Blue Economy has potential

Given the vast coastal and marine space in the region, the Blue Economy has the potential to be a key driver of sustainable, much-needed recovery efforts, in both Barbados and the wider Caribbean.

This was the consensus emerging from a webinar hosted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), chaired by Graham Watkins, Division Chief in the Climate Change Division at the IDB. It was noted that as countries develop

emergency response plans to recover from COVID-19, a core element of these plans should be the development and expansion of sustainable ocean opportunities.

Minister of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy for Barbados, Kirk Humphrey was one of the panellists speaking during the IDB webinar, which focused on the topic “Can the Blue Economy spark a sustainable and inclusive recovery in the Caribbean?”

He joined a group of leading policymakers working in the Caribbean, to discuss the potential of the Blue Economy in helping governments rethink theirdevelopmental pathways and to pivot new avenues of economic growth and innovation. He stressed that for Barbados, the Blue Economy will be central to a lot of what the country does, going forward.

“When we came into office in 2018, we felt it was important as part of our efforts to build out Barbados, to focus on the Blue Economy. I became Minister of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy and that I believe is a statement of our confidence in the fact that the Blue Economy is going to be a major driver, a major part of who we are and what we do going forward,” Minister Humphrey stated.

“When we first started looking at the Blue Economy, we determined that there were a few areas that we had to look at. We felt it was important for us to look at marine transportation, in relation to shipping and what we do in the international space, as well as our domestic space, as well as what we do in our Port. Then there is the focus on food, which would be our second pillar. We also looked at physical development, how do we build out, how do we build as we go forward. We have to build differently along the coastline,” Humphrey observed.

Pointing out that the IDB has been very helpful as a partner in assisting with a number of projects that focus on the environment and the marine space, Humphrey noted that Government is working at present with the IDB, to develop a strategic roadmap for the Blue Economy.

He said, “I think in a post-COVID environment, we may have to go back and tweak some of the things that we have decided on, because you really have to be practical. But the IDB has helped us in so many ways.”

He meanwhile noted the need to be able to produce from the Blue Economy and to become much more efficient in traditional areas, while showing some innovation and bringing on stream new, innovative and non-traditional ways of doing business, in that sector.

Humphrey also spoke of the need to protect and preserve our marine space, so it can continue to reap benefits for the country, down the road. (RSM)