People of all genders and abilities are integral to Caribbean biodiversity conservation efforts, with women, men, and people with disabilities (PWD) serving as both formal leaders and grassroots stewards. Throughout the region, diverse community members maintain valuable traditional ecological knowledge about local ecosystems and sustainable practices.
Particularly, initiatives led by women from diverse backgrounds, including afro-Caribbean, Indigenous, rural, and women with disabilities, have achieved notable success in marine conservation, sustainable agriculture, and forest management across many Caribbean countries. These efforts often interweave traditional ecological knowledge with contemporary conservation approaches while addressing overlapping social, economic, and environmental challenges faced by marginalized groups.
In celebration of International Women’s Day 2025, and in keeping with the theme, ‘Accelerate Action’, we’re highlighting the groundbreaking Gender Smart Facility (GSF) developed by the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund (CBF) in partnership with Global Affairs Canada (GAC).
Addressing the Gender Gap in Climate Resilience
The Caribbean faces unique biodiversity and climate challenges that affect men, women and people with disabilities differently. Women and PWD often have unequal access to resources, different roles in natural resource management, and face barriers to participation in decision-making processes that affect the environment.
The Gender Smart Facility is a grant award mechanism under the Caribbean Organization for a Resilient Environment (CORE) Project. The GSF is a USD7.1 million fund specifically designed to support gender-responsive, environmentally focused grants across the Caribbean. Through this initiative, the CBF ensures that climate adaptation efforts don’t just protect ecosystems, but actively advance gender equality. The initiative should not only focus on the environment but also respond to the specific needs of and opportunities for women and men, indigenous people and people with disabilities among other vulnerable groups. Additionally, proposed initiatives should increase the access to resources by men and women in all their diversity.
Innovative Approach to Gender-Responsive Climate Solutions
Key Focus Areas of the GSF
What makes the Gender Smart Facility unique is its dedicated focus on funding projects that:
- Reduce environmental vulnerability while addressing gender inequalities by improving Climate-Resilient Agriculture to support farmers who are women, youth and people with disabilities with training on drought-resistant crops and water conservation techniques.
- Creates an enabling environment to ensure women gain equal access to agricultural land and decision-making.
- Restore and maintain marine and terrestrial ecosystems with women’s leadership such as providing alternate livelihood for fisherfolks in coastal communities and restoring coral reefs and mangroves.
- Enhance gender-responsive governance of natural resources by empowering more women to be involved in decision making efforts that impact the livelihood of women.
- Empower women, indigenous people, people with disabilities, the elderly and youths in climate decision-making through education, research and training at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels.
- Support inclusive approaches to ecosystem-based adaptation. For example, develop sustainable tourism ventures led by community members facing multiple forms of discrimination, protecting biodiversity hotspots while creating economic opportunities that benefit diverse groups including women, youths, ethnic minorities, and people with disabilities.
- Provides training in gender-responsive climate solutions.
The GSF works through National Conservation Trust Funds (NCTF) in eight (8) Caribbean countries; Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Suriname – ensuring that local organizations receive funding for projects that benefit both people and the environment through a gender-responsive lens.
Funding Structure
Creating Lasting Change
“When both genders are actively involved, sufficiently empowered and receive benefits from natural resource management or conservation, they are more likely to value and support these activities in the future, creating sustainable impact in their countries,” notes the GSF framework.
Through grants ranging the GSF is making gender-responsive climate action accessible to local universities, NGOs, and community organizations across the Caribbean.
This International Women’s Day, we celebrate initiatives like the Gender Smart Facility that recognize gender equality as essential to effective biodiversity conservation and climate resilience.
Call to Action
Attention women-led organizations and women’s rights groups!
The Gender Smart Facility is launching calls for proposals through National Conservation Trust Funds (NCTFs) in participating Caribbean countries.
If your organization works at the intersection of gender equality and environmental conservation, this is an unprecedented opportunity to access funding for your initiatives.
How to get involved:
- Connect with your country’s National Conservation Trust Fund
- Watch for upcoming calls for proposals in 2025-2026
- Prepare projects that link gender-responsive approaches with ecosystem-based climate adaptation
- Consider partnerships with other environmental or women’s organizations to strengthen your proposal
Together, we can build a more resilient Caribbean where both ecosystems and gender equality thrive!
For more information, contact your local National Conservation Trust Fund.
“Partners for Gender-Responsive Climate Action”
#IWD2025 #Accelerateaction
