Port of Spain- Local community enterprises are a powerful pathway to a blue economy that is inclusive and fair, environmentally sustainable and resilient.

This was the message from a side event at the international Sustainable Blue Economy Conference held this week in Nairobi, Kenya by the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI). The event entitled “Local blue enterprises: SIDS inclusive economic development through community-led conservation and social enterprises” attracted participants from the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa, the Pacific, the United States and Europe.

The international conference is being attended by over 4,000 participants from all over the world, including a strong Caribbean contingent from government, regional agencies and civil society. The conference is exploring how ocean resources can be sustainably used to support inclusive economic development. CANARI’s participation was supported by the Commonwealth Foundation.

CANARI’s Executive Director, Nicole Leotaud, explained that blue economy is based on the same principles as green economy but focuses on ocean resources. She emphasised that “it’s not important what colour we call it, but that we focus on the four key principles of economic development, environmental sustainability, inclusiveness, and resilience to climate change and natural hazards.”

She presented a tool developed by the Institute to support local community small and micro-enterprises to enhance their delivery of economic, environmental and social co-benefits. The self-assessment tool is called the Local Green-Blue Enterprises Radar and uses specific indicators of economic, environmental and social benefits to help community entrepreneurs identify where their business is strong and where they can improve…[+]