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BRITISH HIGH COMMISION TO GO GREEN: |
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Tuesday, 02 February 2010 |
LAUNCH OF RAIN WATER HARVESTING PROJECT AT THE BRITISH HIGH COMMISSION RESIDENCE, BENMAR
The British High Commission is ‘Going Green’ and one of the many initiatives being pursued is to reduce water consumption. One of the ways we are addressing this is to install a water harvesting project at the High Commissioners’ Residence at Ben Mar in Erdiston Hill. This project is being installed by a local company that has 38 years of experience in the business within the region and has been operating here in Barbados since 2008 with many successful projects completed to date. The rain water harvesting project at the High Commissioners’ residence is slated for completion during the first week of February 2010. Rain water will be collected and utilised for gardening, washing of vehicles and other suitable tasks thereby reducing dependency on municipal supplies.
Rain water harvesting is simply the practise of gathering and storing of rainwater and has been practised for over 4,000 years. Recent studies undertaken by the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) have indicated that Barbados is expected to lose 7.5% of its available water catchment areas in Zone 1 alone, from 9% catchment rate down to 1.5%. This means that there will be less BWA water available for consumption in Barbados: the 15th most water scarce country in the world, according to the UN Commission on Water.
As part of our Greening Programme, The British High Commission is seeking to invest in a number of other targeted sustainable projects such as utilising alternative energy, reducing energy consumption, reducing environmental pollution, and reducing waste generation. In addition we are simultaneously increasing recycling rates and educating employees on the behaviour changes and consumer choices that are needed to facilitate this. The aim of implementing the new Green strategy will ultimately be to attain a Green Business Barbados endorsement from the Future Centre Trust.
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