The Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) has appointed Dr. Ronald Roopnarine as Chair and Cyprian Gibson as Vice Chair following a Steering Committee meeting held on Tuesday, October 13, 2026.
The appointments follow the Partnership’s 2026 Annual General Meeting (AGM), held in Grenada on Sunday, October 11, which marked a transition in the organisation’s leadership and governance.
Dr. Roopnarine brings extensive academic, technical and regional experience in disaster risk resilience, sustainable land and water resource management, and climate resilience. Dr. Ronald Roopnarine is a Senior Lecturer in Agri-Environmental Disaster Risk Management and Deputy Dean at The University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago. He also serves as Deputy Director of UWI’s Global Institute for Climate-Smart and Resilient Development (GICSRD) and Network Manager of Caribbean WaterNet, a regional capacity development network within the global Cap-Net UNDP partnership, dedicated to strengthening institutional and technical capacities for integrated and sustainable water resources management across the Caribbean.
His work focuses on the vulnerabilities and adaptation needs of Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS), with particular emphasis on geospatial analysis, participatory approaches and nature-based solutions to address flooding, drought and land degradation.
Dr. Roopnarine, who has served on the organisation’s techncial committee has contributed to initiatives aimed at strengthening community resilience and reducing multi-hazard risks, including Community Flood Early Warning Systems, national landslide and flood risk assessments, and the integration of nature-based approaches into disaster risk management planning. His work has also supported Sustainable Development Goal 6 reporting, the development of a Wastewater Reuse Standard for Trinidad and Tobago, and projects addressing water safety planning, salinity, land degradation and climate-smart agriculture. Dr. Roopnarine has also served as network manager for Caribbean WaterNet / CapNet UNDP since 2017.
As Chair, Dr. Roopnarine will help steer the Partnership’s efforts to strengthen integrated water resources management (IWRM), deepen regional collaboration and support practical solutions to the Caribbean’s water-related challenges.
Cyprian Gibson, who serves as Deputy General Manager of the New Providence Operations, Engineering, Planning and GIS Division of The Water and Sewerage Corporation in The Bahamas, brings 30 plus years of operational and regulatory experience in capital development, water supply and distribution, wastewater management and utility services, having been involved in more than $1 billion ($US) dollars in projects over his distinguished career as a Professional Civil and Environmental Engineer.
His responsibilities include the coordination of capital works, supporting the safe supply and transport of potable water, the management of sanitary sewerage services, reducing non-revenue water losses, and maintaining water distribution and sewerage infrastructure. His experience in the management of essential water services will contribute to GWP-C’s continued focus on practical implementation and improved water security across the region.
These appointments build on the outcomes of GWP-C’s 2026 AGM, during which partners reviewed the organisation’s achievements from 2023 to 2026 and elected six members to an interim Steering Committee: Sharon Archie, Cyprian Gibson, Alphonsus Daniel, Magnus Williams, Zilta Leslie and Dr. Ronald Roopnarine. They join continuing Steering Committee members Miguel Montoute, Tenielle Hendy and Aldrin Calixte, completing the nine-member Committee.
With its new leadership and renewed governance arrangements, GWP-C remains committed to working with governments, development partners, water utilities, academia, civil society and communities to promote integrated water resources management and advance its vision of a water-secure Caribbean.