Content Library

News

Curated stories and analysis from islands and sustainability leaders worldwide.

Filter by Core Theme

All Themes Circular Economy Climate Action Connectivity & Digitization Culture & Community Energy & Transport Green Finance & Economy Ocean & Biodiversity Policy & Governance Tourism & Remote Work Water & Food

Showing 9 of 247 news items in Policy & Governance

Policy & GovernanceFebruary 11, 2026

National deep-sea mining experts visit Am Samoa to support community opposition

Photo Credit and Excerpt: samoanews.com Last week, American Samoa welcomed a delegation of national and Pacific-based experts in ocean policy, conservation, and Indigenous stewardship who answered the community’s call for support as the territory navigates the federal deep-sea mining (DSM) leasing process. This visit was coordinated by Finafinau’s Founder, Dr. Sabrina Suluai-Mahuka, in response to community requests for clearer information, technical expertise, and national-level support. The experts were invited not to speak over the community, but to listen, learn, and help elevate American Samoa’s voices where decisions are being made.

Policy & GovernanceFebruary 11, 2026

Small island states rate China as top development partner as West cuts aid

Excerpt from reuters.com A survey of small island ‌developing nations such as Mauritius and the Maldives showed China rated as the top bilateral development assistance partner amid U.S. aid cuts and Washington's pivot away from climate change, a report by ODI Global found. Data from an ODI survey to which officials from 29 small island developing states responded found that in the aggregate, governments saw China as the most ‌valued bilateral partner - a view that has geopolitical implications, according to lead author Emily Wilkinson.

Policy & GovernanceFebruary 11, 2026

Cook Islands prepares domestic groundwork as global ocean treaty takes effect More island stories

Excerpt from cookislandsnews.com The Cook Islands is turning its attention inward as a new global agreement governing the high seas officially enters into force, with government agencies now focused on ensuring the country is legally and practically ready before ratifying the treaty. In email correspondence with Cook Islands News, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration (MFAI) said the entry into force of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement marks the point where preparations must shift from discussion to action.

Policy & GovernanceFebruary 11, 2026

PM orders sweeping review of SOEs to tackle blackouts, water failure, and inefficiency

Excerpt from thepngbulletin.com Prime Minister James Marape has announced a sweeping review of Papua New Guinea’s state-owned enterprise governance system, warning that layers of boards and holding structures are undermining service delivery and contributing directly to persistent blackouts, water shortages and poor infrastructure performance. Speaking as Cabinet convened today, Prime Minister Marape said the Government is now examining the entire Kumul Consolidated Holdings (KCH) structure and how major utilities such as PNG Power, PNG Water and Air Niugini report through multiple governance layers. “We are also looking at the entire KCH structure — how PNG Power reports to the mother board, how PNG Water reports to the mother board, how Air Niugini reports to the mother board,” he said. “I think a couple of layers of boards have become a quagmire. That in itself can be an impediment.” The Prime Minister said the current system has created too many bureaucratic choke points, delaying decisions, weakening accountability and slowing urgent investment and maintenance.

Policy & GovernanceFebruary 11, 2026

Climate doesn’t care about borders. Nor does climate litigation

Photo credit: Marten van Dijl / Greenpeace via The-Wave.net Excerpt from the-wave.net When residents of the Caribbean island of Bonaire faced the Netherlands in court last October, they had few expectations for what they might achieve. They had travelled from a place that is particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise, extreme heat and other climate-related impacts, but also their beloved home that they have no desire to leave.

Policy & GovernanceFebruary 4, 2026

UN forms panel on Multidimensional Vulnerability Index, Bahamas represented

Excerpt from thenassauguardian.com The United Nations (UN) has appointed 15 leading experts to the new Independent Expert Advisory Panel for the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) for the 2026–2030 term, which includes Bahamian economist Therese Turner-Jones, one of only two people represented on the panel from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). The UN released a press statement yesterday explaining that the panel will be key to “strengthening the MVI as an evidence-based tool for assessing the structural vulnerabilities faced by developing countries”. The UN said the panel will convene its first meeting this year to adopt its work program and initiate preparations for the first triennial review of the MVI in 2028.

Policy & GovernanceFebruary 4, 2026

Will 2026 be an even bigger year for small islands?

Excerpt from Small Islands Big Picture, via odi.org Photo credit: Eduardo Davo Fernandez / Shutterstock via ODI.org About the episode In this special episode of the Small Islands Big Picture podcast, the RESI directors look back on a remarkable 2025 for Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The year was filled with feel-good stories, policy wins and worrying lows in equal measure - from Cabo Verde’s historic World Cup qualification to Hurricane Melissa’s devastating impact on Jamaica, they reflect on the year’s defining events, challenges, and milestones. This episode is also a chance to get to know the people behind RESI. The directors share their experiences visiting islands, engaging with local communities, and working on issues from climate justice and ocean governance to development finance and capacity building. Their insights reveal how global trends, from shifting aid flows to new international treaties, intersect with life and policy in SIDS.

Policy & GovernanceJanuary 25, 2026

‘Tonga is not a threat’: anger as small Pacific nation falls under Trump visa restrictions

Excerpt from talanoaotonga.to Photo Credit: Ben Mckay/AAP via talanoaotonga.to The small Pacific nation of Tonga is one of more than a dozen countries to be hit with visa and entry restrictions on 1 January as the Trump administration tightens its crackdown on immigration. In December, the US said it would further restrict and limit the entry of foreign nationals to protect the country from “national security and public safety threats”. The measures included expanding the US travel ban to bar nationals from five more countries: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria. The US also issued “partial restrictions and entry limitations” on 15 additional countries: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, the Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Despite the restrictions being categorised as “partial”, visas will only be issued in a handful of exceptional circumstances – to US government employees, for example.

Policy & GovernanceJanuary 16, 2026

Madagascar’s conservation moment: Local leadership amid political change

Excerpt from alliancemagazine.org In October, Madagascar’s environment and sustainable development ministry presented the Conservation Allies’ 2025 Madagascar Protected Areas Outlook, a report to assess the health and management of the country’s protected areas, which found that locally-managed areas show significantly lower deforestation rates. At the same time, Madagascar has signed delegating contracts that grant local organisations like ours the legal right to manage some of the country’s most iconic landscapes. For us, this moment is deeply personal. It represents seven years of persistence, finally recognised, and the trust from our government formalised. These agreements give communities we work with the long-overdue legitimacy to protect forests, coasts and wildlife that sustain them.