ST. GEORGE’S, GRENADA, NOV 26, 2025—Executive Director of the Partnership Initiative on Sustainable Land Management (PISLM), Dr. Ronen Francis, paid a courtesy call on Hon. Alfred Prospere, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security, and Rural Development, to discuss strengthening Saint Lucia’s collaboration with PISLM and advancing national priorities in sustainable land and soil management.
The meeting formed part of the PISLM official mission to Saint Lucia from November 17 to 21, 2025, by a two-member delegation, including Euan James, Project Manager for PISLM. It focused on key policy and institutional matters critical to accelerating the country’s engagement with regional land management initiatives.
Among the central topics discussed including the finalization of the Host Country Agreement and Letter of Accession, progress made under the Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) multicountry soil management initiative for Integrated Landscape Restoration and climate-resilient food systems (SOILCARE) project, advancing legislation to formalize PISLM operations in Saint Lucia, like the recent model adopted in Grenada, supporting national implementation of the Caribbean Drought Initiative and the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Transformative Project, strengthening coordination with GEF and GCF focal points engaged during recent regional consultations in Barbados and enhancing technical cooperation through new national soil maps, the first comprehensive update since the 1960s.
“This meeting marks an important step forward in strengthening our institutional and technical cooperation. PISLM is committed to supporting Saint Lucia as it advances sustainable land management and builds national resilience, expressed Dr. Francis.
Hon. Alfred Prospere, reaffirming the government’s support for PISLM’s regional mandate and highlighted the value of the partnership for agricultural development, food security, and environmental sustainability, commended the completion of new digital soil maps for Lucia.
Commenting on the provision of the modern tools for land-use planning and public access to access to critical environmental data, he suggested that “these new soil maps and datasets represent a major national investment and will support informed land-use decisions for years to come.”
The courtesy follows similar calls in regional countries such as St. Kitts, Dominica, Barbados, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Land Management (PISLM) looks forward to renewed momentum in Saint Lucia that is expected to set the stage for deeper collaboration in delivering transformative land management initiatives.
