The 21st Century will be defined by humanity's struggle to mitigate the impact of climate change. As its destabilizing effects become increasingly clear, strategies and solutions for protecting communities, economies and national interests will be sought with increasing urgency.
The Bahamas, like other low-lying coastal countries, is already being confronted with more powerful hurricanes, warmer oceans that threaten marine life, and rising seas that impact our coastal communities.
July 2023 was the warmest month on global record and ocean temperatures continue to track well above usual levels. These are recognized precursors to stronger storms and sea level rise.
Fortunately, The Bahamas also possesses an invaluable asset in this struggle; a resource capable of transforming our small nation into an international focal point for sustainable innovation.
With the right vision and management plan, The Bahamas and specifically Grand Bahama can become a global hub for climate solutions, a catalyst for a domestic blue economy and carbon economy revolution, and a generator of enormous economic benefit for Bahamians.
Strategically located at the doorstep of the United States, the City of Freeport's innovative regulatory and governance model has in the past proven effective in prioritizing dynamism and effectuating ease of doing business.
These unique attributes could be revitalized and reimagined to develop a sustainability model for the region and the world, while building a resilient and thriving future for Bahamians through unprecedented training, capacity building and entrepreneurial opportunities in a diversified economy.
So often the brunt of powerful hurricanes, Grand Bahama is the ideal testing ground and showcase for, climate technology and sustainable infrastructure such as dykes, berms and levies, where Holland is a proven model.
Pairing this with a focus on the restoration economy - replacing damaged reefs, mangroves, seagrass and other natural resources that buffer the impact of storms and sea rise - we can protect local communities from the worst ravages of climate change.
By embracing the blue economy, a concept that promotes sustainable development through the responsible use of marine resources, Grand Bahama could become a key incubator of innovative industries such as: maritime biotechnology; sustainable aquaculture; clean energy; ocean data and monitoring; clean shipping and carbonization; and the circular economy which focuses on reusing, repairing and recycling existing materials and managing pollution, just to name a few.
Grand Bahama could also become the hub of our efforts to preserve and protect, but also profit from, one of the largest and most diverse ocean Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the world. An EEZ is an area of ocean, generally extending 200 nautical miles beyond a nation's territorial sea, within which a coastal nation has jurisdiction over both living and nonliving resources.
The reefs within our EEZ - home to 20 percent of all our marine life - are in particular need of protection so that we can enhance their value proposition in the 21st century.
A UN study estimates that if no action is taken, by 2050, 90 percent of Caribbean reefs will be dead.
This summer, we are already seeing widescale bleaching of corals due to warming, which will lead to extinction of large parts of our reef system.
The ability for The Bahamas to restore its reefs, thereby generating biodiversity credits (akin to carbon credits) could generate significant revenue to be used for further reef restoration, with surplus resources dedicated to the Bahamas Sovereign Wealth Fund for use on other efforts to fight climate change.
With the proper utilization of our EEZ, new training and employment opportunities would also become available in the greatly expanded tourism product.
As high-end sustainable tourism and eco-adventures gain popularity with international travelers, there will be a surge in demand for skilled guides, hospitality professionals, and conservationists.
The development of aquaculture and sustainable fisheries industries will create jobs in seafood processing, aquaponics, and marine research.
Meanwhile, the emergence of renewable energy projects will generate employment in installation, maintenance, and manufacturing. These opportunities will not only grow local talent but also attract skilled professionals from around the world, fostering a diverse and dynamic workforce.
Collaborations with green investors and international companies that prioritize sustainability can help establish vocational programs focused on sustainable practices, marine conservation, and climate science.
Partnerships with industry experts and local and international educational institutions can facilitate knowledge transfer and skill development, empowering Bahamians to lead the way in driving the blue economy and sustainability initiatives forward.
Grand Bahama is already home to the Blue Action Lab (BAL), an entity dedicated to equipping young Bahamians with the skills needed to thrive in the emerging green and blue economies while at the same time helping secure a climate resilient future by attracting the latest climate innovations and companies to The Bahamas.
BAL recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the University of The Bahamas that will see the UB northern campus in Grand Bahama become a hub for training and mentorship of environmental and marine scientists, as well as an innovative research center for supporting the blue economy.
Additionally, the Charles Hayward Foundation has announced that it is funding the first-ever Bahamian partnership with the prestigious Chevening Scholarship program, allowing outstanding Bahamian students to pursue fully-funded master's degree studies at accredited universities in the UK, in fields such as ecological/sustainable development, oceanography, marine biology and natural resource management.
Grand Bahama is also home to the Blue Action Accelerator (BAA), a groundbreaking effort to attract significant investment for the development of new climate solutions.
The recently-launched sustainability investment platform is working with international partners to raise $10 million to fund and support up to 35 cutting-edge science and technology startups working to mitigate climate change, increase ocean health, and build coastal resilience in vulnerable countries like The Bahamas.
There is also Coral Vita at Conservation Cove, which is a reef restoration hub for corals, conch and mangroves.
Coral Vita is a pioneering restoration project based in Grand Bahama, founded by environmental entrepreneurs with a deep passion for protecting coastal ecosystems and developing a restoration hub for mangroves, corals and conch on the island. The initiative creates high-tech coral farms that use breakthrough methods to restore reefs in the most effective way possible.
Coral Vita's scientific team has partnered with leading marine institutes, using techniques to grow coral up to 50 times faster while boosting resilience against warmer and more acidic oceans that threaten reef survival.
An integral part of Coral Vita's success has been the training and employment of Bahamians who are now experts in a new sector of the economy that did not exist before.
There is no question that Grand Bahama has the potential to position itself as a global model and trailblazer in building a resilient and prosperous future.
It is not enough, however, to simply unlock the potential of one island. A climate resilient future for The Bahamas can only be secured through a legitimate development plan for the entire country - much like Costa Rica which successfully built a new tourism model around preservation and enhancement of that country's unique ecology.
Costa Rica's sustainability revolution began around 50 years ago; since then, the country's per capita GDP has grown by more than 3,000 percent.
As the world begins to address the realities of climate change, new and adaptive strategies will gradually become the norm.
The Bahamas should get out ahead of this trend, and start to think of ways that sustainability can permeate everything we do: every large scale masterplan, every hotel development, every method of international and inter-island travel.
Grand Bahama can be the engine room of change. But it will take a collective and collaborative national effort to make The Bahamas as a whole a beacon of sustainability and innovation - a 21st Century success story that will inspire other nations to follow suit in creating a brighter future for all.
• Rupert Hayward is founder and president of the Blue Action Lab and Blue Action Ventures, organizations dedicated to nurturing entrepreneurial efforts to build coastal climate resilience solutions. He is an executive director of the Grand Bahama Port Authority and the Grand Bahama Disaster Relief Foundation. Rupert holds a government-appointed board seat on The Bahamas Protected Areas Fund and is an advisor to the University of The Bahamas on climate resilience.
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