A FEASIBILITY study and designs for coastal protection works in Grand Turk, North, Providenciales and Salt Cay will be rolled out soon.
A shoreline management plan will also be created to protect the Islands’ coastlines, using climate-resilient approaches.
This comes as the board of directors of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) approved funding to the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The project will be supported by a $440,000 loan, a $50,000 grant allocated from resources provided by the European Investment Bank under the Grant Facility for Climate Action Support to CDB, and counterpart funding of $289,000 from TCI Government.
The provision of the loans and grant come directly on the heels of the CDB’s recently concluded 47th annual flagship event held in the Turks and Caicos Islands last week.
The CDB has since approved millions in loans and grants for 10 borrowing member countries for numerous development projects and initiatives.
According to a CDB press release, chief of economic infrastructure division of the CDB, O’Reilly Lewis, underscored the importance of coastal defense to the TCI’s tourism industry, the country’s main economic engine.
“Tourism is the main pillar of TCI’s economy, with its coastal and marine resources as the basis of the sector.
“The loss of critical beach assets due to coastal erosion, as well as the other anticipated changes resulting from climate change, would potentially have significant negative implications for settlements, tourism sites and livelihoods resulting from the reduction in coastal and marine economic activity,” he said.
Lewis pointed out that the feasibility study and designs derived from the technical assistance project will provide the TCI Government with viable designs for climate-resilient infrastructure solutions to safeguard social and economic development, economic growth and livelihood security.
The shoreline management plan will strengthen TCI’s capacity to sustainably monitor and manage the country’s beaches and related coastal assets.
It will also assist the Government with the development of a more comprehensive integrated coastal zone management plan.
The intervention is consistent with the bank’s strategic objective of supporting inclusive growth and sustainable development within its borrowing member countries.
It also aligns with CDB’s corporate priorities of promoting disaster risk management and climate change mitigation and adaptation; and improved protection and sustainable management of natural resources.
With regards to investment in the region, the CDB plans to inject some $110 million into climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience projects across the region.
On Wednesday (May 24) the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) signed a financing agreement in Providenciales.
The cash will support investment projects in the Caribbean, under CDB’s climate action policy.
The 100 million euro climate action initiative, is EIB’s biggest loan to the Caribbean to date.
It supports nine projects in seven countries across the Caribbean, including the Turks and Caicos Islands.
CDB’s president Dr. William Warren Smith and EIB vice president responsible for the Caribbean, Pim Van Balle-kom, signed the new agreement during the recent 47th Annual Meeting of CDB’s Board of Governors.
Van Balle-kom said that the signing of the new climate action loan with CDB is the result of a fruitful partnership that has lasted for almost four decades.
He said: “This partnership is currently supporting CDB’s efforts to mainstream climate action to help its borrowing member countries, which are all considered small island developing states, to adequately tackle risks related to climate change, said Balle-kom.
“Caribbean countries face economic and social challenges, which must be addressed, whilst ensuring resilience to climate change,” he added.
Smith pointed out that through this new line of credit, the CDB will be able to provide to its borrowing member countries much needed low cost financing to address the climate impacts already affecting these countries.
“The line supports our ongoing work to build climate resilience and the adaptive capacities of BMCs, as they work towards their goal of achieving sustainable development,” he said:
“The signing of this agreement reinforces the longstanding partnership between EIB and CDB, and signals strengthened cooperation between our two institutions,” Smith added.
Under the Climate Action Framework Loan II, appropriate investments will be made in climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience projects in renewable energy, energy efficiency, road transport, water infrastructure and community level physical and social infrastructure that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve resilience to the impacts of climate change.
According to CDB’s website, a healthy pipeline of climate action projects, amounting to more than $300 million, has been developed with support of an EIB-funded technical assistance programme.
