Green Economy

Since 2010, the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) has been engaging Caribbean stakeholders in dialogues to explore ‘green economy’ in the Caribbean context and the pathways for transformation of our economic development models though our Green Economy programme. More recently, the term ‘blue economy’ has been used to emphasise the significance of coastal and marine resources for economic development.  Regardless, the core focus is the same and CANARI’s goal under this programme is to “to effectively and equitably engage stakeholders in developing a model of economic development for the Caribbean that facilitates ecological sustainability and social equity”.

Exploring how small and micro-enterprises can be a pathway to a more inclusive green economy is one of the areas of focus under this programme.  This will require building an enabling legal and fiscal framework and strengthening the delivery of microfinance and appropriate technical support.  At the same time, small and microentrepreneurs need to assess how they can deliver environmental and social co-benefits as ‘green’ and/or ‘social’ enterprises.  The Programme is also examining how key sectors (e.g. energy, tourism, agriculture) can be transformed and how natural capital accounting and new measures of economic development can be included to support this transformation to inclusive, resilient and sustainable economies in the Caribbean.