The UNDP and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) on Tuesday launched the Blue and Green Islands Integrated Program to scale up nature-based solutions in 15 Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

The $135-million programme will combat environmental degradation and drive nature positive outcomes in the urban development, food production, and tourism sectors in the selected island nations, the agencies said in an announcement.

“SIDS are on the frontlines of climate change and nature loss as they face harsh realities of sea level rise, more unpredictable weather patterns, and degraded ecosystems, yet their unique situation also means that they are also driving forward a remarkable range of innovative and interconnected solutions,” said Achim Steiner, the UNDP administrator.

“With the invaluable support of the Global Environment Facility, the Blue and Green Islands Program will serve to scale up nature-based solutions in the food, tourism, and urban sectors that help shift key sectors from nature negative to nature positive — improving the daily lives of people on small islands and helping to revive the health of our natural world.”

UNDP will administer the programme with funding to come from GEF along with a number of other partners, including UNEP, FAO, the World Bank, WWF US, IUCN, and the UNCCD.

The programme will aim to enable local communities to overcome challenges by providing them with much needed resources, and will target activities such as sustainable agriculture and fisheries, nature friendly tourism, pollution reduction, and extreme weather resilience.

“SIDS are on the frontlines of climate change and nature loss as they face harsh realities of sea level rise, more unpredictable weather patterns, and degraded ecosystems, yet their unique situation also means that they are also driving forward a remarkable range of innovative and interconnected solutions,” said Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, CEO and chairperson at GEF.

The SIDS selected to benefit from the programme are Belize, Cape Verde, Comoros, Cuba, Maldives, Mauritius, Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Seychelles, Timor Leste, Trinidad & Tobago, and Vanuatu.

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