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The future we choose: the Global Island Partnership meets the Mountain Partnership

18.06.2012

Mountain Partnership @ Rio+20

Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) A side event on "Sustainable Mountain Development Challenges in Islands: the Global Island Partnership meets the Mountain Partnership" will promote affiliation of mountainous islands stakeholders to the Mountain Partnership. The event, to be held on 22 June 2012 at the Mountain Pavilion on the sidelines of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) is organized by the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA) in cooperation with the Italian Development Cooperation. It aims to promote discussion among experts, development practitioners, policy makers and development partners on the specific challenges and potentials of sustainable management of island mountain ecosystem services, when compared to their continental counterparts.

The Global Island Partnership (GLISPA) assists islands in addressing one of the world’s greatest challenges: to conserve and sustainably utilize the invaluable island natural resources that support people, cultures, and livelihoods in their island homes around the world. It brings together island nations and nations with islands — small and large, developing and developed — to mobilize leadership, increase resources and share skills, knowledge, technologies and innovations in a cost-effective and sustainable way that will catalyze action for conservation and sustainable livelihoods on islands. It is recognized by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) as a partnership to advance the implementation of the CBD 2010 biodiversity target, to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss, and the programmes of work on island biodiversity and protected areas.

Since it was first called for in Mauritius (January 2005) and launched at the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD in Brazil (March 2006), GLISPA has grown rapidly as an informal network advancing island conservation and sustainable livelihoods. More than 60 governments of Small Islands Developing States (SIDS), large island countries, countries with islands, overseas territories, as well as multi and bilateral agencies, and international, national and regional organizations have worked with GLISPA to advance high-level commitments and on the ground action for island conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Without formal structure or dedicated staffing, GLISPA has helped catalyze more than US$70 million in commitments to island conservation.

 MP-GLISPA-side-event-agenda.pdf