Antigua Fully Backs “Nature Bank” Proposal to Monetize Forest and Ocean Assets
Prime Minister Gaston Browne says Antigua and Barbuda is fully supporting a regional push to establish a “Nature Bank,” a financial mechanism designed to monetize the Caribbean’s forest and ocean assets through biodiversity credits, carbon markets, and new financial technologies.
Discussing the initiative on the Browne and Browne show, the Prime Minister said the concept—initially proposed by former Caribbean Development Bank president Gene Leon—is now gaining traction as governments search for sustainable ways to fund conservation and climate resilience. Browne said Antigua and Barbuda has been actively helping advance the idea, including through discussions held during COP30 in Belém, Brazil.
According to Browne, the Nature Bank would pool natural assets such as forests and marine ecosystems from participating states, allowing the region to generate carbon credits and other conservation-linked financial products at a scale large enough to attract significant investment. He said this structure would enable countries to both protect their environments and earn revenue from doing so.
Browne also noted that modern financing tools—including blockchain-based systems—could support the creation of stablecoin-style tokens backed by these natural assets. Such an approach, he said, could create a transparent ecosystem for trading conservation value while bringing new investors into the region’s blue and green economies.
During COP30, Browne discussed similar work already underway in Guyana, which earns substantial income from monetizing its forests. He said that expanding such initiatives to include small island states would strengthen regional capacity and create shared opportunities.
The Prime Minister framed the Nature Bank as part of a broader shift toward conservation models that generate economic value rather than cost. He said Antigua and Barbuda is committed to helping develop the proposal and believes it can become an important pillar of regional climate financing.
“We are looking at a more comprehensive situation of preservation and conservation—while at the same time monetizing the assets, both blue and green,” Browne said, describing how a Nature Bank could support long-term resilience in vulnerable countries.
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