Regional Integration in the Caribbean

8/17/2019 Regional Integration in the Caribbean

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Regional integration

Regional integration refers to the process by which states within a particular region increase their

level of interaction with regard to economic, security, political and also social and cultural issues.

Past efforts at Caribbean regional integration have often focused on removing barriers to free

trade in the region, increasing the free movement of people, labour, goods, and capital across

national borders, adopting cohesive regional stances on policy issues such as those concerning

the environment, climate and communication.

Factors that promote regional integration

- Historical experience

Colonialism is the practice in which one nation rules over others and develops trade for its

own benefit. This is the system under which all Caribbean nations were controlled due to

independence this system of leadership has ended. Caribbean people are all descendants of

migrants due to enslavement or indentureship of !fricans and !sians respectively. This is

how all Caribbean nations are able to relate because they "now from whence they came and

ac"nowledge their common history.

- #trategic$ geographical position

The Caribbean countries are close together and relatively form an archipelago of islands.They all lie in or along the shores of the Caribbean #ea. %t is because of their relative positioning

that these nations are capable of interacting share a certain conversant relationship.

- Common language

#ince most of the countries in the region were under the &ritish rule, 'nglish is the common

first language. This therefore engenders easy communication among the states.

- Common cultural heritage

The Caribbean people share a common culture in terms of language, dress, music, cuisine

and general lifestyle all due to the history of the Caribbean.


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- #mall population

The Caribbean countries are at a disadvantage when competing against international mar"ets

because of their small si(e. Coming together ma"es it easier to influence international mar"ets.

There are limited human and physical resources available in the Caribbean region and this

necessitates the pooling and trading of these resources among Caribbean countries.

- Common challenges

Common problems such as unemployment, difficulty in accessing international mar"ets, lac" of

ade)uate capital, poor housing, inade)uate health facilities and the effects of natural disasters.

There are also the common challenges of globali(ation and trade liberali(ation. The Caribbean

region is faced with much competition from the outside world. Caribbean businesses are,

therefore, re)uired to amalgamate or face ruin.

Regional integration agreements are commonplace across the world. 'conomic groupings and

trading blocs are being established and a large number of countries are lin"ed by special trading

arrangements among them.


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*a+or challenges facing the Caribbean region

The Caribbean region is facing major challenges of differing nature. Some of these problemsinclude:

• Falling remittances from nationals overseas

• A significant decline in tourism

• Volatile exchange rates and, the fall in income and reserves

• A falloff in overseas investments !ith difficulties in accessing mar"ets of developed

countries, and small national mar"ets because of the small si#e of the region

• Ver$ lo! levels of production and productivit$ in some countries in the region

• %ncreasing levels of unemplo$ment and underemplo$ment& shortage of s"illed

!or"ers

• %nade'uate technological development

• (ac" of economic diversification )revenue comes from !ithin the region*

• Falling tax revenues

• +igh level and cost of imports but lo! value exports

• ifficulties in raising mone$ on international mar"ets to cover the dail$ operations of

government

• +igh levels of indebtedness

• -udgetar$ pressure related to the cost of delivering policies intended to mitigate the

!orst effects of the recession andor stimulate future economic gro!th

•Vulnerabilit$ to natural disasters

• The grave problem energ$ and its cost in the region

• /earl$ drought from !hich the region suffers, causing the availabilit$ of !ater to be a

problem

• Consumption of mostl$ imported food


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• 0ollution and disregard for the environment as the countries grapple !ith air, !ater

and land pollution

• 1idespread povert$ !hich, although governments !or" to alleviate it !ith !elfare

programes, pension schemes and education fund, it seems endless

• The small revenue that is received has to go a long !a$ in relieving our problems,

one of !hich is health, as diseases of various t$pes continue to plague our societ$

• 0roblems of education relating to funding& 'ualit$ of teachers& the status of the

teaching profession& students2 academic performance& e'ual educational opportunit$

and the curriculum in relation to labour force needs and global competition& teachershortages& overcro!ded, unsafe schools and une'ual access to educational

technolog$

• 0opulation gro!th in a region !here there is a $oung population, !hich is becoming

ver$ alarming and must be controlled

• asting of good fertile land for construction of homes and businesses

• Continuing, longterm challenges being experienced in sectors of the Caribbean

econom$

• Slo! progress to!ards the creation of a viable Caribbean Single 3ar"et and 4conom$

• An alarming gro!th in crime, violence and narcotics traffic"ing

Documents

Regional Integration in the Caribbean