Background:
Since it was first called for at the Mauritius International Meeting in January 2005 and launched at the Eighth Conference of the Parties (COP8) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Brazil in March 2006, GLISPA has grown rapidly. In September 2007, a group of active GLISPA participants met in Rome to outline its first strategic plan until 2010. GLISPA is recognized by the CBD as a partnership to advance the implementation of their
Island Biodiversity Programme of Work and also registered as a Sustainable Development Partnership with the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. GLISPA is currently co-chaired by the President of Seychelles and President of Palau and managed by a Steering Committee taking forward a new collaborative strategy up to 2012. The Coordination Unit for GLISPA is hosted by IUCN Washington, D.C. and works closely with the Islands Initiative of their Ecosystem Management Programme at IUCN HQ in Gland, Switzerland.
Mission:
The Global Island Partnership promotes actions for island conservation and sustainable livelihoods by inspiring leadership, catalyzing commitments, and facilitating collaboration among all islands.
Goals:
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Support successful implementation of Partner commitments.
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Catalyse new commitments to address critical island issues.
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Establish and maintain a flexible and efficient Partnership responsive to its participants’ needs and aspirations.
Strategies:
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Inspire and recognise leadership and commitments to action for island conservation and sustainable livelihoods.
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Strengthen partnerships to support implementation of commitments and to build local long-term conservation capacity.
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Facilitate increased public and private funding for island priorities.
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Promote targeted and cost-effective collaboration and exchanges among islands.
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Engage in effective communication strategies on island issues.
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Build linkages between all islands, regardless of political status.
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Track progress on GLISPA commitments.
Achievements:
Since its inception in 2005, the Partnership has engaged leaders all over the world. More than 60 governments of Small Islands Developing States (SIDS), large island countries, countries with islands, overseas territories, multi and bilateral agencies, and international, national and regional organisations have worked with GLISPA to advance high-level commitments and on the ground action for island conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Without formal structure, GLISPA has helped catalyze more than US$100 million in commitments to island conservation. The following are examples of island commitments and initiatives that are utilising GLISPA to advance their collaboration, planning and implementation:
On 5 November 2005, led by then President Remengesau of Palau, five Micronesian governments — the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the U.S. Territory of Guam, and the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands — came together in a joint commitment to effectively conserve at least 30% of the near-shore marine resources and 20% of the terrestrial resources across Micronesia by 2020. Covering 6.7 million square kilometers of ocean, the Micronesia Challenge represents more than 20% of the Pacific Island region - and 5% of the largest ocean in the world. The Challenge will help protect at least 66 currently identified threatened species, 10% of the global total reef area and 462 coral species - that is 59% of all known corals. Other relevant websites of interest include:
Kiribati first declared the creation of PIPA at the 2006 Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Brazil. On 30 January 2008, Kiribati adopted formal regulations for PIPA that more than doubled the original size to make it at that time the largest marine protected area on Earth. With a size of 408,250 km2 (157,626 sq. miles) it is the largest marine protected area in the Pacific Ocean and the largest marine conservation effort of its kind by a Least Developed Country. PIPA is partly financed through an innovative “reverse fishing license” which will fund an endowment to cover core management costs and compensate the government for foregone commercial fishing license revenues. Other relevant websites of interest include:
In August 2007, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia wrote to seven other leaders proposing a new Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food Security (CTI). Responding positively, the leaders formally endorsed the CTI in the APEC Leaders Declaration on Climate Change, Energy Security and Clean Development in early September. The CTI was again formally endorsed in November by Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) and ASEAN. Prime Minister Somare of Papua New Guinea expressed his support for the CTI in his keynote address to the South Pacific Regional Environment Program’s (SPREP) regional meeting in October. Thus the stage was set for Senior Officials to meet and agree upon a way forward for the CTI. The 5.7million km2 of the Coral Triangle is home to the highest diversity of marine life on earth with over 75% of known coral species, over 30% of the world’s coral reefs, over 3,000 species of fish, and the greatest extent of mangrove forests of any region in the world. These extraordinary marine biological resources directly sustain the lives of over 120 million people and benefit million more worldwide. Other relevant websites of interest include:
In May 2008, The Bahamas’ government, alongside leaders from Jamaica, Grenada, the Dominican Republic, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines officially launched the Caribbean Challenge at the COP9, in Bonn, Germany. These five Caribbean nations have committed to protecting nearly 20 percent of their marine and coastal habitat by 2020. In addition, Antigua & Barbuda, St Kitts & Nevis and St Lucia became active members. Now, these eight countries have come together to develop sustainable financing for protected areas through the establishment of the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund, which currently has funding commitments of over US $40 million. Other relevant websites of interest include:
The WIOP is an initiative that began in June 2009 aiming to promote national and regional commitments and actions at the highest levels to safeguard the resilience of the region’s ecosystems so these can continue to provide benefits for sustainable livelihoods, address needs related to the impacts of climate change – particularly adaptation - and secure human well-being and security in the region. Led by the region’s Governments, and supported by local, regional and international organizations, multilateral agencies and others, WIOP partners can work together to align and leverage multiple agendas and ongoing and future initiatives in the region. Within this context, the WIOP should avoid duplicating efforts and build and rely on existing international and regional institutions, platforms, frameworks and projects to galvanize regional and international community support. Other relevant documents include:
At the CBD COP 10 meeting in Nagoya, Japan, in October 2010 outreach work began to support the Regional Marine and Coastal Conservation Programme for West Africa (PRMC). Geographically, the PRMC covers seven countries - Cape Verde, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mauritania, Senegal, and Sierra Leone – and the goal of this programme is to ensure the effective, sustainable, and equitable management of all critical habitats and endangered species, with a view to preserving the biological and cultural diversity of the West African coastal and marine zone.
For further information contact:
GLISPA Coordinater, Kate Brown kate.brown@iucn.org
GLISPA Communications Manager, Jessica Robbins jrobbins@mediaimpact.org
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