St. George’s, Grenada – May 14 to 22, 2016
Blue Week 2016 is an international conference that intends to “move the needle” on ocean health through investment in Blue Growth and food security, thereby increasing the economic benefits from marine and maritime resources while conserving natural and social capital. The event brought together high level leaders from government, NGOs, civil society and the private sector with representatives from financial institutions and other donors to share lessons learned and identify innovative instruments to promote investment in Blue Growth and food security.

The gathering was held in St. George’s, Grenada, from May 14 to 22, 2016, organized and hosted by the Government of Grenada with support from the Government of the Netherlands. Other collaborators and partner organizations include the Global Ocean Forum, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Clinton Climate Initiative, the World Bank, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Rare, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Organization of American States (OAS), the University of Delaware’s Gerard J. Mangone Center for Marine Policy and the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA).

Blue Week 2016 represents a response to major recent developments in the global oceans agenda, such as the adoption of the Agenda 2030 by the United Nations in 2015, including the sustainable development goal on oceans and seas (SDG 14), as well as the Paris Agreement, concluded at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in December 2015. It focuses on bringing together ocean-related investments into a coherent package of bankable projects to increase the economic benefits derived from our oceans and marine resources, particularly for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and least developed countries (LDCs).

The week included a day on SIDS and the Caribbean Challenge Initiative, followed by the main Blue Growth and Investment Conference and a workshop on Capacity Development to Improve the Management of Marine Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ). Day 2 of the Blue Growth and Investment Conference featured a keynote address titled “Blue Communities – Key to Food Security” by Árni Mathiesen (Assistant Director General, Fisheries and Aquaculture). The day's program was headed by Jacqueline Alder (Fishcode Manager) and included two panel discussions chaired by Alejandro Flores (Senior Fishery and Aquaculture Officer, Latin America and the Caribbean). The panels brought together representatives from government, NGOs, the private sector and development banks for two sessions to identify and discuss key drivers necessary for investing in Blue Growth as well as what enabling conditions are required to bring Blue Communities into action.

The second half of the day featured two “Shark Tank” investment panels, where selected projects were pitched to potential investors with the hopes of securing funding for their Blue Growth ventures. These panels also provided valuable feedback from potential investors on the projects’ strengths as well as how they might be improved, with an additional goal of the conference being the development of a network for investing in Blue Growth opportunities that will provide a platform for investors to seek out projects in the future. Also attending from FAO were Tina Farmer (Technical Editor, DDND), Raymon van Anrooy and John Jorgensen (Fishery and Aquaculture Officers), and Carlos Fuentevilla and Manuel Perez Moreno (Regional Project Coordinators).