Putting it into focus:
The Blue and Green Islands Integrated Programme is “accelerating sustainable blue and green transition in small island developing states (SIDS).”
One integrated programme.
Fifteen projects bringing it to life worldwide.
Four of the 15 projects based in the Caribbean.
One Saint Lucia-based project that is being executed and overseen by CANARI – “Valuing Nature and Nature-based Solutions for Sustainable Blue and Green Pathways in the Tourism, Food and Urban Sectors in Saint Lucia,” also known as the BGI SLU Project.
Funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the five-year project seeks to strengthen the integration of nature and nature-based solutions (NbS) into development and investment decision-making. Work on the ground in Saint Lucia on this project is just getting underway, and it was kicked off with the buzz and excitement of tourism stakeholders from across the island nation. Community members from Laborie and Choiseul, private-sector representatives, public agencies, civil society organisations, and key project partners such as the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Laborie Development Fund (LDF) came together at the National Skills Development Centre (South) for the Tourism Policy Dialogue convened by CANARI.
The dialogue was facilitated by James Crocket, tourism expert, alongside the BGI-SLU Project team.
From tourism as usual to nature-positive tourism
The dialogue created space for stakeholders to examine how tourism can become more sustainable, locally rooted and responsive to the unique natural and cultural assets of Laborie and Choiseul. Participants explored the local tourism context through a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis, considered nature-positive and regenerative tourism approaches, developed a shared vision for the future, and identified and prioritised tourism products and investment opportunities.
A strong consensus emerged: nature must be valued as a core asset of Saint Lucia’s tourism economy, and its stewardship depends on the collective efforts of our society.
This emphasis on nature was also reflected in the priority opportunities identified by participants, which were predominantly nature-positive, reflecting an appreciation of the communities’ distinctive landscapes, seascapes, culture, and heritage. Participants also highlighted the value of building on local strengths and turning community uniqueness into a competitive advantage instead of copying “conventional” tourism models.
Upon reflection, participants described the dialogue as informative, interesting, purpose-driven, encouraging and inspiring.
Connecting nature, investment and sustainable development
One component of “Valuing Nature and Nature-based Solutions for Sustainable Blue and Green Pathways in the Tourism, Food and Urban Sectors in Saint Lucia” focuses specifically on tourism. This aspect of the project advances a national investment model for sustainable tourism that seeks to balance costs and benefits across the tourism, agriculture and urban sectors while leveraging private sector investment. This includes developing a replicable payment for ecosystem services (PES) model and an appropriate financial instrument that combines ecosystem valuation with traditional lending approaches.
For CANARI and its partners, the shared ambition is clear: to position investment in nature as both an environmental imperative and a catalyst for sustainable, inclusive economic development.
From dialogue to action
The Tourism Policy Dialogue marks an important step towards translating stakeholder priorities into action. Over the coming months, CANARI, working with key stakeholders including IICA and the Laborie Development Fund, will advance landscape- and seascape-level interventions and on-the-ground implementation of NbS.
Planned interventions include: tourism product, landscape and trail development; interpretation centres; investments in sustainable tourism activities; and the establishment of a marine management area within the Laborie–Choiseul corridor.
The perspectives shared at the dialogue will help shape these interventions, ensuring that the emerging tourism model is inclusive, resilient, nature-positive, and locally beneficial.
As Saint Lucia charts its tourism future, the message from Laborie and Choiseul is compelling: protecting and valuing nature is not separate from tourism development, it is fundamental to it.