Blue Economy Opportunities for Revival in the Caribbean
Caribbean islands have traditionally relied economically—to a large extent—on tourism and fishing as primary economic drivers and job creators in sectors where other industries have little or no reach. In 2019, the fishing sector provided stable jobs to an estimated 350,000 people in 17 Caribbean countries, leading to a production valued at more than USD 500 million.
Despite the impact of COVID-19 in the Caribbean and its effect on the industrial and artisanal fishing and tourism sectors, with dwindled demand, consumption, employment, and increased poverty, we must admit that before the pandemic, the economic activity associated with the oceans in the Caribbean was already showing signs of contraction, with a noticeable reduction in fish stocks and the fishing fleet. According to the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), in 2019, fish production in the Caribbean region had dropped by 40%, a ten-year low. Fishery resources in the Caribbean have been classified by FAO as the most overexploited in the world, with 55% of the commercial fishing sites being overexploited.
The current performance of the Caribbean ocean economy is also the result of a combination of factors that warrant action, through access to green funds, which are called to contribute significantly more than they have done recently.
The underlying causes of the current scenario include: (i) difficulty in promoting regional approaches to conservation and use; (ii) difficulty in enforcing existing policies and regulatory frameworks, at the national level and in international waters; (iii) lack of funds for investment in R&D, which help add value and create more sophisticated services; and (iv) difficulty in understanding and acting proactively in the management of marine-coastal ecosystems.
Concerted action to address these critical factors could enhance the comparative advantages of the region, preparing it to overcome the challenge of weakened ecosystems and global warming, as well as to promote a new generation of services and clusters associated with the blue economy, with emphasis on: (a) food security and health care through the bioeconomy/biotrade; (b) the promotion of sustainable ecotourism managed from a comprehensive marine-coastal territorial approach; (c) the generation of clean energy through investment in the management of water and geothermal resources; and (d) climate finance using the blue carbon principles.
At CAF, we have been working since 2016 on a comprehensive approach to the blue economy, which has created great channels of communication with Caribbean countries, and which combines three components to promote diversification, sustainability and resilience:
COVID-19 has exposed the fragility of marine resources around the world, including in the Caribbean. However, this pandemic has also filled us with hope, demonstrating how marine life can recover and repopulate spaces that were considered lost, when given the necessary time and conditions.
The lesson and the remaining challenge is to reconcile the success of the post-COVID-19 economic revival in the Caribbean, with the success of the regeneration of marine-coastal ecosystems, recognizing that we can find our prosperity in protecting our oceans.
