As the region’s petro states ponder their fortunes, Jamaica is being urged to look to the ‘Blue’ economy
Even as the CARICOM member country refuses to set aside the pursuit of its petro dreams that could cause it to join Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname as CARICOM’s ‘petro states,’ Jamaica might still be poised to reap considerable rewards from what is known as the ‘Blue’ economy, according to a report in the Wednesday February 22 issue of the Observer newspaper. The ‘Blue’ economy is an economic sector that seeks to conserve marine and freshwater environments while using them in a sustainable way to develop economic growth and produce resources such as energy and food. Adherents of the ‘Blue’ economy are particularly concerned with minimizing marine pollution, protecting marine biodiversity and ensuring that the blue economy is sustainable.
While Jamaica is already believed to be generating an estimated 7% of its annual gross domestic product from economic activities associated with the Caribbean Sea, a recent study undertaken by the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) asserts that the CARICOM member country GDP earnings from the ‘Blue’ economy can at least double, once it can attract significant amounts of funding and stricter coastal regulations. The group associated with the promotion of the ‘Blue’ economy seeks to “reduce marine pollution, protect marine biodiversity, and ensure that the blue economy is sustainable” according to the story authored by The Observer’s Senior Business Reporter Kareena Bennett. The article asserts that Jamaica can utilize its “strategic geographic location in the Caribbean to establish a regional sustainable finance hub focus on blue, green and climate financing opportunities align with sustainable development goals.” The findings of the CAPRI study, titled “Sea of Opportunities” were reported recently which asserted that its key takeaways were likely to be “economic growth” that can “align seamlessly with environmental
stewardship.” The report also urges Jamaica to “push harder to capitalize on ocean assets, which was last said to hold a global value of US$24 trillion,” the CAPRI report says. It adds that value-added products or services in the blue assets were also estimated to have a global value of US$3 trillion by 2030.