? ISLANDS Webinar Alert❗

On 25 April, the GEF ISLANDS Programme is hosting a webinar on best practices on #Ewaste management in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) .

Why E-waste? ? Electronic waste (E-waste) is one of the fastest growing waste streams in the world. In 2019, 53.6 Mt of e-waste was generated globally, which is an average of 7.3 kg per capita.

Untreated E-waste dumped in landfills in SIDS have prompted pollution and health risks, due to toxic chemicals - such as cadmium, lead, and mercury - leaching into the ecosystems. At the same time, they carry value as their parts can be extracted and reused, making majority of e-waste almost 100% recyclable.

Join the webinar to explore unique SIDS experiences in e-waste management, where the Caribbean and Pacific partners - including Guyana, Suriname, Samoa, and Trinidad and Tobago - share their recent e-waste work. The webinar will assist SIDS in sharing experiences and learning from each other on improving the management of this difficult waste stream.

The UNEP Special Programme announced a new round of funding opportunities for project proposals from developing countries concerned with managing chemicals and hazardous waste.

The current (and seventh round) of funding opened on 6 April and closes on 11 August 2023. Governments of developing countries and countries with economies in transition, with a special focus on least developed countries and small island developing states, are eligible for support from the special programme.

To date, ten of the 33 ISLANDS SIDS have applied for funds under the Special Programme Trust Fund. The following ISLANDS SIDS are still eligible to apply:
In the Atlantic region: Cabo Verde and Guinea-Bissau.
In the Caribbean region: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Dominica, Guyana, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.
In the Indian Ocean region: Comoros, Mauritius, and Seychelles.
In the Pacific region: Cook Islands, Fiji, Marshall Islands, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Tuvalu.

Details about this great initiative in the link

A small island developing state to take leadership of the African Union

Later this month the African Union chairmanship will be taken over by Comoros, putting an island nation at the leadership of the organisation for the first time since its creation, in what could be a great opportunity to bring African SIDS concerns - which are often invisible - at the continental level.

“Our roads are oceanic, our [train] stations are ports or airports,” said the Secretary General of the Indian Ocean Commission “The African islands are facing an immense climate challenge, which is fully experienced by our populations. We are calling for differentiated treatment, easier access to climate financing and concrete and visible consideration of island specificities at the AU level.”

Good news from ISLANDS Caribbean!

On March 15, BCRC Caribbean in collaboration with CARICOM organised the Regional Standards Development Inception.

The meeting initiated Output 1.4 of the GEF ISLANDS Project’s regional work which aims to increase capacity for the development and implementation of national and regional chemicals and products standards including the Globally Harmonized Systems (GHS).

Read the press release or reach out to Rachel Ramsey to find out more!