New York, 30 September 2021 - The Global Island Partnership (GLISPA) and the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme at UNDP (GEF SGP), have once again joined forces to showcase successful solutions focused on island resilience and sustainability via the ‘Bright Spots Programme’. The initiative is financially supported by GEF SGP and the Government of Italy and will run until December 2022.
Using a strong global island network, the initiative aims to recognize, scale up, and replicate good practices among local island communities. “Island success is built upon initiatives that work” explained Kate Brown, Executive Director of GLISPA. “Bright Spots are proven concepts ready to be scaled that exemplify how together we can build on what is working, to conserve and sustainably utilise the invaluable natural resources of our islands.”
The Bright Spots Programme will also focus on enhancing ambition, accelerating action and commitment towards the implementation of the SDGs, the SAMOA pathway, the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, and the Paris Agreement on climate change. A critical feature of the programme will be communicating and sharing lessons from these bright spots in the margins of major international events, to connect them with global policy processes and policy makers. “We hope that by bridging the gap between the local communities and policy makers, and by giving these community champions a platform on the global stage, they in turn can emphasize urgent needs and opportunities as well as shed light on island innovations grounded in traditional knowledge” said Yoko Watanabe, Global Manager of GEF SGP.
Beyond the staging of events, the programme will incorporate a full communication campaign, disseminating at least forty Bright Spots case studies in a variety of engaging formats, throughout GLISPA’s extensive network of island champions, member organizations and other entities. The series will have a particular focus on highlighting the work of indigenous peoples, women, youth and persons with disabilities, including initiatives to enhance community resilience to climate change, marine conservation, sustainable agriculture and fisheries and more.
We are at a critical juncture, where the lives and livelihoods of island peoples and cultures are existentially threatened by climate change, biodiversity loss and global shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bright Spots Programme will bring to light great island initiatives that can be adopted and expanded to address these planetary crises.
Learn More about GLISPA.