Safeguarding endangered turtles in the Comoros is just one part of a gathering effort in small island developing states (SIDS) across the globe to protect and restore their unique and precious ecosystems for the benefit of both people and nature.
Many island nations are struggling to escape poverty just as climate change accelerates the degradation of the natural resources that underpin their economies. Coral reefs and fish stocks are in decline. Sea level rise is leading to the salinization of rivers and lakes, thus making freshwater scarce on the islands. Rising sea levels are also eroding coastlines battered by intensifying storms.
Being at the frontline of climate impacts, island nations are leading by example in tackling global environmental crises. For example, SIDS leaders pressed the international community to set the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, the most ambitious target under the Paris Agreement. They have also turned chunks of their territorial waters into marine protected areas, making them vital players in global conservation, delivering on the new Montreal-Kunming Global Biodiversity Framework.
“To some, these islands are mere dots on the map,” said Sai Navoti, chief of the SIDS unit at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA). “But together they show that they are not only small and vulnerable, but indeed are large ocean states.”