Nature-based Solutions: Scaling Private Sector Uptake for Climate Resilient Infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) can be used as a cost effective way to build infrastructure resilience in response to a changing climate, while also delivering a range of other societal benefits. Yet, many business aren’t aware of these benefits, and implementation of NbS by the private sector (including businesses that plan, design, construct and fund infrastructure) has been limited in Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC). As a region where infrastructure investments are required due to economic and population growth, and where climate impacts are acute, LAC is an ideal setting for multifunctional solutions like NbS to help build climate-resilient infrastructure. Through a collaborative project, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Acclimatise, and the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) are exploring the barriers to, and opportunities for, increasing private-sector uptake of NbS in the infrastructure sector in LAC. This document outlines emerging findings from the work and provides initial recommendations for infrastructure project developers, financial institutions, and policy makers, to create a more enabling environment for NbS.