Paper presented at the 52nd CFCS Annual Meeting, Guadeloupe, July 10-16, 2016
POLICY MAKER’S FORUM H. Ozier Lafontaine1., J.L. Diman1, T. Noglotte2, L. Barfleur3, A. Jason3, P. Traffond1, M. Farant1 1
INRA, Centre Antilles Guyane, 97170 Petit-Bourg (Guadeloupe), France ; email : harry.ozier-lafontaine@antilles.inra.fr 2 Cabinet CecilConsultant, Guadeloupe, France ; 3 Institut de Coopération Franco-Caraïbe (ICFC,) Guadeloupe, France The Policy Maker’s Forum is an original initiative within CFCS. It proceeds of the conclusion that the projections regarding research and development in our Caribbean region cannot exclude the dimension concerning the public policies. So, in addition to the scientific and technical sessions and to the Farmers’ forum, classically handled during the congresses of CFCS, it seemed to us important to include this strategic dimension associating the policy-makers around whom and for whom this forum was held. It meets also the initiative of the “Road map for Guadeloupe”, led by the Regional council of Guadeloupe in 2014, and answers more particularly the challenges associated to the implementation of a blue and green economy in our Caribbean region. The central hypothesis relies on the idea that a bioeconomic development cannot be made in an isolated way, but requires an integrated and strategic approach, mobilizing a set of country of the Caribbean. The objective consisted in deepening the question of bioeconomy as a possible answer for problems shared in the Caribbean. This forum was planned in connection with a strategic meeting scheduled on September 16th after the CFCS, around a preparation of an INTERREG project entitled OCABA “ Observatoire Caribéen et Amazonien de la Biodiversité et des Pratiques Agricoles “ with a set of Caribbean partners. This workshop attracted a strong mobilization, bringing together representatives of the Greater Caribbean, representatives of territorial communities (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Martin) and many participants at the 52nd congress of the CFCS (112 participants in total). The workshop was introduced by a brief presentation of the OCABA project (H. Ozier-Lafontaine), allowing to put into perspective the debates to come. It was complemented by a presentation of the challenges facing the Caribbean bioeconomy (T. Noglotte), highlighting the challenge of food security: the vast majority of Caribbean economies depend on between 70 and 80% of food imports. Dr. Adrian Rodriguez’s (ECLAC) master presentation laid the foundations of the bioeconomy and facilitated a shared understanding of the inherent concepts through a rich mix of definitions and meanings about this emerging movement, including the relationship between the various components that revolve around the bioeconomy. This dimension was enriched by an analysis of the stakes surrounding the valorization of local agroresources and adaptation to climate change (H. Ozier-Lafontaine). The second highlight, dedicated to the testimonies, made it possible to bring out two complementary visions: i) that of the KBBE (C. Hodson), which emphasizes a scientific popularization of the bioeconomy in a dynamic application; ii) that of the Barbadian Government (D. Bynoe), which develops a vision for the implementation of a green economy based on coordination between government and civil society. The third highlight was the restitution of two surveys: i) an exploratory survey, on the positioning of the Caribbean countries on the agroecological transition and the bioeconomy, ii) an analysis of the bioeconomic potential of the Caribbean countries vs. the associated risks and threats. Finally, we can conclude that there is a real blend of vision among stakeholders from different countries on the issues, concepts, risks and shared interest in promoting the bioeconomy in the Caribbean region. We were besides able to measure convergent interests, being translated around the initiative OCABA, in particular during the meeting of July 16th, 2016 with the partners. We were so able to establish and validate the constitution of a consortium for the implementation of the project. It is thus the very positive balance sheet which we pull of this original initiative of the Policy Makers Forum, which opens a concrete way of Caribbean co-construction around the concept of bioeconomy.
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