Private Sector Investment in Conservation and Coastal Resilience in the Caribbean

This project aimed to inform the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) of opportunities to incentivize the private sector to invest in companies or projects that help conserve, protect, and advance resilience, biodiversity, habitats, and coastal resources in the Caribbean. The Dominican Republic is the focus of this report given its strong economic growth and ease of doing business, economic dependency on climate-affected sectors such as tourism, agriculture, and fisheries, and vulnerability to sudden and slow-onset effects of climate change such as tropical storms and sea level rise. 

The report discussed the main climate-related impacts affecting coastal areas in the Dominican Republic, how these impacts negatively impact the local economy and livelihoods, and what private sector solutions currently exist or can be implemented to address these challenges. The report first described the climate-related challenges faced by the Caribbean, with a breakdown of the rationale for selecting the Dominican Republic as a focus of analysis. Following this analysis, the report explained the reasons for the financing gap between international investment and the local economy, and what barriers exist to private sector solutions. The report concluded by examining existing financial mechanisms to strengthen coastal resilience and provide a scope for DFC to enter the space and bridge the demand-supply financing gap.