Page 32 - bon-dia-aruba-20200520

a32 local
Wednesday 20 May 2020
The “New Normal”: Small Island Innovations Post Corona

Continued from Page 31 places Bonaire in a strong position financial rewards are more likely to
to become the front runner in the remain in the island states.
Besides its grown popularity, the Caribbean region”.
bio economy is still viable and re- 4. Creative Industry
quires new innovations in science 3. Knowledge Economy A final sector with great potential
and technology to progress the A third sector is the knowledge for innovation and which works
sector into becoming more sus- economy, which has promise for hand in hand with the knowledge
tainable and economically worth- small island developing states be- economy is the creative indus-
while. Along this discussion, other cause its development does not try. Investing in cultural and cre-
possibilities have been emerging, require large populations, large ative content exchange, music,
such as developing a cannabis amounts of land for production, and other arts (photography, lit-
economy. According to U.S. Sena- or proximity to other economic erature, publishing, gastronomy,
tor Martin Heinrich (2018) from the hubs—factors which often work graphic design etc.) can be a
Joint Economic Committee De- against small island developing source of revenue for small island
marcates; “the growth of the can- states. However, developing a developing states, which can be
nabis economy presents opportu- knowledge economy will require used to address their many unique
nities for greater job creation, more significant commitments. The World challenges. The unique cultures
tax revenue, and better patient Bank has identified four pillars for of many small island developing
care” (p.5). This discussion is still on- the development of a knowledge states can also be preserved and
going locally with the community economy, and most small island strengthened through national in-
split in two, for and against. Many nations will have to make substan- vestment in the arts.
of the fears revolve around the my, through fisheries, aquaculture, tial investments in along all the pil-
social implications this could bring coastal and marine tourism, ports, lars: Moving Forward
alongside the already unfavorable shipping, marine renewable ener- The groundwork in many contexts
social landscape of the island. gy and many other activities, gen- “1. An economic and institutional has already been laid, as many
Additionally, there is potential to erates global value added of over regime that provides incentives small island governments and lo-
establish a medical sector (bio- USD1.5 trillion, a figure that is pro- for the efficient use of existing and cal entrepreneurs have somewhat
chemistry) which utilizes the tra- jected to double by 2030”. Though new knowledge and the flourishing already been involved in STI, the
ditional knowledge of the unique the green technology sector is of entrepreneurship. digital sector, e-commerce, and
flora and fauna of island states to very promising in most small island 2. An educated and skilled popu- the knowledge economy. For
develop new medicines that can states, recent discussions within lation that can create, share, and countries where this has yet to oc-
address non-communicable dis- the international field have shown use knowledge well. cur or is still limited, such as Aruba,
eases and other public health con- promise and many island states do 3. An efficient innovation system investment and incorporation of STI
cerns. have the resources to develop this of firms, research centers, universi- should happen gradually and in a
sector successfully. ties, think-tanks, consultants, and sustainable manner. Many SIDS are
2. Green (and Blue) Economy other organizations who can tap well-positioned to navigate the
Another emerging sector in the Seemingly, the United Nations, es- into the growing stock of global challenges they face if they are
Caribbean is the green and blue pecially the SDG Action 7813, also knowledge, assimilate and adapt equipped with the appropriate
economies. Green technologies expresses that “coastal communi- it to local needs, and create new tools (capacity building). Aruba
can serve the dual purpose of cre- ties, such as Aruba, have valuable technology. should aim to create the appro-
ating new innovative technolo- ecosystems which support lucra- 4. Information and Communica- priate infrastructure that encom-
gies to add to the trade capacity tive fisheries, tourism and marine tion Technologies (ICT) that can fa- passes all requirements mentioned
of small island states, and improve biodiversity. The effective use of cilitate the effective communica- previously for successful STI devel-
their ability to address environmen- this natural resource will require tion, dissemination, and processing opment. In the end, investment
tal challenges both on land and the development of STI policy sys- of information”. without a proper foundation will
beneath water. Developing green tems and governance to maximize crumble.q
technologies for climate action, their economic potential through This should not be limiting though,
disaster risk reduction, the “blue the concept of blue economy” as there are similar challenges
economy,” and renewable ener- (2014). Recently, Mr. Elvis Tjin-Asjoe and commitments associated with
gy are particularly important. The (Deputy on Bonaire) announced transitioning to any new industry,
blue economy is a concept and that “with the Blue Destination as evidenced by investment in
economic model that balances concept, Bonaire sets course for tourism intensive sectors. Given the
economic development with eq- the development of a Blue Econ- uphill path in building a knowledge
uity and environmental protec- omy on the island. As part of the economy, the protection of intel-
tion, and one that uses marine Administrative Agreement (“Bestu- lectual property rights (IPR) of any
resources to meet current needs ursakkoord”) between Bonaire new innovations is critically impor-
without compromising the ability and the Kingdom government in tant. If there are measures includ-
of future generations to meet their The Hague, the knowledge and fi- ed in the global approach to STI
own. According to Dr. Cyrus Rus- nancial resources needed to bring that allow newcomers to earn rev-
tomjee (2018) from the IPS News about a Blue Economy develop- enue from their intellectual proper-
Agency the “global blue econo- ment will be made available. This ty and ensure ownership, then the

Biography - Thaïs G. Franken (24) is a recently graduated Aruban student at the University of Maastricht (UM). She ob-
tained her graduate double master of science degree in Public Policy and Human Development in collaboration with
the United Nations University Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU-
MERIT). Back home, on the beautiful island of Aruba, she completed her Bachelor of Arts in Organization, Governance &
Management (OGM) at the University of Aruba (UA), where she successfully defended her thesis titled “Placing Culture
and Creativity at the Heart of the Aruban Sustainable Development”. It was precisely this research project that inspired
the emergence of the “Creative Islander” column in 2018. Thaïs is very passionate about topics such as sustainability,
innovation, culture, creativity, social entrepreneurship and their role in public management. Next to her academic inter-
ests, she enjoys reading, writing, dancing and cooking.