The Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, will be hosting Blue Week 2016: The International Conference to promote Blue Growth and Investment. This Conference will be held at the Radisson Grenada Beach Resort, St George, Grenada, from 14 to 22 May 2016.
The Conference is supported by the Blue Network which comprises various government and international agencies such as the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the World Bank, FAO, the Global Ocean Forum, the Clinton Climate Initiative, etc.
Blue Week 2016 promises to bring together ocean-related investments into a coherent package of bankable projects. It will also contribute to additional sustainable initiatives through investment in Blue Growth and Food Security. It is expected that promotion of Blue Growth will increase the economic benefits of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) from the sustainable use of marine resources, including sustainable management of ocean resources and tourism.
Grenada hosted its first Global Blue Growth Network Conference in March 2015 and a major outcome of that conference was the launch of the Global Action Network on Blue Growth and Food Security.
Grenada, Carriacou, and Petite Martinique have a land mass of over 400 square kilometres. Our exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is over 26,000 square kilometres. In other words, Grenada’s ocean space is 75 times larger than its land mass.
Given our extensive coastline and ocean space, we have a tremendous opportunity to advance the Blue Economy concept as it will bring benefits to all stakeholders involved in the various sectors of our national economy. This will help us as a country to realize the Blue Growth vision for Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique, that is “to optimize the coastal, marine, and ocean resources and to become a world leader and an exemplar in Blue Growth and Sustainability”.
Grenada has made a commitment to conserve at least 20% of our near-shore marine space by 2020. To that end, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment looks forward to a fruitful week of activities which will bear new investments and collaborative partnerships.
