Innovations in Climate Resilient Coastal Zones - Overview (The Caribbean)

Working across the Caribbean to incorporate diverse values of ecosystems into natural capital assessments that in turn support integrated coastal zone management, marine protected area- and climate resilience-planning, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Climate Agreement, and innovative finance mechanisms such as green infrastructure loans and blue bonds. Partners:  Stanford. Collaborators: IDB, WWF and other NGOs, academics and governments of Belize, The Bahamas, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.

The Challenge

A major challenge for effective coastal planning –including integrated coastal zone management, marine protected areas, climate resilience, and disaster risk management– is a dearth of readily available information for spatially quantifying and tracking changes in ecosystem values over time. Natural capital assessments can inform integrated planning and policy in the coastal zone, but also priorities for innovative finance interventions, such as green infrastructure loans and blue bonds. For more strategic design, and for reporting the outcomes of policy and finance interventions, there is a need to know the extent and location of key habitats, such as mangroves, corals, and seagrasses, in addition to the characteristics of these habitats that influence production, delivery, and values of ecosystem services. For example, canopy height of mangroves, density of seagrass, and rugosity of coral reefs can all influence the capacity of ecosystems to attenuate waves and reduce the risk of coastal flooding and erosion. In turn, understanding where people have greatest access to ecosystem benefits and where vulnerabilities are greatest can help prioritize management and investment activities for the greatest environmental, social, and economic good.

The Solution

To better understand and test opportunities for leveraging new data technologies and developing capacity in natural capital assessments that inform innovative policies and investments in the coastal zone, the Natural Capital Project (NatCap) is collaborating with the Inter-American Development Bank and five nations in the Caribbean. In each country, specific policy and finance priorities are being linked to natural capital assessments, informing new and updated coastal zone management plans, marine protected area strategies, more ambitious blue carbon targets under NDCs, and performance indicators for innovative IDB loans and blue bonds (which target ecosystem protection and restoration for greater tourism revenues, infrastructure protection, and enhanced biodiversity and climate resilience). Enhancing capacity to carry out natural capital assessments driven by community and national priorities is a key component of work in each country.