of national policies concerning the use of energy and water in a sustainable manner and the formulation of plans to meet National and EU energy and water resources management targets. Mr Sapiano is a hydrogeologist, with specific specialisation in island and coastal hydrology.  He has previously led the Agency’s Water Policy Unit, where he had the responsibility of coordinating the implementation process of EU related water legislation in the Maltese islands. He has been involved in the implementation process of the EU Water Framework Directive since 2002, where within the Common Implementation Strategy of this Directive, he fulfils the role of Water Director for Malta.

Dr. Shaneica Lester is an Environmental Geographer specialising in water security, climate resilience, and environmental governance in Caribbean Small Island Developing States. She is a Lecturer in the Department of Geography and Geology at The University of the West Indies, Mona. Her research focuses on the socio-spatial dimensions of water access and vulnerability. Through interdisciplinary research and applied projects, she examines human–environment interactions in freshwater systems and advances governance-centred and nexus approaches to strengthening climate adaptation and equitable water management in island contexts.

Dr. Lester currently serves as Chairwoman of the Water Resources Authority Board of Directors in Jamaica and as a Commissioner of the Land Development and Utilisation Commission. She is a Fellow and contributing author to UNEP’s Global Environment Outlook 7 (GEO-7) and contributes to regional and international water governance processes aimed at strengthening water resilience. Her work also engages vulnerable communities and supports climate-sensitive livelihoods in Caribbean Small Island Developing States.

Dr. DiFilippo is an Assistant Professor at the National Institute of Geological Sciences at the University of the Philippines, with interests in groundwater research in vulnerable environments, with a specific interest in the effects of climate change on coastal communities in low to middle- income countries. PhD. was completed in water engineering from Loughborough University in the UK; MA in hydrogeology was completed at West Chester University; and a B.S. in geology from the University of Rhode Island.

His research area is in the Philippines, where he is evaluating the impacts of Saltwater Intrusion on the Freshwater Lens beneath a karst island. The research integrates both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Incorporating water quality, hydrogeologic interpretation, geologic and geomorphologic assessment, remote monitoring system technologies, and applying GIS and remote sensing observations for environmental characterization. A critical component of the research is assessing stakeholder sentiment regarding water access. His work includes projects in water engineering in low and middle-income countries: Rwanda (Sanitation & Rainwater Harvesting); Uganda (Rainwater Harvesting); Tanzania (Water Supply by Wells); Philippines (Water Supply by Wells), and Haiti (Water Supply by Rainwater Harvesting & Sanitation Design).