Green Climate Fund Awards Grant to Develop Climate-Resilient Watersheds Proposal in the Dominican Republic
More than one million people stand to benefit from this potential project.
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) recently approved a grant to TNC to support further development of a proposal titled Climate-Resilient Watersheds and Communities through nature-based solutions and innovative financing in the Dominican Republic (CReW-DR).
The $1.4 million Project Preparation Facility grant provides resources to help drive the necessary analyses and develop the full funding proposal package, which will be submitted to GCF for consideration in March 2027.
CReW-DR, which seeks to mobilize USD $90 million for the wide-reaching project, will improve the lives of more than one million people by enhancing water security, reducing disaster risks, and promoting climate-smart livelihoods.
The full project, once approved, will implement a suite of nature-based solutions to restore, protect and sustainably manage key ecosystems. It will utilize both grants and blended finance tools to promote enabling policy and financial environments.
The blended-finance model will increase access to financing for producers, cooperatives, agribusinesses, and agricultural micro, small and medium-sized enterprises by leveraging private funds to support climate-resilient, high-impact investment projects. Eligible projects include agricultural modernization, resilient infrastructure, clean technologies, value chain development, and market certification, all areas with strong potential to improve productivity, strengthen resilience, and deliver long-term returns.
The Dominican Republic’s first national GCF project, the initiative aims to strengthen climate resilience in the Yaque del Norte region and the coastal municipality of Miches. In alignment with the country’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC 2.0 & NDC 3.0) and National Adaptation Plan 2015-2030, the project will contribute to adaptation targets in water, ecosystems, agriculture, and climate governance.
CReW-DR reflects our commitment to move from planning to implementation, combining nature-based solutions, sound climate governance and innovative financing mechanisms to protect our communities, our productive sectors and our natural capital.
“We're proud to show, alongside the Government of the Dominican Republic and local institutions, that restored nature isn't an alternative to climate infrastructure; it is the infrastructure that water security, disaster resilience, and lasting livelihoods are built on,” explained Clare Shakya, TNC’s Global Managing Director, Climate.
“Through the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, the Dominican State is advancing an ambitious agenda to strengthen water security, reduce climate-related disaster risks, restore and sustainably manage critical ecosystems, and create new opportunities for resilient livelihoods in vulnerable territories such as the Yaque del Norte watershed and the coastal municipality of Miches,” said the Hon. Paíno Henríquez, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. “CReW-DR reflects our commitment to move from planning to implementation, combining nature-based solutions, sound climate governance, and innovative financing mechanisms to protect our communities, our productive sectors, and our natural capital.”
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