Global Environment Facility to finance projects in Antigua and Barbuda and 22 other countries

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has announced a significant investment in 23 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean to address critical environmental challenges.

These projects, supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), will focus on urban sustainability, groundwater management, biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, and land degradation reversal.

FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative, Mario Lubetkin, emphasized the organization’s commitment to working closely with member countries.

“FAO is working closely with our member countries to promote a climate finance mobilization strategy for innovative greenhouse optimization, soil and land mapping initiatives. We are supporting governments and communities in building capacity for integrated risk management to improving the resilience of livelihoods and value chains,” Lubetkin said.

In the Caribbean, 14 countries (Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago) will benefit from the second phase of the SOILCARE initiative.

This project aims to improve sustainable land management in Small Island Developing States, focusing on creating more productive and climate-resilient agri-food systems.

The initiative targets the restoration of 28,000 hectares of agricultural land, improved management of 70,000 hectares, and direct benefits for at least 6,900 farmers.

In South America, Chile will receive support to implement ecosystem-based solutions and green infrastructure networks in four cities, aiming to enhance biodiversity and climate change mitigation.

The project is expected to improve practices on over 1,325,000 hectares of landscapes, mitigate over 14,900 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, and benefit nearly 732,000 people directly.

Central America, Belize, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama will collaborate on a source-to-sea management approach to comprehensively manage inland resources and coastal ecosystems.

 This initiative aims to improve biodiversity, water security, and the blue economy across 12 major watersheds and the Caribbean and Pacific marine ecosystems. The project targets the improved management of more than 1.8 million hectares of protected areas, restoration of 300 hectares of wetlands, and direct benefits for 350,000 people.

These ambitious projects represent a significant step towards addressing environmental challenges and promoting sustainable development across Latin America and the Caribbean.