CAF is made up of 18 Latin American and Caribbean countries, as well as Spain, Portugal and 13 Latin American private banks

CAF will allocate USD 1,250 million to protect the oceans of Latin America and the Caribbean

SPAIN
Monday, October 03, 2022, 01:00 (GMT + 9)

The multilateral organization will mobilize its own financial resources to promote the blue economy, preserve the health of the oceans and boost the value chains of fishing and tourism in coastal areas. The announcement is part of CAF's strategy to become the green bank in Latin America and the Caribbean, with which it intends to accelerate climate action and position the region as a leader in the fight against global warming.

CAF -development bank of Latin America- announced that it will allocate USD 1,250 million over the next five years to finance projects that contribute to preserving, revitalizing and promoting marine and coastal ecosystems in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The resources will be used to design and implement projects and programs that promote the blue economy, with an emphasis on the restoration of marine and coastal environments, blue carbon, renewable marine energy, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, integrated coastal management, nature-based solutions, payment for ecosystem services, ecotourism and improved management of marine protected areas, among others.

Currently, the oceans face serious sustainability problems, mostly caused and accelerated by climate change, such as increasingly acidic and hot waters, rising sea levels and overexploitation of marine stocks. In Latin America and the Caribbean, marine ecosystems show a reduction in the abundance, density and cover of coral and of stocks of fish and marine fauna, changes in plankton and loss of wetland ecosystems.

“This financing reaffirms our commitment to lead the fight against climate change and promote the development of the blue economy in Latin America and the Caribbean. With these resources we will implement innovative solutions that help mitigate the effects of global warming, we will promote the preservation of marine ecosystems and we will contribute to improving the living conditions of the millions of Latin Americans who depend on the seas”, said Sergio Díaz-Granados, CAF Executive President.

The resources to protect the oceans are part of CAF's goal of becoming the green bank in Latin America and the Caribbean. In this sense, during the COP26 in Glasgow, the institution announced a financing of USD 25,000 million in green operations that help increase climate resilience, preserve biodiversity, restore natural ecosystems, promote the energy transition and achieve growth low in gas emissions. greenhouse. In parallel, the institution's green financing will go from 24% in 2020 to 40% in 2026, and all its operations will be aligned with the objectives of the Paris Agreement and with the post-2020 framework for biological diversity.

One of the first projects within this financing is the agreement for the protection of the Marine Corridor of the Eastern Tropical Pacific (CMAR), a region shared by Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Panama that generates USD 3,000 million annually derived mainly from fishing, tourism and maritime transport. Thanks to a contribution from CAF of USD 1 million, joint strategies will be implemented with the participation of the governments of the four countries, civil society, international cooperation organizations and NGOs. The biodiversity of the Marine Corridor, which includes coral areas, passage of large migratory species, reptiles or numerous sharks, is linked to the cultural and tourist offer of customs, gastronomy and handicrafts.

Situation of the oceans in Latin America and the Caribbean

Latin America and the Caribbean contains one of the most important productive marine areas in the world, with unique biodiversity that represents a significant portion of global marine biodiversity, home to the Mesoamerican Reef System (SAM), the second largest barrier reef in the world. . The region has 18% of global marine ecoregions and has 47 of the 258 marine ecoregions on the planet.

The effects of climate change on the oceans are evident: more than 80% of the oceans experienced at least one marine heat wave in 2020 (45% had strong heat waves, while 28% of cases were moderate) , which is causing the reduction of fish stocks and the death of corals, among other effects. To this must be added the overexploitation of coastal marine resources, including unregulated and undocumented illegal fishing, unplanned urban development in coastal areas, and the dumping of untreated sewage into the sea. The CRFM estimates that in 2019 fishery production in the Caribbean decreased by 40% from its historical minimum recorded ten years ago. For its part, the FAO has classified

Caribbean fish stocks as the weakest in the world, with 55% of commercial fish stocks overexploited or depleted.

The consequences of the poor health of the oceans threaten global food security, the sustainability of the planet and the production and commercial systems themselves. Therefore, it is essential that we promote new international consensus to build more resilient and diversified economies, generate new jobs and prepare the region for the challenges associated with economic recovery in a context of global warming and weakened coastal and marine ecosystems.

<--- FAO Latin American and Europe Areas

In order to position the region as a leader in the fight against global warming, CAF is prioritizing a sustainability agenda that values ​​initiatives with environmental and climate co-benefits for the development of sectors such as water, energy, infrastructure, transport and digitization , among others. In addition, the institution is supporting its member countries to promote the blue economy, promote the energy transition, strengthen the conservation of natural ecosystems and biodiversity, and achieve low growth in greenhouse gas emissions.

The institution also plans to strengthen the mobilization of third-party financing sources, such as the issuance of bonds and green and climate funds, and will promote strategic alliances that allow the coordinated work between governments, civil society, international organizations, NGOs and the sector to be promoted. private. This will help conserve biodiversity, design public policies for adaptation and mitigation, strengthen the capacities of governments and encourage economic growth that respects the environment and is inclusive.

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