Small island states resilience initiative: small islands, big challenges

Small island states face some of the greatest vulnerabilities of any nations due to climate change and natural disasters – but the threats can be reduced through adequate investment, technical expertise and hands-on support. Through its Small Island States Resilience Initiative (SISRI), GFDRR is helping step up the rate of progress to safeguard these unique environments from climate impacts such as sea-level rise, storm events and droughts. SISRI is providing technical support, building a community of practice, and helping island nations harness predictable and long-term funding to ensure their resilience.

This document discusses current initiatives and the following ways to measure impact:

• SISRI will help small island states to measurably reduce climate and disaster risks to their economies, ecosystems and communities;
• Hands-on assistance in between 20 and 24 small island states will improve results measurement, strengthen policies and institutions, and introduce innovative instruments such as debt-for-resilience swaps;
• Between 2016 and 2020, SISRI will support small island states to increase resilience investments by at least 25% over baseline levels.