Caribbean Biodiversity Fund

🚫 Bleaching ≠ death! Coral reefs can recover from bleaching, but it takes serious work to get them there. 🪸As the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund supports #LifeIsBettterInColor this month, we shine a spotlight on the work that Coral Reef Alliance and their local partners do such as wastewater solutions in the Western Caribbean and fishpond restoration in Hawai’i, tackling local threats to clean water and sustainable fisheries that bolster coral resilience against climate stress. Strong, healthy reefs are within reach—and it all starts with addressing local challenges so corals can thrive in a changing climate. 👉 Learn more about Coral Reef Alliance’s Restore approach: https://hubs.la/Q02W-X-F0 📷: Alex Kydd, Zoe Lower #ForCoral

The Caribbean Biodiversity Fund (CBF) participated in the INC-5 Side Event: Bridging Gaps, Empowering Change earlier this week. This event focused on strengthening national capacity, evidence-based policy, and financing solutions to support the implementation of a Global Plastics Treaty. During the panel discussion, Rachel Ramsey, Program Manager of the Nature-Based Economies Program (Advancing Circular Economy [ACE] Facility), highlighted the region's unique barriers including the lack of sustainable financing mechanisms for effective waste management. The CBF shared its strategic approach to addressing these gaps and barriers and highlighted the role of conservation trust funds in managing funding flows with a systematic approach to ensure appropriate levels of funding can be absorbed and meaningfully applied to conservation efforts. We remain committed to building innovative financing mechanisms and fostering partnerships to support the Caribbean's transition to a circular economy and reduce plastic pollution. #INC5 #PlasticPollution #CircularEconomy #SustainableFinance #GlobalPlasticsTreaty

At COP29, Ulrike Krauss, Climate Change Program Manager at the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund, participated in the side event Science, Partnerships and Climate Finance for Regenerative, Climate Resilient Seascapes. Organized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and held at the Science for Climate Action Pavilion, she shared insights on sustainable financing for coastal and marine conservation in the Caribbean. Ulrike highlighted key successes of the CBF Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) Facility under the German Government-funded International Climate Initiative (IKI). A prime example is the stabilization of the East Coast shoreline in Grenada through a project implemented by the Windward Islands Research and Education Foundation (WINDREF). She emphasized the importance of EbA projects in creating resilient seascapes with three essential pillars: ensuring local communities benefit from ecosystem services, participatory planning, and addressing root causes of ecosystem degradation, such as mangrove dieback. Luis Pocasangre, Director General of the Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE), shared practical insight from implementing a CBF EbA mangrove restoration project in the Dominica Republic. He emphasized the need for managing conflicts of interest, as land-based agricultural activities can have profound negative impacts on the regenerative capacity of downstream seascapes. Ulrike’s closing message was clear: successful projects can only last for a few years—it is crucial to engage the private sector and government to integrate these efforts into long-term strategies and budgets. #ClimateAction #Sustainability #CaribbeanConservation #MarineProtection #COP29 #EcosystemBasedAdaptation #ClimateResilience #EcosystemBasedAdaptation #SustainableDevelopment #Environment #SustainableLivelihoods #CaribbeanBiodiversityFund

Karolin Troubetzkoy, Chair of the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund (CBF), reflects on the April 2024 workshop aimed at empowering our partner national conservation trust funds. Our goal? To strengthen their capacity to attract diverse funding sources and drive impactful projects that protect the Caribbean's rich biodiversity. Together, we're building a sustainable future by supporting initiatives that make a real difference on the ground. Learn more about how we’re advancing conservation efforts across the Caribbean region: https://lnkd.in/e_qepGba #SustainableDevelopment #BiodiversityConservation #CaribbeanConservation #Environment #MarineConservation #ConservationTrustFunds

CEO Karen McDonald Gayle and Nature-based Economies Program Manager Rachel Ramsey are attending INC-5 in Busan, Korea where the aim is to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. According to the World Bank, the amount of plastics found in the Caribbean far exceeds the global average, with 2,014 litter items per kilometer, compared to 573 worldwide. Additionally, 22% of Caribbean households dispose of their waste in rivers and other waterways which carry it to the sea. This has considerable impacts on marine biodiversity and ecosystems. Effectively addressing marine litter requires a multifaceted approach, including the promotion of a circular economy. Circular economy principles emphasize product and material life cycle extension through reuse, repair, recycling, and reducing waste generation. The CBF's Advancing Circular Economy (ACE) Facility, under the Nature-based Economies Program, works with public and private sector partners as well as other Caribbean stakeholders to fund projects that promote and apply practical circular economy principles to minimize, prevent or remove waste entering the marine environment and/or removing marine litter. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eX-wmt7h #CircularEconomy #CaribbeanConservation #PlasticPollution #MarinePollution

The Caribbean, home to 36 globally recognized Biodiversity Hotspots, is facing escalating threats from Invasive Alien Species (IAS) and Climate Change, two of the leading drivers of biodiversity loss. At COP29, a side event, Invasive Species Driving Biodiversity Loss and Global Food Insecurity, took on this pressing issue from a global perspective. Organized by Solutions from the Land at the IICA Pavilion, the event shed light on the widespread and devastating impacts of IAS. Key discussions focused on the profound economic losses caused by IAS, particularly in the context of global food security, and the urgent need for innovative solutions to curb their spread. A key takeaway was the growing "tool box" of IAS management strategies, from prevention to eradication. However, one central challenge remains: harmonizing global protocols and expanding efforts in prevention, diagnostic, and exclusion practices to ensure more effective IAS management worldwide. During the event, CBF's Climate Change Program Manager, Ulrike Krauss, highlighted the financial dimension of the issue in her intervention, Financing IAS Management in the Caribbean – Status and Outlook. She outlined the progress of recent IAS projects in the Caribbean and underscored the need for an integrated, regional approach to managing IAS. She also emphasized that prevention remains the most cost-effective strategy but is often difficult to sell to policymakers due to its longterm, invisible success. As she noted, preventing a problem before it occurs doesn’t garner immediate political votes, but it is crucial to the region’s biodiversity and food security. In response to this growing challenge, CBF has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CABI to establish a thematic Trust Fund for IAS management in the Caribbean. This fund, which the CBF will manage with CABI serving as Secretariat, aims to raise $120 million for sustainable IAS funding. Through the CBF's existing Conservation Finance Program, this fund will provide long-term, grant-based solutions to support IAS management across the region. As we work towards this goal, the CBF and CABI call for broader policy solutions, including user fees and taxes, to complement this critical funding effort and ensure the continued success of IAS management in the Caribbean. #InvasiveAlienSpecies #COP29 #IICAInCOP29 #SustainableAgriculture #SustainableFutureCOP29 #HouseOfAgriculturaCOP29 #EcosystemBasedAdaptation #CaribbeanConservation #SustainableDevelopment #Environment #SustainableLivelihoods #KfW #SVGCF #CaribbeanBiodiversityFund

Under the USAID Sustainable Financing for Caribbean Regional Conservation Project, the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund has partnered with the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica (EFJ) to increase the abilities of Caribbean Conservation Trust Funds to ensure sustainable financing in conservation in the region. The USAID-CBF project is working with 11 partner Conservation Trust Funds in the region, who in turn, lead on grant making in their countries. Fondo MARENA has been a CBF partner NCTF since 2016.  Leveraging its 30 years of grant making experience, the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica (EFJ) together with CBF hosted a workshop in October in Santo Domingo for Fondo MARENA, a CBF partner national conservation trust fund on grant making best practices, how to improve the grant making process, create action plans and write proposals to strengthen the institutional policies of Fondo MARENA.  Together with the CBF, 11 partner national conservation trust funds comprise the Caribbean Sustainable Finance Architecture. CBFs objective is to ensure the conservation of ecosystems in the Caribbean region through sustainable financing and to facilitate the growth of the Caribbean Sustainable Finance Architecture through the continued capacity and institutional development of the CBF’s partner NCTFs.  Learn more: https://lnkd.in/epnb-Tqn #CaribbeanConservation #SustainableFinancing #MarineProtection #EnvironmentalStewardship

So excited to be part of the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund team at the Fifth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) in Busan, Republic of Korea! This crucial event brings together global leaders and advocates to shape an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including its impact on our marine environments. Together, we’re pushing for bold actions and ambitious commitments to beat plastic pollution and protect biodiversity.

National and local action are essential to translate global commitments into tangible results in the fight against #plasticpollution. How can developing countries effectively implement the #GlobalPlasticsTreaty? ✔️ Building capacity ✔️ Creating evidence-based policies ✔️ Securing necessary finance Join #GPAP and partners at this event organized with United Nations Office for Sustainable Development (UNOSD), United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and Global Green Growth Institute on 26 November at #INC5 in #Busan or virtually at https://lnkd.in/dXJBHqUv. 💡 Expect insightful briefs, expert presentations, and real-world country cases from: 🎤 Dukwoo Jun | Global Green Growth Institute 🎤 Sara Castro-Hallgren | United Nations Office for Sustainable Development (UNOSD) 🎤 Emmy Nøklebye | The Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) 🎤 Elena Lovat | Global Green Growth Institute 🎤 Rachel Ramsey | Caribbean Biodiversity Fund 🎤 Chun Kyoo Park | United Nations Office for Sustainable Development (UNOSD) | United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs 🎤 김상협(Kim Sang-Hyup) | Global Green Growth Institute 🎤 Christian Kaufholz | World Economic Forum Let’s explore how to turn ambition into action on the ground.

🌍 COP29 Wrap-Up: Key Outcomes from Baku! 🌍 COP29 has ended in Baku, Azerbaijan, marking two weeks of critical negotiations and progress on global climate action. Here’s a snapshot of the highlights: ✅ International Carbon Market Standards: A framework for trading UN-backed carbon credits was established, unlocking significant climate finance for developing nations, including OECS Member States. ✅ Loss and Damage Fund: Operationalized to support countries hit hardest by climate change, with project financing set to begin in 2025. ✅ Increased Climate Finance Commitments: • Multilateral banks pledged $120 billion annually for low- and middle-income countries. • Acumen committed $300 million for agricultural adaptation across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. ✅ COP29 Hydrogen Declaration: Countries committed to scaling up clean hydrogen production, accelerating the global energy transition. ✅ Enhanced Climate Ambitions: Nations like the UK and Australia announced strengthened climate targets and funding commitments to support vulnerable regions. The OECS will continue to represent and advocate for the needs of its Members States at such international fora to ensure environmental sustainability, economic stability and a better quality of life for OECS citizens. #COP29 #OECSClimateResilience #Sustainability