Blue Economy, a New Threat for the Rights of Coastal Communities

Abstract

Honduras is a Central American country with significant natural richness but threatened by climate change and environmental degradation. It has one of the lowest human development indicators of Latin America, making it difficult to provide an adequate socio-economic environment to realize fundamental human rights. In a context of institutional weakening and with a legal framework that, in many cases, facilitates the widening of society’s inequities, Honduras is confronted with new challenges, also in conjunction of recent announcements of financial opportunities towards the Blue Economy. This initiative is featuring the prospective development of mining in the seabed, and doubtful strategies of coastal ecosystems’ use for energy production, among other proposals with economic purposes rather than environmental ones. This article aims to contribute to the reflection on the pertinence of the Blue Economy, and if it could effectively contribute to the satisfaction and promotion of human rights, particularly the right to food and the right to a healthy environment.