The unfolding story of Barbados's blue economy: The Caribbean island state is determined to create jobs and boost growth while protecting life under water.

• Author: Humphrey, Kirk
• Position: GLOBAL VIEW

Barbados is the most easterly island in the Caribbean island chain. It is a--beautiful island that is 34 kilometres long and 23 km wide, totaling only 432[km.sup.2]. While many countries claim to be small - and are small in comparison to larger developed countries - Barbados is small even in comparison to other Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) like itself.

Notwithstanding its size, Barbados could never legitimately be accused of thinking small. Indeed, in 2002, the late Kofi Annan, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, associated the island with the capacity to punch above its weight.

But now Barbados is at crossroads and is facing a tough economic environment. It must determine for itself where it wishes to go and how it intends to get there. It must then navigate the difficult economic terrain without any economic blueprint or bequeathed leadership strategy.

The country must find its own way. The new government led by the Prime Minister Mia Mottley has chosen to do just that and is determined to face its many challenges head-on with an ambitious but inspiring agenda to transform Barbados.

CHALLENGES

This is important as Barbados is faced with traditional challenges pertaining to its limited diversification, fiscal frailty and susceptibility to the impact of hurricanes and other forces of nature.

The pervasive nature of a fingering recession demanded that the government be more strategic in its programs and policies.

Recent times have seen the emergence of new and more potent threats related to climate change and the ferocity of its consequences, including the influx of sargassum seaweed on many of the islands' beaches. This has reinforced the need to think blue.

In response to this and other related challenges, the prime minister, two days after winning the general election in May, announced the creation of a Ministry of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy.

Despite its small land space, Barbados's maritime space is over 400 times bigger, covering 183,436 [km.sup.2]. For Barbados, this maritime space represents a potential of opportunity that could and should be utilized in a sustainable way to advance the economic interest of the country, while at the same time protect the environment. In a nutshell, this is what we aim to do through our efforts to build a blue economy in Barbados.

Despite that certain aspects of the blue economy, for example fishing and seaport services, have traditionally been part of Barbados's...