VIS 2026VIS 2026 — Virtual Island Summit|Also: GSIS 2027GSIS 2027
Island Innovation Logo
About
Services
The Network
Events
Content Library
Contact Us

Subscribe to our newsletter. By submitting, you agree to our Privacy Policy.

Island Innovation

Island Innovation works with governments, institutions, and partners worldwide to support island-led sustainable economic development.

We Support The UN Development Goals

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
SDG 13: Climate Action
SDG 14: Life Below Water
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

Explore

AboutServicesNetworkEvents

Content

ArticlesNewsCareers

Ready to Connect?

Join the island innovation community

Get in Touch

About

  • About us
  • Case Studies
  • FAQs
  • Press
  • Careers
  • Contact

Services

  • Services Overview
  • Public & Media Relations
  • Strategic Communications

Network

  • The Island Network
  • Academic Council
  • Newsletter

Events

  • Our Events
  • Watch Past Events

Content

  • All Content Library
  • Videos
  • Articles
  • News
Privacy PolicyTerms of ServiceContactManage email preferences

© 2025 Island Innovation. All rights reserved.

    News

    Curated stories and analysis from islands and sustainability leaders worldwide.

    Filter by Core Theme

    All ThemesCircular EconomyClimate ActionConnectivity & DigitizationCulture & CommunityEnergy & TransportGreen Finance & EconomyOcean & BiodiversityPolicy & GovernanceTourism & Remote WorkWater & Food
    Showing 9 of 258 news items in Policy & Governance
    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.

    Read more
    12345678910
    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.

    Read more
    Vice-President of the European Commission to Visit the Canary Islands in First Half of Year to Assess Their Unique Status as an Outermost Region
    Policy & GovernanceFebruary 11, 2026

    Vice-President of the European Commission to Visit the Canary Islands in First Half of Year to Assess Their Unique Status as an Outermost Region

    Excerpt from tenerifeweekly.com Raffaele Fitto, Executive Vice-President of Cohesion and Reforms for the European Union, will visit the Canary Islands in the first half of the year to understand their unique characteristics as an Outermost Region (OMR) amid ongoing discussions on the new multiannual financial framework for 2028-34. This announcement was made on Monday by Alfonso Cabello, spokesperson for the Canary Islands Government, during a press conference to outline the agreements from the Government Council. He emphasised that the visit will provide “another boost” for defending the OMR status and ensuring that these regions do not become “diluted” within the new multiannual framework.

    Read more
    Will 2026 be an even bigger year for small islands?
    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.

    Read more
    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.

    Read more
    ‘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.

    Read more
    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.

    Read more
    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.

    Read more
    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.

    Read more