After its launch during the high-level week of the 74th UN General Assembly (UNGA), Local2030 Islands, a platform to accelerate island-led SDG implementation, is starting to operationalize its partnership.

The initiative was launched at UN Headquarters on 27 September 2019, on the margins of the UNGA’s High-level Review of the Samoa Pathway. Local2030 Islands was launched by the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA) in partnership with the governments of Belize, Curacao, Grenada, Hawai’i, Ireland, Marshall Islands and Seychelles, as well as Hawai’i Green Growth, Guam, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN-Habitat and the UN Foundation. It is part of the UN Local2030 Partnership.

The Local2030 Islands initiative is committed to four principles:

• Identify local goals to advance the SDGs and strengthen long-term political leadership on sustainable development and climate resilience;
• Strengthen public-private partnerships that support diverse stakeholders in integrating sustainability priorities into policy and planning;
• Measure SDG progress through tracking and reporting on locally and culturally informed indicators; and
• Implement concrete initiatives that build island resilience and a circular economy through locally appropriate solutions, particularly at the water-energy-food nexus.

After the launch, the founding partners began operationalizing the partnership. They are working to establish an interim steering committee that will further develop and finalize the role, governance and activities of the network, including a detailed vision for the network, its membership and decision-making framework, and the scope of activities and a plan for 2020. 

Local2030 Islands also aims to broaden its membership to other island jurisdictions and cooperating institutions. [SDG Knowledge Hub sources] [Hawai’i Green Growth webpage on Local2030]