Developing tangible solutions to sustainability challenges within our island region.
Education slithered into the conversation as the UOG Center for Island Sustainability & Sea Grant (UOG CIS & Sea Grant) Island Conservation Lab (ICL) and Joint Region Marianas held their second Brown Treesnake Control Workshop and SnakeHunt at Tarague Beach.
Small islands do not mean small impact. Three undergraduate students born and raised on Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands stood before a room of researchers, renowned scientists, and administrators and presented their work, which they hope will have a significant impact on the Mariana Islands and beyond.
From stormwater management and groundwater pollution to coral reef conservation and coastal erosion protection, six new research projects at the University of Guam are set to tackle some of the most pressing environmental challenges facing Guam and the wider Micronesian region.
As communities across Micronesia recover from the impacts of Super Typhoon Sinlaku, members of the Guam Green Growth Conservation Corps (G3CC) are proving that sustainability work goes far beyond environmental projects—it is also about showing up in times of crisis.
(Tumon, Guam) – Today, the Guam Visitors Bureau announced the signing of its memorandum of understanding with the University of Guam Center for Island Sustainability (UOG CIS), Sea Grant, and Guam Green Growth (G3) at Hyatt Regency Guam in Tumon during UOG CIS’s weeklong Conference on Sustainability.
At the 17th Conference on Island Sustainability, marine biologist Mafalda Gentil Martins Seiz de Freitas delivered a presentation grounded in urgency and innovation, drawing directly from her work addressing marine debris across the Pacific.
“And I think a lot of us, across island communities, are standing in that same proverbial space, surrounded by opportunity, but calling it waste.”
“Because for us in the Pacific, resilience is not a trend,” said Sabrina Suluai-Mahuka, Ph.D., founder and executive director of Finafinau, one of two educators at the forefront of Pacific scholarship and advocacy who served as featured speakers, framing the emotional and political weight of island resilience in the face of ongoing environmental and social challenges.
Guam reaffirmed its push toward a cleaner, more resilient energy future this week with a renewed commitment to the Blue Planet Alliance’s 100 x 100 campaign, reinforcing the island’s long-term goal of reaching 100% renewable energy by 2045.
With approximately $1 million in annual local funding, the Guam Green Growth (G3) initiative generated more than $30 million in external funding last year—an over 30-fold return that underscores the value of investing in sustainability programs, according to UOG Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant Director Austin Shelton, Ph.D.