Poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation in islands with high biodiversity value: sustainable development planning and management in the Galapagos (Ecuador) and Socotra (Yemen) archipelagos

Goal: improve living standards among islands' residents while sustaining conservation of unique biodiversity.



Main challenge: foster the role of residents in setting planning agendas and participating fully in their islands' development.



Objective 1: provide opportunities for horizontal know-how transfer among relevant professional staff from both archipelagos, and to promote the involvement of the islands' residents in planning processes together with their participation in the sustainable development of the islands.



Low levels of awareness on the relationships linking the conservation of ecosystems, natural resources and biological diversity and the generation of concrete and sustainable development opportunities, is an issue to be addressed, at different levels, in both archipelagos. This extends to officials, community leaders as well as the local business community. There is an urgent need to strengthen the capacities of relevant institutions and society to work in a systemic and cross-sectoral fashion to improve the overall management of the island's resources.



Objective 2: contribute to the consolidation of relevant institutional capacities in the systemic planning and management of sustainable development, by promoting inter-linkage and information exchange between relevant institutions and administrations, as well as boosting their capacity to dialogue with local communities, NGOs and the general public.