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Arlington, Virginia, USA (2 September 2021) — Helping communities conserve biodiversity, build resilience to climate change and pursue sustainable development will be the focus of a new five-year, US$13.9 million grant-making and capacity-building program launched by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) in the Caribbean Islands Biodiversity Hotspot.
Civil society organizations—including community-based groups, nongovernmental organizations, academia and the private sector—will be eligible for the grants. The countries targeted by the funding are Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
CEPF is a joint initiative of l’Agence Française de Développement, Conservation International, the European Union, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan and the World Bank. The fund empowers civil society organizations to protect the world’s biodiversity hotspots—the most biologically diverse yet threatened terrestrial ecosystems—and help communities thrive.
The new investment in the Caribbean Islands will be financed through the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund – Caribbean Hotspot Project of the World Bank, using funds provided by the Government of Japan.
CEPF will have a regional implementation team (RIT) based at the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI). The team will help implement CEPF’s strategy by directly supporting grantees in the hotspot. CEPF and the RIT will also work with Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC) to establish networks and partnerships among conservation organizations, government agencies, private businesses and communities.
“The CEPF grants will enable groups to build and apply local knowledge and skills to address the biodiversity crisis and climate challenges,” said Olivier Langrand, executive director of CEPF. “This local conservation leadership will guide the people of the Caribbean Islands in protecting their unique nature and the services it provides. In addition, keeping natural systems intact contributes to the prevention of diseases transmitted from animals to people, such as COVID-19.”
"This funding will ensure that green growth and climate-smart development are at the forefront of economic recovery in the Caribbean by strengthening and supporting civil society organizations. It aligns with the World Bank's Climate Change Action Plan, which supports the strengthening of climate adaptation and resilience in developing countries," said Lilia Burunciuc, World Bank Country Director for the Caribbean.
“It is an important moment for our region as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and deal with the impacts of climate change, including extreme weather,” said Nicole Leotaud, executive director and managing partner of CANARI. “Our grantees will work with Caribbean communities to build the health and resilience of the ecosystems that support our livelihoods, culture and well-being. Recent events have taught us just how important it is to have resilient systems and organizations that can withstand shocks.”
CEPF previously invested US$6.9 million in the Caribbean Islands Biodiversity Hotspot from 2010 to 2016. CANARI also served as the RIT for that investment, during which grants were awarded to 68 civil society organizations in eight countries. Projects focused on sustainable agriculture, agroforestry, protecting watersheds, and nature-based tourism to support rural community development as well as food security.
Some grantee results from the initial investment include:
- Development and implementation of sustainable management plans that strengthened the protection of 25 Key Biodiversity Areas covering 593,967 hectares.
- Strengthening of institutional capacity for 58 civil society organizations in eight countries.
- Sale of the first carbon offsets in the Caribbean.
- Creation of nine public-private partnerships that factor in biodiversity conservation.
- Inclusion of biodiversity and ecosystem services concerns into seven development plans, projects and policies.
The new CEPF funding will support efforts begun under the previous investment by replicating and scaling-up good practice models that emerged from the earlier grants. Little of the current funding from other donors in the hotspot is earmarked specifically toward species conservation, so grants will also address this gap.
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Photograph available for download here.
Contacts:
- CANARI: Nicole Brown, nicolebrown@canari.org +1-868.638.6062
- Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund: Julie Shaw, jshaw@cepf.net
+1 571.228.0860
About the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund
Biodiversity is fundamental to a healthy planet and thriving communities, but the world's species are under extreme threat. The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) fills a unique, strategic role in addressing the extinction crisis by mobilizing and empowering civil society—nongovernmental organizations, communities, Indigenous peoples groups, universities and more—to protect the world's biodiversity hotspots. Since 2001, CEPF has catalyzed enduring, locally led biodiversity conservation through over US$250 million in grants to more than 2,500 organizations in 113 developing and transitional countries. Results include more than 15 million hectares of formal protected areas established, over 900 threatened species supported, and more than 4,300 communities benefiting. Learn more at www.cepf.net, Facebook, Twitter , Instagram and LinkedIn.
About the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI)
The Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) is a regional technical non-profit organization which has been working to promote and facilitate stakeholder participation in the stewardship of natural resources in the Caribbean for over 30 years. CANARI will serve as the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund’s Regional Implementation Team for its five-year investment in the Caribbean Islands Biodiversity Hotspot between 2021 and 2026. See http://www.canari.org/, Facebook and Twitter.