Dr. Ronen C.A. Francis, the Executive Director of the Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Land Management (PISLM), paid a courtesy visit to key government officials in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
During his visit, on Monday, January 5, 2025, he met with Minister Conroy Huggins of Fisheries, Marine and Land Conservation and Climate Resilience, as well as Minister Israel Bruce of Agriculture, Forestry, and Rural Transformation, shared a PISLM press release.
The discussions centered around advancing regional efforts to combat land degradation, fostering stronger collaboration among government ministries, and supporting ongoing and upcoming regional initiatives.
Notably, attention was given to the upcoming launch of Phase II of the CSIDS SOILCARE Project, in which St. Vincent and the Grenadines is actively participating. The CSIDS SOILCARE Project is a joint venture by PISLM and FAO.
“This entails practicing sustainable land management and restoring degraded lands in specified land areas and time period so as to maintain or increase the amount and quality of land resources, sustain ecosystem functions and services and enhance food security,” said the website.
Participating countries are Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, and St Lucia.
The meeting also covered other collaborative projects, including the Caribbean Drought Initiative and the Caribbean Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Transformative Project.
Dr. Francis expressed optimism about the progress made, stating,“We are satisfied with the discussions, in St. Vicent and believe we can help to transform our degraded landscapes.”
As per the release, during the engagement, both ministers reaffirmed their unwavering commitment to work in partnership with the Intergovernmental Organization to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) goals in the country.