A USD3.675 million grant to help upgrade logistics infrastructure while enhancing biosecurity in the ecologically fragile Galápagos Islands was approved by the Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF) Governing Committee during its meeting in Beijing on 24 June. The project will be implemented by the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF).

The MCDF grant will support efforts to improve port infrastructure and logistics services for the delivery of food and other goods to the Galápagos Islands. It will help sustainably meet rising demand amid rapid tourism growth to the UNESCO World Heritage Area 1,000km off the coast of Ecuador.

The grant will also support the strengthening of biosecurity and protection of marine reserves in the Galápagos Islands and neighboring areas in the Pacific Ocean, which face the increasing threat of invasive species.

“With this MCDF approval, we are combining technical and financial efforts to enhance the comprehensive sustainability of an environmentally iconic and thriving location like the Galápagos,” explained Ignacio Corlazzoli, Resource Mobilization and Global Alliances Manager at CAF.

The focus will be on public sector assessments of technical, financial, economic, environmental, social, biodiversity, and biosecurity matters, requiring multidisciplinary expertise, as well as legal, institutional, and project implementation considerations.

The MCDF grant will additionally facilitate legal and financial services from a private sector transaction advisory team for the structuring and placement of a shipping concession with a reputable and experienced shipping operator.

Logistics, sustainable tourism, and conservation lessons learned from the project are expected to be replicated to help improve sustainable connectivity and logistics in Caribbean Small Islands Developing States.