27 June 2014: The Global Environment Facility (GEF), through the World Bank, has provided US$7.2 million to the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund (CBF) for the conservation, expansion and management of national protected area systems and other biodiverse areas across the Eastern Caribbean. The CBF is part of the Caribbean Challenge Initiative (CCI), a regional effort that aims to protect 20% of marine ecosystems in participating countries by 2020.

Ten percent of the world’s coral reefs and over 12,000 marine species are found in the Caribbean. This financing aims to put the Caribbean on a sustainable path, according to Philip Kramer, Director of the Caribbean Program, The Nature Conservancy (TNC).

The CBF will distribute funding to locally-managed conservation trust funds that will then provide grants to governments and non-government organizations. Funds are being established in Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The creation of National Conservation Trust Funds dedicated to funding park management is one of the commitments under the CCI.

“The return on investments from the CBF endowment will be a sustainable source of funds that will help countries cover their costs for the management of protected area systems and other conservation needs,” reported Yabanex Batista, Chief Executive Officer, CBF.

The project financing is coming from the GEF/World Bank’s Sustainable Financing and Management of Eastern Caribbean Marine Ecosystem Project, which TNC executes on behalf of the participating countries. The project aims to enhance the long-term conservation and sustainable management of the Eastern Caribbean’s fragile marine ecosystems through establishing sustainable financing mechanisms, strengthening marine protected area networks and initiating a regional monitoring system for the protected area networks. [TNC CCI Website] [World Bank Project Website] [Global Islands Partnership (GLISPA) Website on CCI ] [IISD RS Sources]