This article was written by UNEP as part of the UNEP Restoration Factory Program.

On an island, ecosystems do not exist in isolation, and neither do the economies and livelihoods built around them. Forests hold water, farms depend on healthy soils and shape what runs off the land, rivers carry water downstream and onto reefs, which in turn support fisheries, tourism and communities. What happens in one part of this system can ripple through the rest. Island communities have long understood these landscapes not as separate environments, but as connected systems in which the health of nature and the prosperity of people are closely intertwined.  It is this 'ridge-to-reef' approach between land, livelihoods and sea that sits at the heart of the SIDS Restoration Flagship, a World Restoration Flagship under the UN Decade on Ecosystem working across Saint Lucia, Comoros and Vanuatu.

The ridge-to-reef connection is written into Saint Lucia’s landscape. Across just 616 square kilometres, steep volcanic ridges rise above 900 metres, with 37 short watersheds carrying rainwater from forests, farms, roads and settlements into rivers and eventually the sea. Soil, sediment and pollutants can travel with it. Research around Saint Lucia’s coral reefs has found that reefs exposed to greater land-derived sediment tended to have lower coral cover and greater decline. Put simply, how land is managed uphill can shape what survives below the waterline.

Over the past 60 years, or so, Saint Lucia’s landscape has undergone some major changes. Banana cultivation once dominated much of Saint Lucia’s agricultural land, but as farming declined and export markets weakened in the 1990s, large areas were abandoned and forested landscape gradually returned in most areas. Restoration here is therefore not simply about bringing indigenous forests back. It is about building resilient ecosystems to maintain sustainable livelihood and ecosystem services; where farms, forests and livelihoods can coexist, supporting biodiversity, keeping fertile soil on the hillsides, conserving watersheds and reducing what eventually reaches the reefs below. 

Under the SIDS Restoration Flagship, The Restoration Factory takes the principles of a Sustainable Blue Economy and brings them to the level of local enterprise, supporting Saint Lucians to develop viable businesses that generate livelihoods while restoring, sustainably using or reducing pressure on the ecosystems on which the island’s economy depends. Through the Flagship, Department of Sustainable Development (DSD), UNEP, Bridge for Billions and local implementing partner Export Saint Lucia are supporting a 2026 cohort of 42 entrepreneurs selected from 106 applications. 

These ventures include sustainable agriculture, mariculture (Sea Moss), agroforestry, ecotourism and other nature-based enterprises. Many of them are working on the farms, tree crops and trails between the ridges and the reefs. This first post introduces two entrepreneurs working on terrestrial restoration.

Regenerative farming on the ridges 

In Micoud, on Saint Lucia’s east coast, Bernice Gaspard is building a farming model around the resources that matter most on this island, soil and water. Gaspard Agro and Processing Farm produces vegetables, herbs and seasonings for local households and businesses, along with a connected aquaculture system.

The farm’s restoration impact is enabled by its approach to food production being centered on sustainable land management. Rainwater is collected and stored for irrigation, reducing dependence on treated water. Mulching and contouring help protect the soil from erosion, while Bernice uses organic fertiliser and monitors soil pH to maintain soil health across the farm. Natural vegetation is also preserved around the farm to provide space for beneficial insects, natural pollinators and wildlife. Bernice has also identified solar power as the next step in building a climate-smart aquaculture system and reducing its dependence on conventional electricity.

During heavy rains, contour drainage channels guide water through Bernice’s farm rather than allowing it to run uncontrolled across the soil and carry sediment downhill, keeping the soil sediment on the farm. At the heart of these practices is a simple principle - soil and water are two of the hardest things for a farmer to replace once they are lost. Keeping more of both on the land also means reducing the sediment and runoff that can eventually reach the rivers, and destroy coastal ecosystems and reefs below.

For Bernice, this is also about proving that small farms can “protect soil, water, and biodiversity while still creating strong livelihood [...], and a small aquaponics‑plus‑organic system can be adapted to any island with local buyers and simple infrastructure. The only thing people should know is that the farm is built on resilience.”

From trail clearing to conservation: how guided hikes build a stake in the forested landscape

Restoration Factory entrepreneurs are showing that nature-positive business models can take many forms, including beyond the farm and onto the trails that cross Saint Lucia’s ridges,  forests and access to mountain summits. For Duran Leonce, the starting point was simply getting people outside. He has spent much of his life hiking, climbing mountains and exploring Saint Lucia’s rivers and coast. Through this, he came to believe that people are more likely to protect places they have experienced, learned about, and connected with for themselves. His venture, DURAVERSE, grew from that idea and now combines guided hikes, trail maintenance, environmental education and conservation activities across the island. Its underlying principle is straightforward: “You don’t have to destroy our forest to make money,” Duran says. “The two could actually cohabit with each other.”

Before taking groups out, Duran and his team clear overgrown trails, remove fallen branches, potential hazards and improve access. He also wants better trail marking and longer term maintenance, potentially creating paid opportunities for people in nearby communities to look after the routes. Duran already works with young people from his own community of Agard Lands, involving them in trail clearing while introducing them to the birds, reptiles and other wildlife around them. For him, that exposure is itself part of conservation. “We need to get people out to see the natural spaces, because when they do come out and they see it, the mindset is changed.”

Saint Lucia’s ecosystems face numerous threats, including ecosystem conversion and land use change, the hunting of rare endemic species, unsustainable farming practices and pollution through waste dumping. Duran emphasises that conservation measures to address these pressures will struggle to last unless Saint Lucians feel connected to these ecosystems and actively participate in their stewardship. DURAVERSE is trying to build that connection by showing people the island’s biodiversity first hand, while also demonstrating that these natural spaces can provide opportunities for recreation and local income. Through its tours, clean ups and environmental education, each hiker, worker or volunteer has the opportunity to become not only a visitor to these landscapes, but a steward and advocate for their protection. For Duran, the goal is therefore not simply to restore access once, but to create lasting value around these places so that communities have a reason to keep caring for them.

Across the Restoration Factory cohort, other entrepreneurs are approaching that same challenge through innovative solutions to restore different parts of Saint Lucia’s landscape. Hierland Peter is looking at another part of the restoration economy through breadfruit, a perennial tree crop that Saint Lucia is promoting for food security, climate resilience and its potential to improve slope stability and reduce soil loss. In Choiseul, Christina Jn Pierre’s Klèté Farms is developing climate-smart cocoa through intercropping and organic soil management, keeping farmland productive while maintaining tree cover. In Soufrière, Melanie Hippolyte’s Esperance Restoration Plan is bringing a declining estate near Gros Piton back into use through climate-smart agriculture, apiaries and farm-to-table tourism. Further north in Gros Islet, Esther Clifford’s Farmyard Products is developing medicinal plant cultivation with benefits for both people and pollinators.   

On an island where ridges stand within sight of the coast, businesses that restore and manage the land are also shaping what eventually reaches the sea. In protecting the land they work, these entrepreneurs are quietly protecting the sea they may never mention. Stay tuned for the next piece in this series, to be published next month which will follow this connection into Saint Lucia’s marine ecosystems and the SIDS Flagship’s Restoration Factory ecopreneurs. A final piece will follow the cohort through the programme’s closing competition and highlight the entrepreneurs selected at the end of the Restoration Factory journey.

About the SIDS Restoration Flagship  

The SIDS Restoration Flagship is one of the World Restoration Flagships under the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030). Led by UNEP, FAO and in partnership with UNDESA, it supports restoration across three Small Island Developing States (Comoros, Vanuatu and Saint Lucia), strengthening sustainable blue economic transitions and resilience from ridge to reef, while empowering communities to lead nature-based solutions.