Small Grants Initiative Proposal:

‘Economics of Natural Resource Management’

Conference and Workshop in Trinidad & Tobago

Justin Ram

Problem Statement

The economies of the Caribbean basin are natural resourced based. Foreign exchange earnings are dependent on a few natural resources. Natural resources range from non-renewable resources such as oil, natural gas and bauxite, to renewable resources such as coral reefs and tropical forests that attract tourist revenues.

Natural resource based economies by their nature are susceptible to sharp declines as revenues fall depending on the vagaries of the world economy as well as unexpected natural events such as hurricanes. For example the Trinidad and Tobago economy is reliant on revenue from the sales of its hydrocarbon resources. Booms and recessions occur depending on the market price of the resource. Similarly, 90% of Grenada’s buildings were damaged when hurricane Ivan struck the island in September 2004. The damage from hurricane Ivan went beyond the damage to buildings it also severely affected the island’s economy by having a negative impact on its tourism and agricultural industries.

Effective management of Caribbean islands’ natural resources are therefore important for the economic and social development of the region. Even though natural resources are important for Caribbean economies, there tends to be limited exposure to, and/or use of the tools that are necessary to properly evaluate the true value of the natural resources and to therefore implement the mechanisms to capture these values as well as to incorporate inter-generational equity and disaster preparedness into policy making.

For islands dependent on revenues from non-renewable resources such as natural gas, the ability to value the resource at its final use value and to capture the correct value for the resource owner is of great importance. The mechanisms for value and capture, which includes forecast pricing and demand scenarios, are therefore important tools for the policy matrix.

Islands dependent on renewable resources for attracting tourists or agricultural production are also required to properly evaluate their resources to ensure that there is sustainable investment and management of the resource. Natural disaster preparedness and adaptation to climate change are also important aspects of resource management.

Sustainable natural resource management for island economies is integral for their economic development. Valuation and capture of resource values for Caribbean citizens is important. Also, adaptation to changes in the world economy and climate are critical aspects of resource use policy-making.

Project Objective and Activities

The objective of this project is to hold a conference and workshop on the economics of Natural Resource Management in the Caribbean. The conference and workshop will bring together policy makers, members of civil society, NGOs and academics to discuss the current problems associated with natural resource management in the Caribbean and to present management options.

Both the conference and workshop shall focus on the management of renewable and non-renewable resources. Speakers and participants shall be invited from across the Caribbean and from the Agricultural and resource economics department at The University of California, Berkeley.

The proposed agenda for the conference and workshop is as follows:

Conference Agenda
Time	Agenda
Morning	Opening An overview of natural resource management in the Caribbean Non-renewable Resources The valuation of non-renewable resources, emphasis on oil and natural gas Options for capturing and managing non-renewable resource values Discussion
Afternoon	Renewable Resources The valuation of Renewable resources, emphasis on tourism and agricultural related resources Options for capturing and managing renewable resource values Discussion
Late afternoon session (Closing)	How do Caribbean societies incorporate intergenerational equity and disaster preparedness into resource management.

Workshop Agenda
Time	Agenda
Morning	Participants are asked to join different work groups depending on their interest. The groups will focus on non-renewable resource management in the Caribbean context. Group 1: How do we value and capture resource rents? Group 2: Is intergenerational equity important? Group 3: How should resource rents be utilised? Group 4: Are intergenerational and revenue stabilisation funds needed? What is the scope for them, how should they be set up and how should they be used? Group 5: The importance of Transparency and good governance. Group 6: The implications for economic and social development in Non-renewable resource based economies. Action Points and reports from Group stage
Afternoon	Participants are asked to join different work groups depending on their interest. The groups will focus on renewable resource management in the Caribbean context. Group 1: Major challenges facing renewable resources in the Caribbean. Group 2: Management of renewable resources, is there greater scope for market-based policies? Group 3: The importance of property rights and value capture? Group 4: Community participation in natural resource management. Group 5: Economic and social development in Non-renewable resource based economies. Action Points and reports from Group stage
Closing	Summation of day’s events and action points, Closing and next steps

Outputs

Training for policy makers and NGOs on the merits of sustainable natural resource management.

It is envisaged that a report will be published with the conference and workshop presentations, proceedings and findings. The report will be disseminated to NGO, academic and relevant governmental agencies in the Caribbean. The report will also be published on the Internet for wider circulation and dissemination.

The workshop will also seek to establish links with other existing organisations and networks on natural resource management in the Caribbean. The network will allow interested individuals and organisations to share their experience of resource management and learn of new resource management techniques from across the region. The network and its associated website will also be a medium to disseminate information and provide access to academics at both the University of the West Indies and at the Agricultural and Resource Economics (ARE) department at the University of California, Berkeley.

It is also proposed that the network will be linked with the Beahrs ELP alumni network, which will allow a wider cross fertilisation of ideas and methods on sustainable natural resource management in the Caribbean.

Timeline

The time line for the project from the initiation of actual planning, the actual dates of the workshop and conference to publication and dissemination of conference/workshop proceedings and the start up of the Caribbean natural resource management network website will be 3 months.

Collaborators:

Dennis Pantin, Coordinator SEDU, The University of the West Indies.

Professor David Zilberman, University of California, Berkeley

Please see biographies attached to this proposal

Connection with learning/skills developed at Beahrs ELP

The conference and workshop will build on knowledge on the economic dimensions of sustainable environmental management. The conference and workshop will highlight the problems with current resource management in the Caribbean and provide options for sustainable management. The workshop will alert policy makers of the correct values to be delivered to owners of the resource, similar to the case of the upper watersheds in California and the end-users in the large cities of California. Develop an understanding of the political pressures associated with correct resource values and what Governance structures are needed to capture correct resource values. The project will also develop a network similar to the Beahrs ELP alumni network.

Risks

We do not for see any major risks for this conference and workshop. There is however, a risk that our UC Berkeley partner, Professor David Zilberman, might be delayed due to unforeseen travel disruptions such as weather or airline delays. We will factor this into the travel arrangements so Professor Zilberman will have two contingent days of travel before the conference begins.

Proposed Budget

The sustainable economic development unit at the University of the West Indies has agreed to provide funds for the resource management conference and workshop, for the publication and the setting up of the Caribbean Natural Resource Management network.

Funds from the Small Grants Initiative are sought to partially cover the expenses of the 2-day conference and workshop, to help with publication and dissemination of conference proceedings and seed money for the setting up the Caribbean natural resource management network and website.

Collaborators

Name	Affiliation and experience
Professor David Zilberman	Professor, UC Berkeley
Dennis Pantin	Senior lecturer and Coordinator, SEDU UWI
Justin Ram	Research Associate, SEDU