Jobs that grow back: how investing in resilience and nature creates work across Latin America and the Caribbean Brenden JongmanNicolas DesramautGonzalo Gutiérrez Goizueta March 27, 2026 This page in: English Español © 2026 The World Bank Group,

https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/latinamerica/jobs-investing-resilience-nature-creates-work-across-latin-america-and-the-caribbean On a visit to Belize last year, I saw the tension up close: murky water near a coastline under development, and a few kilometers away, divers replanting coral on a reef that was in a fragile state of recovery. Those reefs aren't just beautiful. They are what tourists come to see, they are habitats for marine fauna, and they break wave energy that would otherwise batter shorelines during storms. When they degrade, the Caribbean loses its main tourism attraction, its fish stock and its first line of defense. Restoring them isn't just conservation. It's climate adaptation, food security, economic protection and, increasingly, a source of jobs. © 2026 The World Bank Group,