BLUE ECONOMY STAKEHOLDERS COMMEND VALIDATION MEETING

The Jamaican ocean is significantly more valuable than the Jamaican land, M. Samuda
Minister Samuda Addressed Blue Economy Validation Workshop on May 24. PIOJ Director General said that a study commissioned by the PIOJ in 2020 said that livelihoods and enterprises generated by the sea generated Gross Value Added of US$2.5 billion. Left to right: PIOJ Deputy Director General, Sustainable Development and Social Planning Claire Bernard; PIOJ Director General Wayne Henry; Minister Without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator Matthew Samuda; PIOJ Science and Technology Development Planner, Farrah Murray; PIOJ GIS Analyst, Patrine Cole.

May 29, 2023

The May 24 stakeholders validation workshop held by the Sustainable Development and Regional Planning Division to review the Jamaica Blue Economy Framework was commended by participants for the quality of the document that was presented by the PIOJ. The Blue Economy considers livelihoods and enterprises generated by the ocean, and in the case of Jamaica, the Caribbean Sea.

Minister Without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator Matthew Samuda, noted that Jamaica had yet to fully benefit from its large Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The country’s Blue Economy includes tourism, recreation and leisure; scenic ocean views; and also the pelagic environment that supports food security through the Fisheries sub-industry. Future industries that will also benefit include mining, marine biology, engineering and energy generation.
Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) Dr Wayne Henry said that a scoping study for Jamaica—commissioned by the PIOJ and conducted by NLA International—showed that the Blue Economy contributed an estimated US$2.5 billion Gross Value Added in 2020. There were more than 500 000 jobs attributed to the sector and the Blue Economy contributed 37 per cent of the employed labour force. He also noted that the sector is included in the nation’s environmental conservation and climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts.

Senior Environmental Specialist, World Bank, Ms Maja Murisic, said that the World Bank is happy that, as a small island state, Jamaica is taking a leadership position and is engaging all agencies that have a Blue Economy mandate.

Deputy Director General, Sustainable Development and Social Planning, Ms Claire Bernard urged the stakeholders to review the draft framework document towards enabling the growth and development of Jamaica’s Blue Economy along a resilient and sustainable path.

Among the agencies that attended the validation workshop were environmental NGOs, JAMPRO, National Fisheries Authority, Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Development Bank of Jamaica, Maritime Authority of Jamaica, Caribbean Maritime University and the Jamaica Social Investment Fund.
Issues that were raised by attendees included the need to: strengthen the institutional capacity of agencies that are connected to the Blue Economy so that there was better coordination for more sustainable exploitation of the EEZ; advancing legislation; incorporating population dynamics, greater social equity, and ensuring the inclusion of the elderly and persons with disability; strengthening multilateral partnerships within the Caribbean; engaging in more research on coastal protection and marine biology, and also pursuing policies that would expand the availability of financing for enterprises.
Jamaica is developing its framework for all sectors that touch on the use of the sea under the Blue Economy Framework Project. The funding of US$400,000 is from the PROBLUE trust through the World Bank. The PIOJ is managing the project on behalf of the government.

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