Developing a Natural Capital and Biodiversity Action Plan for the Caribbean Development Bank

The Caribbean’s wealth of natural capital—its valuable ecosystems and biodiversity, including coral reefs, seagrass beds, lagoons, mangroves, and rainforests—supports vital services such as climate regulation, disaster risk reduction, food security, and livelihoods for millions across the region. These ecosystems, however, face increasing threats from habitat loss, invasive species, overexploitation, pollution, and climate change, placing the region’s biodiversity and natural capital at serious risk. To address these challenges, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is developing a Natural Capital and Biodiversity Action Plan (NCBAP) to guide the integration of natural capital and biodiversity considerations into its operations, supporting its 19 Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs) in pursuing resilient, nature-positive development.

About the project

The overall objective of the consultancy is to develop an NCBAP that:

• provides a structured framework to guide essential activities for mainstreaming natural capital and biodiversity into CDB’s programmes, policies and operations, and

• identifies priority actions for CDB’s engagement with its clients and development partners on natural capital and biodiversity integration.

How will this project benefit the Caribbean region?

The NCBAP will provide an actionable roadmap for integrating biodiversity into CDB’s operations, enabling CDB to more effectively support sustainable use of the Caribbean’s natural capital, while minimising ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss across the Bank’s BMCs.

What activities are we undertaking to achieve this?

To achieve these objectives, the following activities will be implemented:

1. Develop the technical and conceptual foundation for the NCBAP, in the form of a detailed Approach Paper.
2. Map and engage key stakeholders at international, regional, national and Bank levels through virtual interviews and consultations to inform the NCBAP.
3. Conduct a comprehensive desktop situational analysis to establish a baseline and identify opportunities to strengthen natural capital and biodiversity mainstreaming in CDB’s operations.
4. Develop and finalise the full NCBAP, including its review and validation by CDB and key stakeholders.

More information about this project

• Download the project brief
• Contact Thérèse Yarde, Biodiversity and Ecosystems Programme Manager, at therese@canari.org.

Related programme

Biodiversity and Ecosystems