The 5th High Level Forum of the Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Land Management (PISLM) is being hailed as very productive by its participants.
The two-day sub-regional meeting hosted by Trinidad and Tobago ended on Friday with the PISLM Task Force agreeing on its next steps forward.
Among the positive outcomes of the meeting was an agreement which formalises the establishment of the PISLM as the CARICOM sub regional institute which will be responsible for the implementation for the UN Convention to Combat Decertification.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Planning and Development, Pennelope Beckles, said this has been some time in coming and is a reassuring development.
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Rural Development in St. Lucia, Alfred Prospere, said he was excited by the outcomes of the meeting – in particular what it would mean for food security. He made the link between soil fertility and food security by sharing one of the challenges experienced in his country.