Jamaica's water supply sector is recognized as the largest electricity consumer in the island's public sector. This paper evaluates whether replacing high-cost groundwater abstraction with surface water treatment and distribution is a viable option to minimize electricity consumption in the water sector.
At different times in its history, the Caribbean has been a strategic region -- initially with the arrival of the first Europeans in the late 15th century, then, among other things, by its proximity to the Panama Canal & later as a result of the Cuban revolution. But for some years now it has played a less important role internationally. However, as Viktor Sukup points out, "Russia's recent rapprochement with Cuba & Venezuela & the increasing engagement of China in the region" suggest that the Caribbean still has strategic importance.
Little-reported developments in two Caribbean highlight the current dynamics at play in the complex and often difficult set of relations that exist between the UK and its territories.