Study Questions Whether Caribbean Bloc Puts Economic Growth Ahead of Ocean and Environment

A study by Rechnitz Family/Urban Coast Institute (UCI) Endowed Chair in Marine and Environmental Law and Policy Peter Jacques and Monmouth University student Audrey Copeland concludes that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) gives far greater attention to economic growth than environmental sustainability in its official communications, despite its stated commitment to balancing economic, social and environmental priorities. In a paper published in the journal Sustainable Development, Jacques and Copeland argue that if the priorities conveyed in the documents were to reflect CARICOM member nations' actual policies, the imbalance could undermine the long-term resilience of economies that are heavily dependent on healthy marine ecosystems and natural resources.

The Caribbean is highly vulnerable to climate change, with rising sea temperatures, coral reef decline, stronger hurricanes, sea-level rise and fisheries disruptions all threatening both the environment and key economic sectors such as tourism and fishing. CARICOM, which currently includes 15 member nations and eight associate members, has pledged to "mainstream" sustainable development across all of its policies, recognizing that the region's future depends on protecting both its people and its natural resources.

To evaluate whether the organization's public priorities match its stated mission, Jacques and Copeland analyzed CARICOM annual reports and records of decisions from 2013-2025. Using quantitative content analysis, they examined thousands of words and phrases within official documents, categorizing them into themes including economics, governance, environmental protection, sustainability, social equity, science, ethics and aesthetics. The researchers then compared how frequently each theme appeared to determine where the organization places its greatest emphasis.

The analysis found that economic and governance language overwhelmingly dominated CARICOM's official discourse. Environmental sustainability received comparatively little attention, while ethical responsibilities and the intrinsic value of nature were discussed only rarely.

"CARICOM is protecting and centering governance on economics and to some extent labor, but not nature," the authors wrote. "When we specifically look for discourse on coral reefs, which are endangered but essential to the ecology and the economy of the Caribbean, there is none across the decade of data. Explicit discourse on ocean/marine conservation is absent until 2017."

Copeland, a junior political science student, began researching the topic with Professor Jacques in 2025 with the support of a UCI Heidi Lynn Sculthorpe Scholars summer research grant.

The article, "Regional Sustainable Economic Development in the Caribbean? A Discursive Inquiry," was published in July. Sustainable Development was recently ranked by Web of Science/Clarivate as the top journal for development studies.