Curaçao’s economic debates repeatedly return to the same scarce resource: land.
Where can more houses be constructed? Where should the next hotel go? How much land should tourism occupy? Where can agriculture expand? What space is available for industry?
Those are legitimate questions for a small island. But the September 9 UNCTAD discussion in Xiamen points toward another way of looking at economic geography.
Curaçao is small if its economic potential is measured exclusively by the land inside its coastline. It becomes a different proposition when the sea is treated as economic space.
That does not mean selling or exploiting every available piece of ocean. Quite the opposite. UNCTAD's framing is significant because it connects investment with ecological limits. The organization describes the emerging ocean economy as an industrial system encompassing renewable energy, marine equipment, ports and shipping, biotechnology and digital infrastructure, while simultaneously emphasizing ecological carrying capacity, safety and benefit-sharing.
That distinction should matter to Curaçao.
From individual projects to an economic sector
Curaçao already has an ocean economy. The problem is that the island does not necessarily think about it as one economic system.
The harbor is discussed as a harbor. Tourism is discussed as tourism. Fisheries are discussed as fisheries. Telecommunications infrastructure is considered separately. Environmental protection occupies another policy area.
An ocean-economy strategy would ask how these pieces fit together and, more importantly, what is missing.
For example, if Curaçao wants to expand maritime maintenance, does it have enough trained technicians? If marine research is identified as a niche, can universities and international research institutions be connected with commercial investment? If subsea digital infrastructure becomes strategically more important, what opportunities and vulnerabilities does that create? If offshore renewable energy is considered, where could it operate without damaging important ecosystems or interfering with shipping and fishing?
Those questions are more useful than simply declaring that Curaçao should become a “blue economy hub.”
Curaçao should not chase every blue opportunity
There is also a danger here.
Economic-development discussions in small economies can quickly become collections of fashionable concepts: fintech, blockchain, artificial intelligence, hydrogen, creative industries and now the blue economy.
Curaçao should resist treating the ocean economy in the same way.
Marine biotechnology may sound attractive, for example, but an attractive sector on an international conference agenda does not automatically constitute a Curaçao business case. The same applies to offshore energy and large-scale aquaculture.
The correct sequence should be knowledge first, strategy second and investment third.
Curaçao needs to establish what already exists, what the island is genuinely good at, what international demand exists, what skills would be required and what environmental constraints cannot be crossed.
Only then should government decide which three or four areas deserve serious attention.
The opportunity is larger than finding another investor
Another important message from the UNCTAD conference concerns the purpose of investment itself.
UNCTAD’s current approach emphasizes directing capital toward strategic sectors capable of building productive capacity, introducing technology, strengthening domestic companies and opening access to new markets. Its acting secretary-general argued in Xiamen that developing economies should have a stronger role in deciding which future industries are built in their countries.
That is particularly relevant for Curaçao.
The objective should not be to find a foreign investor, issue a permit and count the investment as an economic success.
A successful ocean investment should answer additional questions: How many Curaçao residents will be trained? Which local companies will enter the supply chain? What technology or expertise remains on the island? How much foreign exchange can the activity generate? What happens to the project after 10 or 20 years? And who pays if environmental damage occurs?
Those questions determine whether an investment creates another enclave or actually expands Curaçao’s productive economy.
Blue finance requires clear government
The same applies to blue finance.
International capital may increasingly be available for sustainable maritime projects, but Curaçao cannot reasonably expect investors to finance projects when responsibilities among government entities are unclear, environmental rules are unpredictable or permitting takes place without an established marine-development framework.
Government therefore has work to do before marketing the island.
A serious national strategy would need to establish environmental boundaries, identify economic zones and sensitive ecosystems, clarify permitting responsibilities and determine how local communities and businesses participate in the benefits.
That also protects investors. A project that receives approval today but faces political, environmental or community opposition tomorrow is not an attractive investment.
The sea should enter Curaçao’s economic planning
None of this means that the ocean economy will replace tourism, financial services or other established sectors.
It means Curaçao should investigate whether its economic map is unnecessarily confined to its land.
UNCTAD's September meeting is important not because an international organization has discovered that oceans have economic value. Ports, fishing and shipping have generated wealth for centuries. What has changed is the combination of technology, energy transition, digital infrastructure and investment capital that is expanding what can economically happen at sea.
Curaçao does not need to follow every international trend. But this is one development the island has a strong reason to investigate.
For years, Curaçao has asked what it can build on the limited land it has left.
The next economic question may be different: what can Curaçao responsibly build around, on and beneath the sea — while ensuring that the sea itself remains worth protecting?