Blue Economy and the (Re)Production of Ocean Space in the Bahamas

Keywords: Blue Economy, political ecology, ocean space
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Sunday
Session Start / End Time: 2/27/2022 11:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/27/2022 12:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 19

Abstract

Although the term “Blue Economy” has emerged as a powerful paradigm for oceans governance globally, there remains little shared understanding globally and within the Caribbean about what the term means. In the Bahamas, the government has launched an aggressive campaign to expand the blue economy, targeting a variety of economic sectors for potential development. This campaign remains undefined, however, particularly considering recent changes in government control. On Grand Bahama, which is still rebuilding from the devastation of Hurricane Dorian, a variety of proposed development projects center around the shipping port in the Free Trade Zone, where licensed firms are granted the rights to import and export equipment and materials duty-free. At the same time, the Grand Bahama port authority is supporting technological innovations framed as aimed at achieving economic growth while also mitigating against climate change and environmental degradations. By identifying new ways to exploit and allocate ocean space and resources, these blue economy initiatives have the potential to (re)produce Bahamian ocean space in ways that may impact social relations across multiple scales. This paper will examine how these emerging initiatives are transforming ocean space and allocation of resources in Grand Bahama, and how this implicates power relations among actors.