From the Pigeon Island National Park in St Lucia to the Buccoo Reef marine park off the coast of Tobago and the Waitukubuli hiking trail in Dominica, the Caribbean’s natural capital is world-renowned. The importance of these sites and ecosystems surpasses their own intrinsic beauty, as this alone draws in tourists from around the world whose spending goes a long way toward driving growth and development within local communities.
But in addition to this, these environments support critical ecosystem services in ways that impact everything from land erosion to nutrient cycling, temperature regulation and even protection from severe weather events.
It’s why Caribbean biodiversity has a much larger footprint than meets the eye. Protecting it is instrumental not only to conserving these natural areas for future generations, but also building more resilient communities and economies.
The blue & green potential of the Caribbean
By prioritising sustainable development through the active conservation of nature, the Caribbean can implement strong green (land) and blue (ocean) based economies.
In many ways, the region has already begun adopting nature-based solutions (NbS). Belize’s Blue Bonds are funding the nation’s marine protected areas, while the United Nations Environment Programme has been carrying out studies in Jamaica, St Lucia, and Haiti aimed at identifying opportunities for effective land management and governance.
Globally, the blue and green economies are worth roughly US$3 trillion and $10 trillion respectively. This could represent a potential for island nations — or large ocean states — who have more opportunities to develop marine resources.
“What island nations are demonstrating is that benefitting from ocean resources is not a zero-sum game,” explains Heidi Schroderus-Fox, Acting High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing States & Small Island Developing States. “Conserving the ocean protects marine life and generates economic growth for island and business communities alike.”
As a result, we are seeing an increase in blue economy projects and policies being carried out across all industry sectors in the Caribbean. In addition to strong support for international policies focusing on strong climate and environmental action, developments in eco-tourism, smart agriculture, renewable energy, and green construction are taking off.
So the region’s biodiversity hotspot is creating a kind of incubator for nature-based solutions, which in turn will be instrumental in building resilience and future-proofing. But the biggest challenge the Caribbean is facing is finding the financing for these initiatives.
“Despite their great potential and the economic, environmental and social benefits they generate, investing in NbS projects is more than limited: the global financing gap towards protection of nature is more than $700 billion,” point out the World Resources Institute’s (WRI) Sheccid Gómez, Valeria López-Portillo, and Sarai Eunice Rodríguez. “Public financing alone will not be enough.”
Financing nature-based solutions
Finding the funds for conservation and management of protected areas has never been easy, but the global shift towards nature-based solutions and striking a balance between the environment and economics will favour early entrants into the blue and green economy.
The US$700 billion funding gap referenced by the WRI team is linked specifically to the target set by the world’s national governments to reach 30% protection of the world’s natural areas by 2030.
Globally, the blue and green economies are worth roughly US$3 trillion and $10 trillion respectively. This could represent a potential for island nations — or large ocean states — who have more opportunities to develop marine resources
This goal has solidified nature-based solutions as a development priority for countries boasting strong biological diversity, and will encourage increased investment into already established projects like those in the Caribbean, where there is already a range of initiatives underway and a clear pathway for growth.
Nature-based solutions are an attractive financial investment, emphasises Schroderus-Fox. “By 2030,” she explains, “many ocean-based industries have the potential to outperform the growth of the global economy, both in terms of value added and employment … Investing in an ocean economy clearly makes economic sense. Each dollar invested will yield, on average, five dollars in return.”
By contextualising the financial potential within nature-based solutions and the development of blue and green economies, the funding gap pales in comparison to the expected return on investment, and the value of the ecosystem services it protects.
Major financial entities active within the Caribbean like the Inter-American Development Bank are working towards creating a pathway to funding. Alongside organisations in the private sector and regional governments, the Caribbean is generating interest as a hotspot for nature-based solutions. This is borne out by regional initiatives earning top honours at international events such as the Earthshot Prize.
In the long run, leveraging Caribbean biodiversity for economic growth will ensure a resilient sustainable future. From rainforest to reef, the region has the ability to safeguard its natural resources and at the same time maximise its impact on local socio-economic growth as well as global climate action.
The future of the Caribbean is in nature-based solutions, and it is being developed as we speak.
Island Innovation is a social enterprise and digital media platform at the intersection of sustainable development and communications. Learn more at islandinnovation.co
