Community-based Coral Restoration and Livelihood Diversification in St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Over the past four decades Caribbean coral reefs have degraded rapidly. This has reduced the income and lowered the food security of coastal communities in St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) that rely on the reefs for fishing and tourism. It has also increased their exposure to storm surges and coastal erosion.

At the IAF we support community-led approaches to natural resource management.

Our grantee partner The Centre for Livelihoods Ecosystems Energy Adaptation and Resilience in the Caribbean (CLEAR) works with local communities in St.

Lucia and SVG to establish coral reef restoration projects to support their long-term food security and climate resilience. CLEAR will train community members to grow and preserve reefs while building public awareness for marine conservation.

This grant is part of the IAF?s commitment to strengthen community-led disaster mitigation and resilience in the Caribbean.

It advances our partnership with USAID Building Community Resilience in the Eastern & Southern Caribbean as well as the U.S.-Caribbean Resilience Partnership. This grant is part of the IAF's broader COVID-19 response strategy.

This amendment provides CLEAR with an additional 30 months and $313,901 to implement community-based tours led by community members to the coral nursery in both St. Lucia and St. Vincent where CLEAR is supporting coral reef restoration projects. The income generated from the tours will help sustain the operations of the coral nurseries long-term.