Sustainable future under probe

Janet Silvera, Hospitality Jamaica Coordinator

Pressured by ecological degradation and high oil prices, the matter of a sustainable future for the Caribbean has again been placed under the microscope, this time by renowned environmental activist, Dr David Suzuki.

Addressing delegates at the 10th Annual Sustainable Tourism Conference (STC-10), recently in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, the vocal environmentalists warned that ecological degradation and falling oil supplies will have massive repercussions for all countries, none more so than those of the Caribbean that depend on the tourist industry.

crisis looming

The Canadian award-winning scientist, best-selling author and television host, who was the keynote speaker, said that looming ahead is the great crisis of our economy, "The moment when available oil supplies are being exploited so that supplies will inexorably fall".

Predicting that prices will soar to US$200 per barrel in less than two years, he cited the challenges facing the airline industry, noting that skyrocketing fuel prices are already having explosive effects on travel.

Arguing that the event, which was staged under the banner, Keeping the Right Balance: Sustaining the Caribbean Coastal Product could have been named Finding the Right Balance. "The right balances because we have to focus on our ecological footprint to live within the carrying capacity of our territory," he said.

minimising footprints

"We need to minimise the footprints on the Earth before it is too late," he stressed, adding that "sustainability is about living within our means and not compromising opportunities for future generations. Unfortunately, in the past, neither politicians nor the corporate sector have made this a priority," he argued, expressing that politicians have to get re-elected, corporations focus on bottomline profits and children don't vote, so their future tends to drop off the agenda.

Dr Suzuki painted a gloomy picture of the future, pointing out that humans were altering the chemistry of the atmosphere and sacrificing the future for short-term economic gains.

Blaming unrestricted growth and impractical economic prospects for the threats devaluing he earth, he said, "Unfortunately, economists believe economies can grow forever to meet this population's needs."