Representatives from Sub-National Island Jurisdictions (SNIJs) have highlighted the significant impact their communities are having on global marine conservation efforts, while also facing limited representation at major international summits. In addition to highlighting ocean conservation projects within their waters, the representatives discussed plans to enhance cooperation with other island governments in similar situations.
“Together with Island Innovation and the Cabinet of the Special Envoy for Bonaire, Saba, and St. Eustatius, we initiated this journey and have had several interventions. I’m happy to say that these conversations with the EU and the UN to continue to dig into this programme and create a category for Sub-National Island Jurisdictions and access to funding for the transition towards more resilient and sustainable islands,” said Vannesa Toré, Director of Foreign Economic Cooperation the Ministry of Economic Development Government of Curaçao.
SNIJs are territories that enjoy varying autonomy levels, but are attached to a larger sovereign country. In the case of Curaçao (the Netherlands) and New Caledonia (France). Several EU countries have overseas territories, including Denmark (Greenland), Spain (Canary Islands), and Portugal (Azores) - but SNIJs also include islands like Guam (USA), Zanzibar (Tanzania), and Lakshadweep (India).
As Toré highlighted “Our small structures, our small economies, often we survive generating just enough to re-invest into keeping the island afloat, but to invest in the energy transition, invest in building resilience, these investments are very costly and we do not have access to those types of programmes and we do not have access to those types of funding or financing. We are smaller, we are more vulnerable, and climate change does not discriminate against constitutional status.”
In his address, Jeremie Katidjo-Monnier, New Caledonia’s Minister for the Environment and Ocean pointed to and congratulated the Government of French Polynesia’s announcement that they would designate a large portion of their Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) as a Marine Protected Area (MPA), likening it to New Caledonia’s own 1.3 million km2 MPA created in 2014.
The ambition of these French overseas territories is only matched by the global impact their ecosystems hold, with Katidjo-Monnier adding, “The fact that we are overseas territories of developed countries means that sometimes it is difficult for us to access certain international funding, and that's why this call today is more than welcome so that we can all come together to work on projects and examine the legal and administrative issues... For France, more than half of its exclusive economic zone is under the responsibility of the government of French Polynesia and New Caledonia when it comes to environmental protection.”
Communities living in SNIJs find themselves in a gray area when it comes to climate funding opportunities. Their attachment to another economy disqualifies them from most international financing pathways, yet they often have different needs and priorities than their central authority, with limited representation within that larger political structure. The different autonomies and sovereignties that each SNIJ add another layer of complexities when it comes to addressing climate finance issues. Here, Toré underscored that creating a formal legal understanding of SNIJs and their constitutional situation was the first step towards categorizing them within international structures and frameworks. These actions were already well underway, she noted, and while the process to legal recognition will be long, it also provides an opportunity for leaders and stakeholders from these territories to join the SNIJ Climate Coalition (SNIJCC) launched at the 1st Forum on Access to Climate Finance for SNIJs on May 30th on Nevis.
In the meantime, efforts by major organizations like Expertise France to create more inclusive spaces for EU Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) are being actively developed. As mentioned by Ahab Downer, Green Overseas Programme Director at Expertise France, convening stakeholders from these communities is actively leading to capacity building through knowledge exchange. A recent Green Overseas technical workshop on coastal erosion saw representatives from 45 OCTs come to Sint Maarten to share their experiences and learn more about other communities’ solutions.
“Additionally – the GO Programme underwrites and provides extensive technical and administrative support to our OCT partners for small to medium sized energy and resilience related projects in their respective OCTs,” explained Downer, “To date – we are implementing – and or preparing to implement – some 34 projects across 24 OCTs ranging from coastal erosion and sea level rise monitoring in French Polynesia, to the mainstreaming of energy savings and
climate resilience in the Bermuda building codes, to feasibility studies related to offshore wind turbines in the Turks and Caicos Islands… The GO Programme is proud to be supporting the development of Greenland’s first territorial climate strategy.”
All speakers agreed that the gaps that SNIJ communities face are related to financing and overall support for local projects, which by-and-large are put into motion and developed by islanders. The ambition of SNIJs should not be limited by or come second to constitutional relationships with metropolitan states, but rather serve as a new benchmark for them. Katidjo-Monnier stressed the global impact that these communities can have when provided with the tools to enable them.
Speaking on the next steps for SNIJs, OCTs, and islanders, James Ellsmoor, Chief Executive Officer of Island Innovation expressed: “Increased participation of underrepresented groups, including SNIJs, at major international fora is beneficial in not only highlighting the positive projects and opportunities these communities provide, but also raising awareness of the inequalities they face and how we can address them. Small Island Developing States for example, have created a powerful platform for advocacy that SNIJs can learn from. Islanders are already creating waves, and SNIJs can add to it. I sland leaders are actively setting the tone for negotiations at events like COP and UNOC, using the platform these conferences provide to demand reforms to the status quo - providing alternatives such as the Bridgetown Initiative, developing Nature-based Solutions, highlighting their communities’ innovation and leveraging it to create a prosperous future for themselves and the world at large.”
