GWP-C Steering Committee
The Steering Committee (SC) of the Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) consists of nine (9) members and one special observer. The SC was elected at the first Annual General Assembly of the GWP-C, held on
June 1st and 2nd 2006. Every year three (3) positions on the
SC will be open for a new partner to be elected. In order to
qualify to be on the SC your organisation must be a partner of GWP-C. Click here to go to the "Downloads Page" for the GWP Partnership Application form.
The current GWP-C Steering Committee consists of the following persons:
Jacob Opadeyi is the Chairman of the Global Water
Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) and the Coordinator of the Caribbean Land
and Water Resources Network (CLAWRENET). He holds a BSc (First Class Honours)
and MSc in Surveying from the University of Lagos, Nigeria; a MEng (Surveying
Engineering) and a PhD in Land Management, which he obtained from the
University of New Brunswick in Canada and an Executive MBA from the University
of the West Indies.
Jacob Opadeyi is a Professor and
Head of the Department of Surveying and Land
Information and the Coordinator of the Centre for Geospatial Studies of the
Engineering Institute, Faculty of Engineering at the University of the West
Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad. He lectures in surveying and
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) at both the undergraduate and postgraduate
levels and is also responsible for the development of GIS programmes at the
University of the West Indies.
He has undertaken GIS research and projects in
Canada, the United States of America and the Caribbean. Additionally, he has conducted numerous
courses in GIS throughout the Caribbean region
and has successfully pioneered GIS development in several state agencies in the
region.
Professor Opadeyi has conducted research and published works in the
following areas: GIS applications in environmental
analysis and modeling; natural hazard and risk mapping; land management and watershed
management. His current research include: GIS modeling heavy metal and sediment
in watersheds, natural hazard mapping techniques, land cover change monitoring,
telephonic flood hazard early warning systems and water quantity and water
quality modelling.
In 1993, he was awarded the International
Geodyssey Award for the development of environmental GIS applications and in
1996 he was the recipient of the Cable and Wireless Fellowship in Distance Education.
He is a member of several professional bodies which include: Global Water Partnership-Caribbean; the Survey Review
Editorial Board; the Earth Charter National Committee of Trinidad and Tobago; the
American Congress on Surveying and Mapping and the
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. He is the President of the
Commonwealth Association of Surveying and Land Economy as well as the manager
of Caribbean
WaterNet, a capacity building network for Integrated Water Resources Management
(IWRM).
Maureen Manchouck 
Maureen Manchouck, President of the National Institute of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (NIHERST) is a senior public administrator who has been directly engaged in the planning and development of Science and Technology for the past 30 years. Very early in her career, she served as the Executive Director of Trinidad and Tobago's National Council for Technology Development.
During her long tenure at NIHERST, she played a key role in the development of that institution, as it broke ground in the areas of policy setting and capacity building and as a Steering Committee member of the Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C), establishing priority areas and funding research and development in key sectors.
It was through her vision and pioneering dedication that NIHERST has also become the leader in Science Popularisation and non-formal Science Education in Trinidad and Tobago and the wider region. Under her direct guidance, this area of activity has expanded in recent years to encompass the development of novel programmes to promote and enhance creativity and innovative capacity in all cross-sections of society, both locally and regionally.
In 2003, she was appointed Vice-Chair of Trinidad and Tobago's Vision 2020 Sub-Committee for Science and Technology and in that capacity, she lent her expertise to the repositioning of the country's agenda for Science, Technology and Innovation.
Mrs. Manchouck has also been an influential player at the regional and international levels for many years. She has represented Trinidad and Tobago in key hemispheric and international Science and Technology initiatives, articulating national and regional interests and ensuring national and regional representation on important programmes for co-operation and development.
During the 80's and 90's, she was a member of the OAS Inter-American Science and Technology Committee and the OAS Common Market of Science and Technology Knowledge. She served as Chair of the Commonwealth Science Council from 1997-2000. She has been the Secretary of the Caribbean Council for Science and Technology (CCST) since 1999. Moreover, she is a long standing member of GWP-C.
In the last three years, Mrs. Manchouck has been behind the promotion of foresight and technology mapping as important new tools to facilitate decision-making around priority areas for Science, Technology and Innovation.
Dr. Riad Nurmohamed: GWP-C Vice Chair
Dr. Riad Nurmohamed, a national of Suriname, earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Infrastructure with a specialisation in Civil Engineering (Honours) from the Anton de Kom University of Suriname. He later obtained a Master of Science degree in Water Resources Engineering with an Hydrology option (with Distinction), from the Catholic University of Leuven and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium.
In 2008, he attained his PhD with Honours from the Anton de Kom University of Suriname in collaboration with the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Department of Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering. His research topic was "The Impact of Climate Change and Climate Variability on Water Resources in Suriname: A case study in the upper Suriname river basin."
Since the year 2000, Dr. Nurmohamed has been working as a full-time lecturer and researcher at the Anton de Kom University, in the Department of Infrastructure, Faculty of Technology. In addition to teaching, he provides supervision for several engineering projects, he has produced publications in his field of work, participates in and organises various national and international workshops, meetings, expos and training. He has also been responsible for work within the area of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) which he fulfilled both at the national and international level.
Currently, Dr. Nurmohamed is also:
- Head of Department of Infrastructure in the Faculty of Technology at the Anton de Kom University of Suriname.
- Project Leader at the Anton de Kom University for a Master Education and Research Programme in Sustainable Management of Natural Resources.
- Policy Advisor to the Minister of Public Works of Suriname.
- A Representative of the Caribbean Water Technology Research Institute (CWTRI), as part of a Water platform WNAAS, Curacoa (NA).
- A member of different local and international Steering Committees.
Floyd Homer
Over the past 25 years, Floyd Homer had lead roles in the coordination and implementation of international and national programmes in the Caribbean and Latin American regions. These programmes involved resource and land use issues related to forests, wetlands and coral reefs. The target groups for these activities were governmental agencies and NGOs, as well as community based organisations in 18 countries, involved in the management of terrestrial and marine resources.
He has made scientific presentations at regional and international fora; advises on international and regional committees and has served on the Board of Directors of several agencies in the Caribbean. Floyd Homer currently holds the position of Managing Director of the Trust for Sustainable Livelihoods, a regional NGO based in Trinidad and Tobago.
Aldrin Calixte
Aldrin Calixte was born in Haiti. He is an Agronomist Engineer, with a specialisation in Natural Resources Management and Environment.
Since 1996, he has worked on several programs and projects related to sustainable development, environment and natural resource conservation and training programs for young students in environmental education.
He is very knowledgeable about the Rio Environmental Conventions (Biodiversity, Climate Change and Desertification), the Basel Convention and the Cartagena Convention (Biodiversity). He is fluent in French and French Creole and has good working knowledge of Spanish and English.
Aldrin Calixte has published work in relation to a water issue in Haiti. The publication is entitled "Contribution to the Morphometric and Limnological characteristics of five hillside areas in Pandiassou, Hinche." This was his thesis for the Agronomist Engineer diploma program in Natural Resources and Environment, which he obtained from the State University of Haiti, Faculty of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine in June 1999.
Zakiya Uzoma-Wadada
Zakiya Uzoma-Wadada is a strong advocate for people-centred, participatory approaches to sustainable development and is presently pursuing a Master of Science degree in Agriculture and Rural Development at the University of the West Indies.
She has worked as a teacher under the Ministry of Education of Trinidad and Tobago for over 15 years and is currently a consultant for the Caribbean Network for Integrated Rural Development (CNIRD), a Board Member of the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) as well as the Executive Director of the Emancipation Support Committee in Trinidad.
Zakiya Uzoma-Wadada, who is an activist for integrated rural development in the Caribbean region, has developed and implemented a number of capacity-building project activities in rural communities. She has a wealth of experience, having been a member of national, regional and international environmentally based-committees. She was a Caribbean civil society representative for the national, regional and international meetings for the comprehensive review of the Barbados Programme of Action (BPOA), a policy document that addresses the economic, environmental and social developmental vulnerabilities facing Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and which remains one of the only internationally approved programmes which has been endorsed by SIDS.
She was also the Caribbean representative on the Reseau International de ONGs Pour La Desertification (International Network of NGOs for Desertification) and in that capacity, has represented Caribbean civil society at regional and international meetings including Conferences of the Parties of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
She served as a civil society representative on the Sub-Regional Task Force of the Caribbean Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Land Management (PISLM) and worked with the Secretariat of the UNCCD on the assessment of the status of the implementation of the UNCCD in the Caribbean. Additionally, she also coordinated meetings at all levels, on behalf of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean. She is a founding member of Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C).
In addition to being a community organiser, Zakiya Uzoma-Wadada has been very involved in local culture as a pannist and has served on the board of various steel pan organisations in Trinidad and Tobago.
Trevor Thompson: GWP-C Chair
Trevor Thompson is presently a Land Use Officer at the Ministry of Agriculture of Grenada and has been employed with the Ministry for the past 25 years. He has a wealth of experience in agriculture, particularly in the areas of land, water and irrigation.
He has contributed significantly to the Ministry, where he has previously served as the Head of the Irrigation Management Unit. From 2001-2003, Trevor Thompson was the National Project Coordinator of the "Feasibility Study for Expansion of Small-Scale Irrigation in Grenada" a project funded by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Similarly in 2004-2005 he was the National Project Coordinator of an Irrigation Assistance Program sponsored by the European Union. He has been trained in a number of agricultural based technical computer programs and software such as Automated Land Evaluation Systems and Soil Databases.
Trevor Thompson through his work with the Ministry of Agriculture was actively involved in the development and preparation of a National Water Policy for Grenada in 2008 and the drafting of an Integrated Water Resources Management Road Map for Grenada along with the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI).
He has been Global Water Partnership-Caribbean's (GWP-C's) representative for its partner the Ministry of Agriculture of Grenada for the past 4 years. In 2007, the Ministry of Agriculture was awarded the "Most Outstanding Partner" of the year by GWP-C.
Currently, Trevor Thompson is also:
- A Member of the Board of Directors of the National Water and Sewerage Authority (NAWASA) of Grenada.
- A Member of the Regional Technical Advisory Committee of the Global Environment Facility-Funded Integrating Watershed and Coastal Areas Management (GEF-IWCAM) Project.
- A Steering Committee Member of the Caribbean Planning for Adaptation to Climate Change.
Dr. Adrian Cashman
Throughout his working career, Dr. Adrian Cashman has been involved in water management in one way or another during a career that has taken in contracting, consultancy, public service and academia. Water management is the single unifying theme and it is something which he feels passionately about.
Dr. Adrian Cashman is a Chartered Engineer and lecturer in Water
Resources Management at the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hills Campus, Barbados. He holds a Bsc (Eng.) in Civil Engineering from Kings College University of London and an Msc in Environmental Economics and Environmental Management form the University of York (UK). In 2004 he was awarded his PhD in Social Science from the University of Sheffield (UK).
Since 2007, he has worked at CERMES where he is the Programme Coordinator for the Water Resources Management specialisation within the Natural Resources Management Masters programme. In addition to teaching which allows him to draw on his many years of experience, his interests include: water management and governance; regulation; the evaluation of institutional frameworks; urban flood risk management; water policy and the impact of climate change on water resources in the Caribbean.
He has publised several papers and written chapters for books in a diverse range of fields including: accounting, geography, resource management and engineering. Prior to joining CERMES, Dr. Adrian Cashman was a Research Fellow in the Pennine Water Group working on interdisciplinary research projects including: whole life costing; urban flood risk management; the management of water and wastewater distribution systems; evaluation of environmental and economic regulatory regimes and their impact on sustainability; water sector governance; policy and institutional change and stakeholder and public engagement.
He has worked with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and acted as an advisor to the UK House of Lords Science and Technology Committee.
Between 1982 and 1998, he worked in Southern Africa, first in the Department of Water Affairs in Namibia and then as a Director in a firm of consulting engineers based in Namibia. At the Department of Water Affairs he held posts as Director of Civil Design and Water Supply Operations.
In 1992 he was seconded to the Namibian National Drought Task Force to handle public awareness, coordinating a public awareness and education campaign and public relations for the water sector liaising with international donors.
Honourable Minister, Pauline Sukhai - GWP-C Vice Chair
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