The Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) – Agriculture, has endorsed the Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Land Management (PISLM) to be the Executing Agency for the Caribbean Land Degradation Neutrality Transformative Project. This significant achievement acknowledges the importance of the work done by the PISLM Secretariat, collaboratively with other agencies such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), Inter American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Global Mechanism for the UNCCD and the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
The endorsement was made at the recently concluded Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) – Agriculture Ministerial Meeting held on 11 October 2024, in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The agreement makes provision for PISLM to commence discussions with Accredited Institutions (AE’s) – the Government of Antigua and Barbuda and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), to agree on terms and conditions for entering into respective cooperation agreements. It also requests for the UNCCD National Focal Points and other National Designated Authorities (NDAs) to collaborate with the Secretariat to improve and strengthen the project proposal to the Green Climate Fund Secretariat.
The Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Land Management (PISLM) is committed to the implementation of this project, which signals a positive move towards achieving sustainability in agriculture, food security and Land Degradation Neutrality.
The Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Land Management (PISLM) for CSIDS is the only interdependent IGO with a mandate to help countries meet their obligations under the UNCCD and land and soil areas of the Barbados Programme of Action (BPOA).