‘Blue economy more than just money and jobs’

President of Coral Reef Restoration Alliance (CORALL) Susan Mahon has charged that many stakeholders in the blue economy are focused too heavily on developing the sector for financial gain rather than for sustainable development.

Her comments came during a small celebration hosted by the organisation for UN World Oceans Day at the Folkestone Marine Park on Wednesday.

Mahon contended that over the years, the blue economy has been used as a catchphrase for job growth in the fishing industry, and as an additional segment to the island’s tourism brand.

She said the sector has suffered as a result, with sustainable projects for environmental protection and coral conservation being put on the back burner.

“The talk around the blue economy [now] is about money and jobs, but you cannot have a blue economy unless you look after your environment, unless you are good environmental stewards. There is no fishing, there is no tourism, there are no festivals in the blue economy if you don’t look after what you have,” the environmental scientist insisted.

“In my humble opinion, this . . . tiny gathering of people is just as important as, or maybe even more important than, the huge meetings about the blue economy because you need a green economy as well.”

She added that though the United Nations Development Programme-Global Environment Facility (UNDP-GEF) Small Grants Programme has funded CORRAL’s main coral restoration project at Folkestone, more can and should be done by larger stakeholders within the industry, not just for financial gain but for the good of the environment.

“You actually have to do something, you actually have to believe in it sincerely that you have to do something about it, and you have to persuade other people by your passion for doing it that it is worthwhile – not just for particular small interest groups that make a lot of money or something, [but] for all the people in Barbados and the Caribbean,” Mahon said.

National Coordinator of the UNDP GEF Small Grants Programme, Dr David Bynoe, was also on hand for the presentation.

He said all players within the blue economy space must have a say in projects that affect the sector, whether financially or in the area of environmental protection.

“We must have collective action if we are supposed to achieve the outcome that we all want, and therefore the Small Grants Programme found it very important and essential that we have an organic community-based organisation that can bring society on board to ensure that their views, their positions, their interests, were very well represented in any project that we do here in Barbados,” he said. “I must say that Susan, you and your team have been doing an excellent job in achieving that.” (SB)