At the SIDS4 Conference in Antigua & Barbuda a few months ago, we had the privilege of interviewing Sapphire Alexander, founder of Caribbean Feminist – a digital advocacy platform empowering youth in Trinidad and Tobago to champion gender justice.
“Gender must remain on the agenda.” Sapphire highlighted that while the ABAS (Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS) mentions gender and women multiple times, it lacks meaningful inclusion and strong provisions to protect the rights of all gender identities in #SIDS over the next decade.
She stressed the importance of including Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) programs in disaster risk management, citing the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) as a crucial but overlooked resource.
This is especially vital in the aftermath of hurricanes, for example, when vulnerable communities face heightened risks and need access to life-saving care.
As we prepare for #VIS2024 we are reminded of the importance of these conversations and the need to keep gender justice at the forefront of our efforts. And who knows, you might also see Sapphire at the event!
Disaster Response Isn’t Keeping Up with the Climate Crisis
The aftermath of Hurricane Beryl exposes how our financial system is falling short in the face of increasingly frequent and intense storms, floods, and wildfires.
Protecting small island developing states and other at-risk countries requires comprehensive support before, during, and after extreme weather events.
UNDP GEF Small Grants Programme and Mauritius Tourism Industry Join Forces to Promote Marine Species Conservation and Sustainable Tourism Practices
On 31 July, an awareness video and conveyor belt poster on whale, dolphin, and turtle watching in Mauritius were launched at plaine Magnien. Diverse stakeholders, including representatives from tourism sector institutions, UNDP and GEF Small Grant Programme, Air Mauritius and Airport Terminal Operations, marine conservationists, private sector, visitors, and the media, attended the event.
Greenland fossils reveal greater sea-level threat from climate change
Scientists have discovered plant and insect remains under a two-mile-deep (3 km) ice core extracted from the center of the island, providing the clearest proof yet that nearly all of this vast territory was green within the past million years, when atmospheric carbon levels were much lower than today.
The University of Prince Edward Island, University of Aruba and the Sophia University (Tokyo) invites you to their 3rd international conference on Small Island States (SIS) and Subnational Island Jurisdictions (SNIJs) in June 2025.
Before the conference, they are now inviting researchers, practitioners, artists, and communities across disciplines to explore island imaginaries and interdisciplinarities in the context of climate change, and to submit an abstract related to one or more of the sub-themes (ex: Ocean health and climate change, Environmental law and governance, Climate change communications, The importance of health and well-being, etc).
