Supporting CEPF Grantee Partners After Hurricane Melissa

20 November 2025 – Hurricane Melissa made landfall in south-western Jamaica on 28 October 2025 as a Category 5 storm after bringing heavy rains to Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and then later affected Cuba and parts of The Bahamas. Although Jamaica is the worst affected, the storm has disrupted lives and operations across the Greater Antilles and The Bahamas.

Several Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) and other ecologically significant sites have been devastated by the storm. Detailed assessments are still underway, but it is already evident that forests, watersheds, coastal habitats and species populations have all been damaged. Jamaica’s Forestry Department reports that approximately 51 per cent of the island’s forests have been affected.

Read full statement here: English – Spanish