The World Bank released a 24-page report last week on the economic importance of the Caribbean Sea, outlining a series of policy proposals designed to help ensure its continued sustainable development.
According to the report, Caribbean waters generated about $407 billion in 2012, which is about 17 percent of the region’s annual gross domestic product.
That money primarily came from cargo shipping, tourism, and oil and gas production, the report states.
The World Bank, however, also noted increasing environmental threats from a growing population and tourism traffic.
“About 166 million people in the Caribbean live within 100 kilometres of the sea. Tourists come to the region largely for its beautiful beaches and sea attractions, which puts tremendous pressure on the very coastal ecosystems that drive economies,” the report states. “About 75 percent of the region’s coral reef is considered to be at risk from human activity and 85 percent of wastewater enters the Caribbean Sea untreated.”
The report also outlines policies that could alleviate such hazards.
Most of those proposals revolve around the idea of promoting a “blue economy,” which the report defines as an economy where an increasing number of people make a living from the ocean in ways that protects its resources and ecological integrity.
See the Sept. 22, 2016 edition for full coverage.
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