Assignment

Assignment: Discuss the view that a major challenge to the integration movement in the Caribbean is the wide disparity in levels of development among member states of CARICOM.

The integration movement in the Caribbean possess great opportunities for the Caribbean region to be heard more, and have a greater say with respect to global affairs. The integration movement however, is faced with some challenges, one of the major challenges being the wide disparity in levels of development amongst member countries of CARICOM. These challenges were also faced years ago by the West Indian Federation. The disproportion in levels of development amongst member countries indicate that, as some countries are economically weaker than others, they would not significantly benefit from integration, however, others that have by far stronger economies still would not benefit, but instead would face loses. The major challenges in development are the unequal distribution of resources, the lack of development of certain industries and natural disasters, all of which result in the disparity in levels of development, and hinder the integration movement.

The unequal distribution of resources is very common in the Caribbean, as the Caribbean has a history of inequality. The population density of persons of lower class, middle class, and upper class, varies from country to country in the Caribbean, and in some cases this distribution is extremely unbalanced, for example Jamaica, which has an extremely large lower class, a very small middle class, and a large upper class. The unequal distribution of resources stems from persons of the lower class not having opportunities available, preventing the development of individuals in this sector and thus social mobility, and by extension, inhibits the improvement and productive potential of the society. The unavailability of resources and opportunities for individuals would cause said individuals to seek opportunities elsewhere (usually in other, more developed countries), resulting in the country to which they belong, to lose potentially valuable skilled or manual labour, while the well developed countries gain more labour, contributing to the disparity in levels of development, and hampering the integration movement.

Certain industries lack development in the Caribbean, two of these industries are tourism and agriculture, both of which have great potential in the development of individual countries, and by extension the region. Of the different types of tourism, leisure and eco tourism are the most well developed, while only some Caribbean countries capitalize on business (mostly the well developed countries) and festival tourism. The lack of growth in tourism for most Caribbean countries poses a problem since the opportunities available for locals (jobs etc.), and the revenue brought in from tourists and the foreign exchange cannot be accessed. Agriculture is also underdeveloped in most Caribbean states as many products are often imported, even though there is great potential for the cultivation/ production of said products in the Caribbean. This disadvantages local farmers, and by extension the general public as it often results in high food prices, which also leads to low levels of development and as such, obstructing the integration movement since job opportunities are not available and social mobility is again hampered.

Natural disasters affect the Caribbean on a whole, however, some countries are more often, and severely affected than others. Some natural disasters experienced by countries in the Caribbean are tropical storms/hurricanes, flooding, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. Certain Caribbean countries are fortunate to escape consequences of, or recover from these natural disasters either through good infrastructure, or through not being exposed to them frequently, while some are not as fortunate. For example, Trinidad and Tobago have escaped the impact of hurricanes over the years, but still suffered when major flooding occurred, they however were able to recover quickly, while Grenada has not been so fortunate, as it was struck by hurricane Ivan in 2004 which wreaked havoc on the small island which is still in the process of recovering today. Haiti was also not as fortunate since their poor infrastructure, resulted in the collapse of many buildings, and a high mortality rate after the January 11^th earthquake of this year, another example is the 1997 Soufrière Hills eruption in Montserrat, which completely destroyed the islands airport and the islands capital. The impact of these natural disasters on countries of the Caribbean greatly slows down development, as these countries often have to pick up the pieces, start all over after these disasters strike and destroy most of their infrastructure, and even injure or kill a great deal of the population. This slowing down of development adds to the disparity in the levels of development of member states of CARICOM, and again by extension causes a problem in the integration movement.

In conclusion, development in the Caribbean is greatly uneven, as some countries are developing quickly, while others are not, and the slow rate of development in these countries are based upon many factors/ challenges, the largest of which are the unequal distribution of resources, the lack of development of certain industries and natural disasters. The disproportion/ disparity of the levels of development amongst member states of CARICOM poses a challenge, as the integration movement in the Caribbean cannot easily be achieved. As a result, in order to achieve the full implementation of the integration movement in the Caribbean, there is a great need to even off the levels of development in member states of CARICOM, so that the Caribbean on a whole can eventually have a more stable economy, and have a more prominent say in global affairs.