The Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Land Management (PISLM), has successfully signed a Headquarters Agreement with the Government of Grenada.
This historic signing cements the Spice Isle as the hub for the operations of the intergovernmental organisation (IGO), which will lead coordinated action and implement projects that will improve sustainable land and soil management within Caribbean Small Island Developing States (CSIDS).
The agreement was signed at the PISLM’s High Level Ministerial Gala, on Tuesday, 17 June 2025 at the Radisson Resort Grenada, by the outgoing Executive Director Calvin James and Grenada’s minister responsible for the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and Minister of Economic Development and Planning, Agriculture and Lands, Forestry and Blue Economy Hon. Lennox J Andrews.
The signing was witnessed by Hon. Adrian Forde, Minister of Environment and National Beautification, Green and Blue Economy of Barbados (incoming Chair of the PISLM Ministerial Council); Hon Kerryne James, Minister for Minister for Climate Resilience, the Environment and Renewable Energy, and Hon. Vaughn P Miller, Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources of the Bahamas along with focal points for the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and key stakeholders.
Delivering feature remarks at the ministerial gala, Andrews commended the organisation for its work in SIDS. He described the signing as “A demonstration of our commitment to sustainable land management.” “It puts us in an obvious position where we can be recognised as a country that takes climate change and land degradation seriously,” he added.
The PISLM, which officially became an inter-governmental organisation one year ago, has been strengthening sustainable land and soil management across the Caribbean Small Island Developing States, through several projects including Phase I of the CSIDS-SOILCARE Project and the Strengthening Resilience of Agricultural Lands and Forests in Dominica in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
Reflecting on the 2 decades spent developing the organization into the premier intergovernmental organisation responsible for land and soil, with a mandate to help countries meet their obligations under the UNCCD and land and soil areas of the Barbados Programme of Action, outgoing Executive Director Calvin James expressed gratitude to the governments of Trinidad and Tobago and the Cooperative Republic of Guyana that served as host countries. “Their contributions set the stage for what we call Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique phase and a new chapter for the PISLM. We hope that this phase will take us to where we ought to be in terms of positioning sustainable land and soil management in the environmental spectrum.”
The establishment of the PISLM Headquarters in Grenada will enhance coordination among CSIDS, provide a centralised platform for SIDS collaboration, and attract regional and international investment for sustainable land management solutions.
The office will become the hub for the implementation of several key projects such as the Caribbean LDN Transformative Project, which would be done in collaboration with the Inter American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture, the Caribbean Sand & Dust storm Initiative, launch of Phase II of the CSIDS SOILCARE Project and the Caribbean Drought Initiative in collaboration with the Global Water Partnership-Caribbean.
PISLM extends its appreciation to the Government of Grenada for their unwavering support in making this historic achievement a reality.
Source: PISLM
