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© 2025 Island Innovation. All rights reserved.

    News

    Curated stories and analysis from islands and sustainability leaders worldwide.

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    Showing 9 of 254 news items in Policy & Governance
    UN forms panel on Multidimensional Vulnerability Index, Bahamas represented
    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.

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

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    Madagascar’s conservation moment: Local leadership amid political change
    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.

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    Gran Canaria becomes a benchmark in ecological restoration with the European project NewLIFE4BioIslands
    Policy & GovernanceJanuary 16, 2026

    Gran Canaria becomes a benchmark in ecological restoration with the European project NewLIFE4BioIslands

    Excerpt and Photo Credit: canarias7.es El Cabildo de Gran Canaria, a través de la Consejería de Medio Ambiente, Clima, Energía y Conocimiento, participa en el proyecto europeo NewLIFE4BioIslands, una iniciativa aprobada en el marco del programa LIFE de la Unión Europea destinada a acelerar la restauración ecológica en territorios insulares y mediterráneos, según informa la institución en un comunicado. El proyecto, coordinado por Gesplan, se extenderá hasta 2031 y dispone de una inversión total de 7,18 millones de euros, cofinanciados en un 60% por la Comisión Europea. NewLIFE4BioIslands se centra en la creación de islas de biodiversidad, pequeñas áreas restauradas con una alta diversidad de vegetación nativa que se distribuyen estratégicamente para reconectar ecosistemas fragmentados, restaurar funciones ecológicas y mejorar la resiliencia frente al cambio climático. Este innovador enfoque permitirá incrementar la abundancia y diversidad de polinizadores nativos, especialmente abejas, sírfidos y mariposas, grupos clave para la reproducción de muchas especies vegetales y para la sostenibilidad del modelo agroalimentario.

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    Nation’s first climate impact fee among new Hawaiʻi laws that went in effect in new year
    Policy & GovernanceJanuary 15, 2026

    Nation’s first climate impact fee among new Hawaiʻi laws that went in effect in new year

    Excerpt from mauinow.com The long-discussed Hawaiʻi Green Fee, the nation’s first-of-its-kind climate impact fee, took effect on Jan. 1, and is expected to generate $100 million annually. Act 96, formerly Senate Bill 1396, increases the existing tax on hotel stays and rentals by 0.75% (raising the Transient Accommodations Tax to 11%), and applying this total tax to cruise ship passengers when a vessel is docked at a state harbor.

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    Local2030 Islands Network: SDGs in Developing Island States
    Policy & GovernanceJanuary 15, 2026

    Local2030 Islands Network: SDGs in Developing Island States

    Excerpt from borgenproject.org The world’s small island territories and nations face unique development challenges and are collectively identified as Small Island Developing States by the United Nations (U.N.). These islands commonly experience high costs of living, limited financial opportunities, import dependence and climate vulnerability. Together, these factors create conditions for undiversified and vulnerable economies, contributing to high levels of poverty among island populations. With frequent climate hazards, these challenges become further exacerbated, disrupting both livelihoods and ecosystems that are essential for long-term island sustainability and income generation. The U.N. has emphasized the importance of advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in developing island states, as these states are at the forefront of making sustainable transitions.

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    Grace Road in Fiji: Investment engine or human rights headache?
    Policy & GovernanceJanuary 15, 2026

    Grace Road in Fiji: Investment engine or human rights headache?

    Excerpt from islandsbusiness.com FIJI faces an uncomfortable reckoning as the United States threatens to cut millions of dollars in development aid over allegations of human trafficking tied to a South Korean sect. Grace Road is a prominent investor with supermarkets, restaurants, and service stations but arrived in Fiji initially to set up a commune on which its members hope to escape the end of the world. Its leader, Shin Ok-ju and three other members of the Grace Road Church were arrested at Seoul’s international airport in 2018 on charges of human trafficking in Fiji and the US. Shin was later convicted of assault, child abuse, and fraud. Since its arrival in Fiji in 2014, Grace Road Group has woven itself into the fabric of the nation’s economy. Its investments span supermarkets, restaurants, beauty salons, and ambitious agricultural projects. With hundreds of jobs created and new businesses injected into local supply chains, many Fijians see the group as a welcome source of economic energy and innovation.

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    Grenada Officially Launches The Ministry Of The Blue Economy And Marine Affairs
    Policy & GovernanceJanuary 7, 2026

    Grenada Officially Launches The Ministry Of The Blue Economy And Marine Affairs

    Excerpt from weefmgrenada.com The Government of Grenada on Monday December 15 officially launched the Ministry of the Blue Economy and Marine Affairs, on board the Esta Sea marking a major step toward sustainable ocean development and economic transformation. This new Ministry represents a strategic investment in Grenada’s future. By prioritizing the Blue Economy, Grenada signals its readiness to lead in building a sustainable, inclusive, and forward looking ocean economy—one that creates jobs, strengthens food and energy security, enhances climate resilience, and promotes social equity while safeguarding marine resources.

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    'United we stand, divided we fall:' Pacific island nations urged to create collective seabed regulations
    Policy & GovernanceJanuary 7, 2026

    'United we stand, divided we fall:' Pacific island nations urged to create collective seabed regulations

    Excerpt from pacificislandtimes.com Recognizing that the march toward the use of seabed resources is nearly unstoppable at this point, a new paper urges Pacific island nations to create a “underwater constitution” to regulate resource extraction, safeguard their sovereignty and ensure that these countries share in the ocean’s riches. The policy paper, titled “United We Stand, Divided We Fall,” argues for a practical approach in the face of a rush for the Pacific seabed—a Pacific Seabed Stewardship Statement — to help countries agree on shared principles and guide future cooperation on sustainable seabed development.

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