The Atlantic hurricane season began on June 1, but for many Caribbean communities, the recovery from last season’s devastation is still underway.
When Hurricane Beryl made landfall in July 2024, it shattered records as the earliest Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic’s history. It tore across Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Jamaica, and St. Lucia, damaging coral reefs, flattening mangroves, and overwhelming marine protected areas (MPAs) and coastal communities already stretched thin. But in the days and weeks that followed, one thing was clear: Caribbean-led conservation systems were working and ready to respond.
That’s the vision behind the work of the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund (CBF), which is helping Caribbean nations face a rising tide of climate disasters with sustainable self-financing and long-term investment in ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction. This article explores how the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund (CBF) and its national partners are helping the region not only recover from recent climate-related disasters but also build long-term resilience through nature-based solutions.
Rapid Response, Rooted in Nature
In the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, the CBF mobilized nearly USD 1 million in grant funding, from its Endowment Fund and French donor AFD (Agence Française de Développement) to help four countries—Grenada, Jamaica, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent & the Grenadines—rebuild their environmental defenses and restore critical conservation infrastructure.
In Grenada, that meant getting boots on the ground in Carriacou and the northern tip of the main island, where the storm all but wiped out the management office for the Sandy Island Oyster Bed Marine Protected Area (MPA), destroying infrastructure and ecosystems in the Levara National Park. With CBF support through the Grenada Sustainable Development Trust Fund, a local team is working to restore the wetlands of the only RAMSAR site and the Levara National Park [Suggest rewording to Levera National Park, which is a RAMSAR site (can we put a link) – many people won’t know what RAMSAR that means.], rebuild ranger offices in Carriacou, and restore surveillance infrastructure, laying the groundwork not just for recovery, but resilience.
Following the extensive damage caused by Hurricane Beryl, the Soufrière Marine Management Association (SMMA) in St. Lucia launched a recovery project through funding from the Saint Lucia National Conservation Fund. The initiative focuses on restoring key conservation infrastructure, including a monitoring vessel and 20 moorings, replacing essential office equipment, and training 20 local lobster fishers in sustainable practices. It also includes targeted community outreach programs on climate change, conservation, and disaster preparedness. By rebuilding capacity and promoting environmental stewardship, the project enhances local readiness for future climate-related disasters and supports the long-term protection of marine ecosystems and coastal livelihoods.
In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the local NGO SusGren, with support from the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Conservation Fund, is assisting sea moss farmers in their economic recovery. The initiative aims to contribute to sustainable fisheries and aquaculture while also promoting resilience to climate change. Additionally, efforts are underway to rehabilitate the Belmont Salt Pond on Union Island, which suffered significant damage. Most of the mangroves were destroyed, debris was deposited in the area, and the wildlife viewing platforms were partially damaged [feedback received: The mangrove rehabilitation will take place in Ashton Lagoon.].
In Jamaica, the Forestry Department, with support from the National Conservation Trust Fund of Jamaica and funding from AFD/FFEM, is implementing a 12-month, J$16.9 million project to restore forest ecosystems and strengthen community resilience in areas affected by Hurricane Beryl. Centered in the Cockpit Country region, the initiative includes reforesting eight hectares of degraded land, repairing seven kilometers of critical access roads, and renovating nursery infrastructure to ensure high-quality seedling production. It also supports sustainable livelihoods through agroforestry activities such as live yam stick production and backyard gardening, led by local Forest Management Committees. By combining ecological restoration with economic empowerment, the project reduces future disaster risks, enhances biodiversity, and improves the adaptive capacity of vulnerable rural communities.
How the CBF Prepares Communities Before the Next Storm Hits
For over a decade, the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund has helped the region move from reactive recovery to proactive resilience. Its disaster risk strategy is grounded in a simple but powerful idea: nature is our first line of defense.
Working through trusted national partners, including those in Jamaica, Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the CBF channels funding where it matters most, before and after disasters strike.
The CBF’s approach is delivered through three interconnected programs:
- The Endowment Fund provides consistent, long-term financing for 12 countries, empowering National Conservation Trust Funds and local organizations to lead their own disaster response and ecosystem recovery.
- The Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) Facility supports nature-based projects that stabilize coastlines, restore coral reefs, and protect communities from rising seas and stronger storms.
- The Nature-Based Economies Program helps turn post-disaster debris into useful material, converting risk into opportunity and creating sustainable local jobs.
Stories of Recovery and Resilience
The CBF’s impact isn’t just measured in dollars. It’s visible in the mangroves returning to Grand Bahama after Hurricane Dorian, in the local ecoguards trained to patrol parks in St. Vincent, and in the young fishers in Jamaica learning to restore reefs that feed their families.
In the Bahamas, over 20,000 mangroves were replanted between 2021 and 2023, helping reverse the ecological damage caused by Hurricane Dorian. Community nurseries now grow native plants, and solar energy systems installed in schools provide clean power and resilience to future outages.
In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, funding after the 2021 La Soufrière eruption helped rehabilitate national parks infrastructure and train conservation teams in volcanic impact assessment, building local capacity to respond faster next time.
Looking Ahead: A Regional Call to Action
As the Caribbean braces for what experts predict may be one of the most active hurricane seasons on record, the lessons of Beryl are clear: “We cannot stop storms but we can shape how we prepare, how we respond, and how we rebuild.”
The CBF was created to ensure long-term, reliable financing for the Caribbean’s conservation sector. In a region increasingly defined by climate extremes, that mission has grown to ensure that ecosystem protection is also disaster protection.
As the 2025 hurricane season unfolds, many communities are still rebuilding, but thanks to the CBF and its partners, they are not starting from scratch. They are starting with healthier reefs and mangroves, equipped and trained local teams, and a growing network of funders, governments, and NGOs working in sync.
The Caribbean may be on the frontlines of climate change, but it is also on the leading edge of resilience.
