IDB group spending US$1.5M to fight climate change in Caribbean

The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) of the IDB Group is investing US$1.5 million to launch a pioneering initiative that will help coastal communities and micro and small companies in the Caribbean to fight the impacts of climate change.

The initiative, in partnership with CARIBSAVE, a Caribbean non-profit organisation, will work directly in eight coastal communities with 1200 entrepreneurs and 50 micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Jamaica, Barbados, The Bahamas, and Belize to bolster new business practices to minimise the impact of climate change on productive activities.

“The project will provide locally relevant knowledge that could promote more effective decision-making, planning, and management in coastal areas susceptible to climate change hazards.

It will also develop business plans for micro- entrepreneurs that take into account changing climatic conditions,” said Gregory Watson, head of the climate change team at the MIF and leader of the project.

The MIF, also known as FOMIN, its Spanish acronym, is the largest provider of technical assistance for private sector development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Small developing states in the Caribbean, particularly MSMEs, are highly vulnerable to the detrimental effects of climate change because of their high dependence on natural resource inputs, a lesser capacity to assess risks from climate change, and low ability to relocate their businesses. The anticipated impacts of climate change in coastal communities in the Caribbean include changes in precipitation patterns, with the likelihood of more intense storms and longer dry spells, increased hurricane intensity, rapid coral bleaching, and rises in sea levels leading to coastal erosion and inundation.

The project will help these communities and MSMEs develop adaptation plans, respond to current negative effects of climate change, as well as prepare for expected climatic stimuli.

Moreover, the project will pilot new opportunities through alternative business models that may better align with changing conditions than their current livelihoods.

MSMEs contribute an estimated 90 per cent of employment and 70 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in coastal communities in the Caribbean. Major MSME sectors include tourism, agriculture, fishing, and crafts.

The MIF, funded by 39 donors, supports private sector-led development benefitting the poor – their businesses, farms, and households. It aims to give low-income populations the tools to boost their incomes: access to markets and the skills to compete in those markets; access to finance; and access to basic services, including green technology.

The CARIBSAVE Partnership is a not- for-profit regional organisation based in the Caribbean with its headquarters in Barbados.

CARIBSAVE was formed in 2008 as a partnership initiative between the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) and the University of Oxford.

CARIBSAVE works with stakeholders to address the impacts and challenges surrounding climate change; the environment; economic development; and tourism and community livelihoods across the Caribbean Basin, using an integrated and holistic approach.