Georgetown, Guyana, May 12, 2025- The Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Land Management (PISLM) has successfully concluded a three-day Strategic transformative Staff Retreat, in an effort to plot the new chapter for the organization, with a focus on innovation, leadership and strengthening its commitment to promoting sustainable soil and land management within Caribbean Small Island Developing States (CSIDS).
The retreat held from May 6-9 2025, was led by the outgoing Executive Director, Mr. Calvin James, who introduced retreat participants to the Blue Ocean Strategy methodology, which was utilized to help reformulate the organisation’s vision, and support the implementation of its strategic direction beyond its competitors present position with a focus on value innovation, community engagement and strategic planning to create impact on the lives and livelihoods of citizens within Caribbean Small Island Developing States (CSIDS). Members of staff were also exposed to strategic refinement and application- through the consolidation of strategy canvases, tagline and vision refinement and preparations for project alignment.
PISLM’s renewed focus is related to community-first development, indigenous knowledge integration, and agile operations tailored to SIDS realities, setting it apart from traditional development actors. The organization will also focus on Technology & Knowledge Infrastructure, through operationalization of a Caribbean Soil Knowledge Hub, a Land and Soil Decision Support System (DSS), and a Management Information System (MIS) to enhance transparency, evidence-based decision-making, and regional knowledge sharing. Additionally, priority will be placed on Research and Regional Innovation- as the organisation will seek to ensure that the Regional Research and Advisory Facility on New Adaptation Technologies (RAC/NAT) Facility- will serve as PISLM’s scientific backbone, emphasizing demand-driven research, farmer–scientist collaboration, AI-powered soil diagnostics and localized agronomic modeling.
At the end of day three (3) of the workshop the team formulated a transformative roadmap- that will position PISLM as the leader in land and soil governance across Small Island Developing States (SIDS), through projects such as Phase II of the Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) multicounty soil management initiative for integrated landscape restoration and sustainable food systems in the Caribbean (SOILCARE) and the Caribbean Transformative Project, that will be centered on innovation, inclusion, and scientific rigor, positioning the PISLM as the lead agency in advancing land degradation neutrality, climate resilient land and soil solutions, and facilitating the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 15-which relates to preserving “Life on Land.”
About the Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Land Management (PISLM)
The PISLM for CSIDS is the only independent IGO with a mandate to help Caribbean SIDS meet their obligations under the UNCCD and land and soil areas of the Barbados Programme of Action (BPOA)
