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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 258 news items in Policy & Governance
    Fiji, Palau and Tuvalu set to show world leaders climate change impact ahead of COP31
    Policy & GovernanceMarch 2, 2026

    Fiji, Palau and Tuvalu set to show world leaders climate change impact ahead of COP31

    Excerpt from abc.net.au Fiji, Palau and Tuvalu look set to host world leaders and climate change ministers in the lead-up to COP31 in a bid to encourage larger countries to accelerate cuts to emissions. Both Fiji and Palau had offered to host the "pre-COP" meetings secured for the Pacific under a complicated deal struck last year that saw hosting rights for the main climate summit go to Türkiye while giving Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen a key position in global climate negotiations. Australia and Pacific Islands nations have declared they want to use the opportunity to publicise the Pacific's existential battle with climate change. But negotiations on who should host events in the lead-up to the summit have dragged on.

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    All hands on paddles: Why COP31 needs the full strength of Pacific women
    Policy & GovernanceMarch 2, 2026

    All hands on paddles: Why COP31 needs the full strength of Pacific women

    Photo Credit and Excerpt from themandarin.com.au I watched our children trundle home from their first day back at school, their giggles drifting across the heat-haze of dusty roads. It reminded me of the girl I once was, and of thousands of girls across our Blue Pacific for whom school is not guaranteed. I was one of the fortunate ones: my parents invested in me, and I had access to a good education. It was my mother who nudged me toward politics. When I veered off this path, she pulled me back to it.

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    'No island is too small to make an impact': Germany builds closer ties with Tonga, seals diplomacy with Niue
    Policy & GovernanceMarch 2, 2026

    'No island is too small to make an impact': Germany builds closer ties with Tonga, seals diplomacy with Niue

    Excerpt and Photo Credit: pacificislandtimes.com Germany’s foreign minister recently embarked on an Indo-Pacific tour to shore up relations and build a backstop against China. Tonga was the last leg of Johann Wadephul’s tour, and to some observers, it the curious part of the itinerary, which began in Singapore and Brunei before moving on to New Zealand and Australia. How does Tonga, a tiny island kingdom in the South Pacific with a population of approximately 104,000, share the interests of economic powerhouse Germany, a country it has so little in common with? Lord Fakafanua, Tonga’s prime minister, said Wadephul’s visit reflected the “strength and longevity” of the two countries' relationship and their shared focus on sustainable development and climate resilience, both vital to their future. While in Tonga, Wadephul met with Niue's prime minister, Dalton Tagelagi, to seal Germany's diplomatic relations with Niue, marking another step toward closer ties in the Pacific region.

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    Maldives launches process for gender-based climate policy
    Policy & GovernanceFebruary 18, 2026

    Maldives launches process for gender-based climate policy

    Excerpt from muslimnetwork.tv Maldives has taken a first formal step toward integrating gender equity into its climate policy framework, launching a national workshop to begin work on the country’s inaugural Climate Change Gender Action Plan (CC-GAP). The inception workshop, held earlier this week, brought together government institutions, academic bodies, civil society groups and international partners, signalling a coordinated push to embed gender considerations into climate adaptation and mitigation strategies. The initiative is being led by the Ministry of Tourism and Environment in coordination with the Ministry of Social and Family Development, reflecting growing recognition that climate impacts in island nations are not gender-neutral. Officials said the planned framework aims to address how climate risks intersect with livelihoods, health, disaster preparedness and access to economic opportunities.

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    Trump’s Greenland threats put crucial climate change research at risk
    Policy & GovernanceFebruary 18, 2026

    Trump’s Greenland threats put crucial climate change research at risk

    Excerpt from japantimes.co.jp U.S. President Donald Trump’s vows to take over Greenland have chilled relationships between American and Greenlandic researchers, halting some projects and making future collaborations uncertain. Ross Virginia, a professor emeritus of environmental studies at Dartmouth College, said a climate program he ran with Greenlandic colleagues was halted by “mutual agreement” due to the tensions. “Direct cooperation is paused while we determine what a future vision for collaborative science diplomacy — particularly involving education and younger students — could look like,” he said. Another U.S. scientist, who asked not to be identified for fear of jeopardizing relationships, said some of his research partnerships in Greenland were paused even before Trump escalated talk of annexation in early January, and that he suspended fieldwork out of respect for Greenlanders.

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    Beyond health: Pacific islands cast a wider net to strengthen health security
    Policy & GovernanceFebruary 18, 2026

    Beyond health: Pacific islands cast a wider net to strengthen health security

    Excerpt from who.int Given that more than half of the infectious diseases affecting people originate in animals, the next public health emergency may not begin in a hospital or clinic but at a farm or in a flooded community. Across Pacific island countries and areas, climate-sensitive diseases further intensify these challenges. Leptospirosis, for example, often rises after heavy rainfall and floods, while food and water safety remain a major concern with unsafe food linked to more than 200 diseases worldwide, many of them present in the Pacific. While these risks are already well known, findings using the tools under the International Health Regulations (IHR) clearly show that preventing and controlling diseases transmitted from animals to humans remains an urgent priority. The IHR – which came into effect in 2005 and were recently amended to strengthen them further – are a legally binding framework adopted by 196 WHO States Parties, including Pacific island countries, to prevent, detect and respond to public health threats with the potential of international spread. The need for urgent action was discussed at a recent meeting of Pacific islands from 3 to 5 February, where, for the first time, more than 70 participants came together representing not only national IHR focal points but also the animal health and legal sectors.

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

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

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

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