A press conference for the 17th University of Guam (UOG) Conference on Island Sustainability (CIS2026) on Tuesday featured speakers with expertise in food sovereignty and ocean policy, highlighting these areas as key components of island resilience—particularly as the Marianas navigate recovery efforts following the passage of Super Typhoon Sinlaku.

While the storm brought significant disruption to infrastructure across the region, especially in the CNMI (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands), conference leadership emphasized that these challenges reinforce the urgency of the week’s technical discussions.

Austin Shelton, Ph.D., director of the UOG Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant (UOG CIS & SG), said that after the typhoon, he consulted partners including Galvin Deleon Guerrero, Ed.D., Northern Marianas College president, about whether to postpone conference activities in Saipan, but was encouraged to move forward as a show of resilience amid regional recovery.

As Shelton recalled, “He said ‘Austin now is not the time to stand down. This is the time to stand up. This is what your conference is about.’ The sustainable future is a resilient future.”

Featured speaker William Castillo, associate professor and workforce development coordinator at Hawai’i’s Leeward Community College, connected the vulnerability of island supply chains to the need for localized food systems. Castillo said that true resiliency requires a shift away from total reliance on external imports, which are often interrupted during natural disasters.

“You know, you mentioned food sustainability. I got to give credit to the folks who’ve organized this conference for the last 17 years. It really is important to get into the same room and have these difficult conversations,” Castillo said.

“It wasn’t too long ago that both Hawai’i and Guam experienced what it looks like if tourism stops, right? It wasn’t pretty, we got through it, but it also allowed us to have those difficult conversations of how do we diversify our economy? How do we feed our own people when everyone else is dealing with different things?”

Castillo highlighted the role of value-added agriculture in stabilizing local economies, citing the use of food manufacturing facilities to process produce and innovative products. “What we’re able to do with our food manufacturing facility is give entrepreneurs the opportunity to take off-grade produce and, you know, thrive with it,” he added.

Meanwhile, Miriam Goldstein, Ph.D., executive director of the National Ocean Protection Coalition, addressed the connection between ocean health and regional security. She focused on the federal processes regarding deep-sea mining, arguing that protecting marine environments is essential to maintaining the long-term biological and economic resources of the islands.

“I’m here to talk about how deep sea mining is a false promise of sustainability. It is, there is not enough known about its impact on the environment, there is not enough known about its economics,” Goldstein explained. She emphasized that resilient solutions must be locally led: “The solutions need to come from the people who are living it.”

UOG President Anita Borja Enriquez, DBA, said the purpose of the conference is “To bring to light the importance of sustainability, to provide the incredible amount of resource support…we want to grow all of these different initiatives that are going to keep resiliency at the forefront.”

Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero added by the importance of applying research to local industry. “Doing research in agriculture, aquaculture, engineering, all of that we offer is just more and more options and ways that we can sustain our island,” the Governor said. “We’re going to share ideas during this period of time and we’re going to take those ideas and put it into practice.”

Kyle Mandapat, MBA, UOG CIS & SG associate director for communications and community engagement noted that there are still opportunities for public involvement throughout the week. “There’s still opportunity for you to get involved, not just with the conference, but also with some of the efforts that we’re going to be leading through the week as well.”

The 17th UOG Conference on Island Sustainability continues through April 24 at the Hyatt Regency Guam. Last year’s event hosted over 1,200 participants and 190 presenters from 21 countries.