Latin America and the Caribbean

Barbados and Montserrat

Small Island Developing States Leave No One Behind Integrated Policy

Integrated Population Data and Policy Solutions to Accelerate SDGs Achievement in Barbados and Montserrat


The Joint Programme will assist the Governments of Barbados and Montserrat in the attainment of sustainable, healthy and prosperous populations and economies as outlined in the National Strategic Plan of Barbados 2005-2025; and the Montserrat Sustainable Development Plan 2008-2020, which is currently being updated and will maintain key focus on population. Addressing key cross-cutting issues of gender, data and the most vulnerable populations to ensure that no one is left behind (LNOB) will contribute to the achievement of national commitments to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Fewer people will be at risk of being left behind in development if data and information systems are strengthened to map and effectively monitor structural inequalities and inform socio-economic policies; countries will prioritise data-driven decision-making when faced with economic, environmental, social, and political shocks; population sustainability will increase with investments in reproductive health rights and choices; expansion and implementation of family-friendly policies and services will increase population sustainability; better balance in responsibilities for unpaid care work between men and women will increase labour and economic productivity of women.

Approach:

The Joint Programme aims to facilitate increased access, availability and completeness of quality, real-time disaggregated spatial and demographic data and gender analysis to contribute to evidence-based policy-making processes, including the strengthening of data infrastructure, collection and analysis which are critical to ensure that the poor and disadvantaged are systematically identified and engaged in and benefit from development processes.

Direct Influence: Women, girls, youth, persons with disabilities, older persons, and migrants. Indirect Influence: Rural and urban poor, LGBTI persons (sexual orientation and gender identity), Persons affected by (HIV/AIDS, leprosy), and Victims of (slavery, torture, trafficking, sexual exploitation and abuse).

Quick facts

Total budget:
US $ 813,951

UN Agencies:

UNFPA, UNWOMEN


National Partners:

Barbados:

  • Ministry of Finance, Economic Affairs and Investment
  • Ministry of Health and Wellness
  • Bureau of Gender Affairs, Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs
  • Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment
  • Barbados Statistical Service


Montserrat:

  • Ministry of Finance and Economic Management
  • Ministry of Health and Social Services
  • Montserrat Statistics Department
  • Department of Youth Affairs and Sports
  • Royal Montserrat Police Services – Immigration
  • Office of the Premier

Duration:
24 Months
Small Island Developing States Leave No One Behind Integrated Policy

Resilient livelihoods and food security through data, digitalization and sectoral linkages


The Joint Programme responds to specific national objectives and priorities, including the National Resilience Development Strategy 2030 of Dominica, and the National Economic and Social Development Plan 2013-2025 of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The Joint Programme is expected to enable partner governments to accelerate progress towards the implementation of SDGs 1, 2, 5, 13 and 17 in support of national commitments and reflective of the significant vulnerabilities of these countries to natural hazard-induced disasters and external shocks. The expected outcome of the JP, greater resilience for farmers, fishers and vulnerable households, is directly addressed by this complementary set of SDGs, which together link social protection to agriculture through the medium of pertinent data and information systems, in addition to more inclusive risk management practices. A critical bottleneck for attaining the SDGs is the fragmented and outdated nature of datasets, and inadequate capacity to use technology to collect, store and synthesize data from various sources and sectors. The Joint Programme will draw on the power of data, information systems and sectoral linkages to improve policies, programmes and the targeting of resources to vulnerable people and areas.

Approach

The Joint Programme will increase the resilience of farmers, fishers and vulnerable people by strengthening the systems and institutional capacities of the agriculture and social protection sectors in a risk-informed manner and improving linkages between them. Improvements in early warning, vulnerability and geospatial data analysis and more robust decision support systems will inform more effective practices and strategies for risk management and responses to shocks and disasters. More responsive and scalable digital data systems, assessments and registries on farmers, fishers, and vulnerable households will enable effective support for resilient livelihoods and robust safety nets, thereby protecting food consumption and production. 

Direct Influence

Women, Youth, Persons with disabilities, Older persons, Indigenous people, Rural workers. Indirect influence: Children, Girls, Persons affected by (HIV/AIDS, leprosy).

Quick facts

Total budget:
US $ 2,629,800

UN Agencies:

FAO, WFP


National Partners:

Dominica: Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment, Youth at Risk, Gender Affairs, Seniors Security and Dominicans with Disabilities; The Ministry of Blue and Green Economy, Agriculture and National Food Security; ICT Unit in Dominica; Ministry of Sports, Culture, and Community Development; Office of Disaster Management (ODM); Climate Resilience Execution Agency for Dominica (CREAD); Dominica Meteorological Service; Ministry of Public Works and Digital Economy; Physical Planning Division (PPD). St. Vincent and the Grenadines: Ministry of National Mobilization, Social Development, Family, Gender Affairs, Youth, Housing and Informal Human Settlement, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry & Labour; National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO); Information Technology Services Division in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Ministry of Transport, Works, Urban Development and Local Government; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Meteorological Services; Physical Planning Unit (PPU). Regional Partners: The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA); The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS); The Caribbean Community (CARICOM); The Caribbean Agricultural Development Institute (CARDI); The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA); The Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH).


Duration:
24 Months

Blue Invest: A Facility for Caribbean SIDS’ Financial Expansion


Results

A pipeline of investible deals has been identified and assessed along with public and private partners.

Why

Oceans offer tremendous potential for economic sectors, livelihoods and food security. Despite opportunities, the challenge of attracting private investments in the blue economy has been exacerbated by skill and capacity gaps, lack of coordination, high costs of capital and collateral requirements, elevated investors' perception of risks, and a limited number of investment-ready projects. ‘Blue Invest’ addresses these challenges head on by building a robust blue economy pipeline of bankable initiatives and unlocking the necessary investments towards them.

What

Through a robust pipeline of investible projects, the proposal anticipates new investment in high-impact areas to create a resillient and sustainable blue economy in the Eastern Caribbean. The initial pipeline of projects already identified will expand marine protected areas, build sustainable fishing value chains, improve fishery business models, and create innovative and environmentally friendly waste management and energy solutions. The programme will also create decent jobs, combat food insecurity, reduce poverty, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The programme will also generate green employment opportunities, especially for women.

How

Each project supported by Blue Invest will receive tailored technical assistance and financial support with the aim to increase the market success rate, thereby contributing to sustainability and economic resilience. Concessional loans and performance grants will de-risk high-impact projects and crowd-in private financing. The pre-identified pipeline focuses on 6 areas: waste management, biodiversity conservation, fisheries and aquaculture, energy, marine transport and tourism.

Financial instruments

Blue Invest will deploy concessional loans and performance grants on a project by project basis. Blue Invest will leverage financing from development partners and private investors co-investing in the pipeline. Blue Invest aims to leverage US$29 million to over 20 investable blue economy projects.

Quick facts

UN Agencies:

UNDP, FAO, UNEP


National Partners:

Caribbean Development Bank, European Investment Bank, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank IDB-Lab/Invest, International Finance Corporation


SDG Finance - Enabling Environment

Harnessing Blue Economy Finance for SIDS Recovery and Sustainable Development

Total funding allocated
SDG Finance - Enabling Environment
US $ 1000000
Co-funding by UN agencies
SDG Finance - Enabling Environment
US $ 120000
#BlueFinance
#ResilientEconomicRecovery
#ExogenousShocks
#NaturalHeritage

Brief Description

The Blue Economy Strategies are amongst the most promising approaches to support Small Island Developing States (SIDS) economic structuring transformation to build resiliency to exogenous shocks, including natural disasters, manmade or financial crises, global viral pandemics, while preserving their natural heritage. The Joint Programme (JP) will support three governments in the Eastern Caribbean: Barbados, Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, in their efforts to develop financing strategies in the Blue Economy and creating an enabling framework for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) investment.

Approach

Using the Blue Economy as an integral driver for resilient economic recovery and growth in the Eastern Caribbean, the Joint Programme’s emphasis will be on the development of an enabling and supporting environment for financing the Blue Economy, through different measures: the identification of policy and regulation gaps, a methodology to identify key Blue Economy opportunities, and the definition of specific financing mechanisms to achieve resilient growth. The three countries will benefit from upscaling the UN’s existing initiatives with the private sector, through the establishment of a public-private consortium which will leverage substantial resources from the private sector.

Quick facts

Total budget:
US $1,120,000

UN Agencies:

UNDP, FAO, UNEP


National Partners:

Ministry of Finance, Economic Affairs and Investment


Duration:
Jul 2020 - Jun 2022

Financial Information