Nature-based Solutions: Scaling Private Sector Uptake for Climate Resilient Infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean

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Date
Dec 2019
Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are a cost effective way to build infrastructure resilient to a changing climate, while also delivering other societal benefits. Yet, many businesses are unaware of the potential; implementation of NbS by the private sector has been limited in Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC). There is growing demand for infrastructure investments in LAC to meet economic growth and service provision needs, but LAC also suffers from acute climate impacts. LAC is an ideal setting for multifunctional solutions like NbS to help build climate-resilient infrastructure. Through a collaborative project, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Acclimatise, and the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) are exploring the policy, technical and financial barriers to, and opportunities for, increasing private-sector uptake of NbS in the infrastructure sector in LAC. This document presents emerging findings and provides recommendations for infrastructure project developers, financial institutions, and policy makers to create a more enabling environment for NbS, these include:

Finding 1: NbS need to be mainstreamed into policy, legislation, and regulations
Finding 2: Project developers need additional skills, methodologies, tools, and capacities to incorporate NbS into infrastructure projects
Finding 3: Defining the business case is an important first step to build support and secure finance for NbS in LAC
Finding 4: There is a need to improve the conditions and scalability of financial instruments suitable for NbS investment in LAC