Sustainable development for small islands (SMILO+)

Island territories are home to one-third of the world’s conservation zones and protected areas. “Small islands” are those smaller than 150 km² in area, detached from the mainland at low tide, have no bridge, may or may not be inhabited, and may have protected status. They typify numerous environmental and socio-economic challenges and support significant biodiversity, a cornerstone of ecosystem services essential to local communities. Founded in 2016, the SMILO association brings together around sixty members and has initiated a process of “Sustainable Island” accreditation on 25 small islands in Europe, the Mediterranean, Africa, the Indian Ocean and in South-East Asia. SMILO today hopes to achieve a change of scale by bringing new territories into its accreditation process and intensifying its activity in those places where it is already operating.

The project has 3 components:

• Encouraging and facilitating the sustainable development of small islands through the implementation of shared governance, providing support during the accreditation process and financing priority sustainable development actions.
• Strengthening the capabilities of local actors through peer dialogue and by tapping into the dynamics of experience capitalisation.
• Structuring and embedding SMILO and facilitating international recognition of the “Sustainable Island” accreditation.

• Advancing the emergence and promotion of innovative solutions for the sustainable development of island territories.
• Launching a sustainable development dynamic among small islands by establishing shared governance.
• Undertaking and financing associated actions on sustainable footings.

SMILO supports the “Sustainable Island” accreditation process, based on the co-construction of a regional project, in order to promote approaches implemented by partner islands to protect and enhance natural resources. The project contributes to the preservation of the global environment at two levels: at local scale, by protecting threatened and unique natural capital, and at global scale, by preserving ecosystems essential to the resilience of populations and in the fight against climate change. The project also contributes to the structuring and diversification of local economies on a sustainable and environmentally-friendly basis.