Participants of Day 2 of the Valuing Nature and Nature-based Solutions Project launch held at Bay Gardens Beach Resort, Saint Lucia. Credit: CANARI

Castries, Saint Lucia, September 26, 2025- The Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) is leading implementation of a new initiative in Saint Lucia that aims to establish a framework for enhancing land and seascape management, addressing the drivers of ecosystem degradation and strengthening nature’s role in supporting resilient, sustainable livelihoods.

The “Valuing Nature and Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for Sustainable Blue and Green Pathways for the Tourism, Food and Urban Sectors in Saint Lucia” Project is set to remove technical, financial and policy bottlenecks to nature-positive development in Saint Lucia’s tourism, agri-food and urban sectors. This USD$3 million initiative is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the Implementing Agency and CANARI is the Executing Agency, in partnership with the Government Department of Sustainable Development (DSD) as National Project Counterpart.

This five-year (2025-2030) project will work towards four complementary objectives including to implement Nature-based Solutions through direct landscape and seascape interventions in local communities in Laborie and Choiseul.

On July 7th and 8th, 2025, partners and stakeholders from across Saint Lucia and abroad, such as the UNEP, DSD, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Laborie Development Foundation (LDF), Community Tourism Agency (CTA), as well as farmers and crafters in the target communities, gathered in the south and north of Saint Lucia respectively for a series of interactive sessions to inter alia become oriented and re-introduced to the project’s core elements, partners and stakeholders and establish a mutual understanding of how collaboration will be structured.

A field visit was also included to provide project partners and stakeholders the opportunity to meet the residents of the beneficiary communities and to observe the ecosystems under environmental pressure and threats.

This groundbreaking initiative underscores Saint Lucia’s commitment to sustainable development by placing nature at the centre of its economic planning. Through strong partnerships, innovative investment models and community-driven action, the project will not only protect the island’s rich biodiversity but also secure livelihoods, foster green jobs and enhance resilience to climate change.

See official broadcast here.