Managing Resource-Dependence Amidst Opportunities and Challenges: Defining a New Sustainability Narrative for Caribbean Coastal Economies

Abstract

The Rio +20 meeting in 2012 was an opportunity for the global policy framework to review 20 years of action on Agenda 21 and what has been delivered and to whom. The ripple effects of the global economic crisis—i.e. the weakening of the insurance sector, lower demand for exports and reduced remittances—have exposed the fragility of both economies and households in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Fiscal space constraints narrowed the options for mitigating the worst of the crisis on households, highlighting the unique set of challenges facing SIDS worldwide. (…)