NOAA’s Adaptation Sciences Program, housed in NOAA’s Climate Program Office, supported the first in-person meetings of two island-focused international Communities of Practice (CoPs) through the Local2030 Islands Network (Local2030IN) from April 2-6, 2023 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Over 130 participants from 30 islands in the Caribbean, Pacific and Indian Ocean regions attended the CoPs, which were focused on (1) Data for Climate Resilience and (2) Sustainable & Regenerative Tourism. The L2030IN Communities of Practice are designed to provide a platform for island economies around the world to share their unique knowledge and experiences through peer-to-peer exchanges, relevant training, and collaboration on the development of place-based solutions to shared global challenges.
Both the previous years’ virtual events and this year’s in-person events were shaped by technical support from many offices across NOAA, including: the Climate Program Office, the Marine Protected Areas Center, the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, the National Centers for Environmental Information’s Pacific Regional Climate Services Director, the Pacific Sciences Laboratory, the National Sea Grant Program, the Pacific Climate Adaptation Partnership team (formerly known as Pacific RISA) and the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research (CIMAR). Andrea Miralles-Barboza attended on behalf of NOAA’s Climate Program Office.
These gatherings took place in conjunction with the 2023 Pacific Risk Management Ohana (PRiMO) conference, an annual conference led by the National Ocean Service for over 20 years, with the aim of working together as a region towards risk reduction and resilience. The funding for the Local2030 IN is provided through a NOAA partnership with the U.S. Department of State and is part of a broader effort to bring NOAA scientific and technical resources to bear on adaptation and resilience efforts in partner countries and regions under the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE).
For more information, contact Lisa Vaughan.
Image credit: Local2030 Islands Network