As the University of Guam convenes this week for its 15th Conference on Island Sustainability, community leaders reflect on its theme, “Sustainability Endures,” and its history of bridging partnerships for crucial local and regional initiatives. 

At the press conference on Tuesday, April 9, leaders from government, business, and the academe also acknowledged the UOG Center for Island Sustainability for starting conversations on sustainability at the community level through the annual event.

UOG President Anita Borja Enriquez, DBA, said that as island communities confront existential threats brought by climate change and environmental and resource challenges, there are also opportunities for finding solutions through collaborative programs such as the Green Growth Initiative.

Gov. Lou Leon Guererro, who co-chairs the conference with Borja Enriquez, also acknowledged these partnerships, “It is very crucial that we all come together as we have in the last 15 years to really work at how to protect our environment, how do we address the challenge of climate change through this kind of networking, through this kind of collaborative effort.”

“This momentum that we have been building together with our partners is really taking off, and it is not just staying here on Guam, we now have partners following this model, and we are working together to spread the Green Growth initiative across the Pacific,” said UOG Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant Director Austin Shelton, PhD.

From April 8 to 13, the conference will feature presentations and sessions focusing on the theme, “Sustainability Endures.” Key topics at the conference include climate change adaptation, renewable energy solutions, waste management strategies, and community resilience.