Supporting Blue Growth and Risk Management through Earth Observation: A roadmap for Eastern Caribbean Small Island Developing States

Caribbean small states are diverse but share a dependency on service-based economies, mainly tourism and financial services, as well as exploitation of natural resources such as fisheries. In tandem, their economies are vulnerable to economic shock, and natural disasters and climate change. In common with many coastal and island nations, Caribbean countries are looking to their marine space as a new frontier for diversification of economic development to ensure sustainability and societal security; so-called Blue Growth. Whilst such diversification could relieve pressures on limited and overcrowded land space, growing a maritime economy when trends clearly show a declining health of marine environments and over exploitation of marine resources will prove challenging.

A critical barrier to realising the opportunities presented by a Blue Growth agenda in Caribbean small states is a paucity of marine data relating to their offshore waters. Data are needed to assess a nation’s maritime wealth in order to better define a pathway to support the growth of a country’s blue economy. Data are also needed to better assess the marine environment and ecosystem services to ensure future economic activity is sustainable and does not tip ecological processes beyond their limits, or place assets at risk from climate change and disasters. This then forms the backdrop to this roadmap, which provides an overview of the opportunities for Earth Observation Data to provide innovative solutions to develop and secure Blue Growth, and meet global sustainable development challenges.