Since our earliest days, we have been dedicated to linking natural resource management with development and livelihoods. CANARI’s predecessors, the Dominica Wildlands Program and the Eastern Caribbean Natural Area Management Programme (ECNAMP), a joint programme of the University of Michigan and the Caribbean Conservation Association (CCA), worked in Dominica from 1976 onwards, with a focus on forest management and protected area planning. ECNAMP then extended to Saint Lucia, where it facilitated collaborative projects with resource users, community groups, NGOs and government agencies on the south-east coast of the island. Out of the work in Saint Lucia grew regional activities aimed at disseminating lessons learned and building the capacity of other organisations interested and involved in participatory approaches.
In 1989, ECNAMP transitioned to CANARI, a non-profit organisation legally registered and operating in both Saint Lucia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Since then, the Institute has expanded its geographic reach to all the islands of the Caribbean, while retaining the focus on research, policy influence, advocacy and capacity building towards sustainable livelihoods and participatory decision making and management of the region’s natural resources. Since 2001, our headquarters have been in Port of Spain, Trinidad.