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  • The sustainable development of the Caribbean cities
Article:

The sustainable development of the Caribbean cities

14 February 2022

Modern society agrees that both favorable environmental situation and economic growth are possible at the same time. To solve the problem of balanced interaction between nature and society, the concept of sustainable development was formed.

In most cases, sustainable development is viewed from the standpoint of an ecologically balanced solution of socio-economic problems, in which the growth of people's well-being does not cause deterioration of the quality of the environment and degradation of natural resources. In this case, the decisive factor in sustainable development is considering the environmental factor, that is, ensuring eco-efficiency.

However, sustainable development provides for the implementation of the second condition - environmental justice, that is, fair relations between generations and within one generation.

Speaking of Latin America and the Caribbean, it should be noted that in the era of the MDGs (The Millennium Development Goals), the significant progress has already been made towards achieving the seventh sustainable development goal, namely “providing access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern sources of energy for all" against the background of the situation in the world.

The level of access to electricity in the entire region is estimated at 96 percent, while in the world this figure is only 85 percent.

Energy efficiency indicators have been growing steadily in recent years. Without taking into account the traditional use of biomass, the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean have the highest share of the use of modern renewable energy sources in total final energy consumption. This is largely due to significant hydropower generation, as well as the use of bioenergy in industrial processes and the use of biofuels in transport. The share of such energy in total energy consumption has reached almost 28 percent, while the global average is 18 percent. Many countries in the Caribbean are calling for a significant increase in the use of renewable energy, as the introduction of new technologies provides many economic benefits, ecosystem protection, industry modernization, and uninterrupted energy supply.

Local fishermen in the Caribbean are beneficiaries of a project which promotes the restoration of the marine ecosystem and the sustainable use of marine resources while developing a market for fisheries products and the development of ecotourism in coastal areas.

In addition, Latin America and the Caribbean shows a positive change from 2010 to 2020 in terms of the share of forest land in legally designated protected areas, the share of forest area for which long-term forest management plans have been adopted, and the area of ​​certified forest.