(Hagatna, GU) Governor Lou Leon Guerrero and other global leaders discussed ways in which islands are coming together through the Local2030 Island Network to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals during a side event at the 2021 United Nations (UN) High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development

Ireland hosted the “Island Responses to COVID-19 – In the Context of Climate Resilience and Sustainable Development through the Local2030 Islands Network,” on Tuesday, July 12.

Aside from Guam, the webinar also featured leaders from the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, Ireland, and Grenada, together with the US Department of State and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, and Hawaii’s representative to the US Senate.

Speaking virtually at the event, the Governor said Guam is proud to be a founding member of the Local2030 Islands Network. The Governor also emphasized the Guam Green Growth Initiative’s (G3) role in promoting efforts to implement the 17 SDGs.

“In 2019, I promulgated Executive Order 2019-23 establishing the G3 working group and appointed 99 members of the group from all sectors of society. We now have the G3 Action Framework — our most comprehensive action plan ever created to achieve a sustainable future for our island. In partnership with the Local2030 Islands Network and inspired by the Aloha+ Challenge dashboard, Guam has undertaken its own G3 dashboard to collect data and track progress on the framework while promoting behavioral changes in response to climate change and the pandemic,” she said.

The Governor also shared some of G3’s islandwide efforts–from promoting the Circular Economy concept, creating a MakerSpace and Innovation Hub, to the G3 Conservation Corps’ plans to increase agriculture and aquaculture production.

On Guam, the UOG Center for Island Sustainability and the Guam Sea Grant has been at the forefront of efforts to broaden partnerships across sectors for the Local2030 Islands Network and the G3 initiative.

“I am grateful to be a global island partnership leader, and I would like to commend GLISPA (Global Island Partnership) for serving as co-secretariat to the Local2030 Islands Network along with Hawaii Green Growth. Through the Local2030 Islands Network, we learned from and assisted our peers on the SDG implementation,” the Governor said.

Grenada, FSM joins Local2030
At the side event, Grenada and the FSM also announced their membership in the Local2030 Islands Network.

FSM President David Panuelo said, “I am pleased to announce that the FSM is joining the Local2030 Islands Network as one of the Micronesia Challenge countries who now have our own local goals to 2030 that build from the Micronesia Challenge. We are very excited once again to lead the way as a region.”

Simon Stiell, Grenada’s Minister for Climate Resilience, the Environment, Forestry, Fisheries, Disaster Management, and Information, said Grenada is proud to announce its membership in the vital network. “We look forward to sharing our SDG innovations and approaches with our island economy peers and to also learn from them.”

The Local2030 Islands Network is the world’s first global, island-led initiative of its kind. As part of the network, member-nations and communities commit to promoting locally-driven models and concrete actions toward achieving the 17 UN SDGs.