Strengthening the institutional and technical capacities of the Alliance of Small Island States

Small Island Developing States (SIDS), comprising 39 states and custodians of approximately 30% of the world’s oceans and unique biodiversity, face severe and interconnected climate, environmental, and economic vulnerabilities largely driven by external factors beyond their control. Due to limited size and bargaining power, they depend on effective multilateral frameworks, concessional financing, and specialized technical support. Collective action through platforms such as the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) is therefore essential.

Despite strong political leadership, SIDS face structural challenges in shaping and implementing increasingly complex multilateral environmental frameworks, including on climate adaptive solutions for vulnerable sectors (energy-water-food) and international waters. These challenges are expected to intensify between 2027 and 2032 due to overlapping processes and growing demands for specialized technical expertise, legal and financial advice. While AOSIS serves as a critical negotiation and advocacy platform, its effectiveness is constrained by institutional informality, limited resources, and a rotating chairmanship that weakens continuity and technical depth.

The overall objective of this project is to strengthen the institutional, technical, and fiduciary capacities of the AOSIS Secretariat to effectively support SIDS in coordinating, shaping, and implementing multilateral frameworks on climate adaptive solutions in vulnerable sectors (e.g. energy-water-food) and transboundary ocean governance issues. Using a multi-trust fund approach under the GEF Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF-B) and International Waters (IW-1), the project will implement the following interventions:

Institutional Governance: Strengthen the operational stability and fiduciary systems of the AOSIS Secretariat to facilitate direct resource management and ensure service continuity across rotating Chair cycles.
Specialized Technical Desks: Establish four internal technical desks (Climate Adaptation, Adaptation Finance, Ocean Governance, and Marine Plastics) to provide the advisory, analytics, and training required to domesticate multilateral frameworks—including NAP/NDC implementation, blended finance for MSMEs, BBNJ ratification, and source-to-sea marine litter protection.
Knowledge & Partnerships: Deploy an AI-supported internal knowledge repository to secure institutional memory and facilitate high-level SIDS-SIDS ministerial dialogues and triangular partnerships to bridge implementation gaps across all member states.


The project will deliver long-term environmental benefits by enabling systemic transformation, including building the adaptive capacity of 1,000 beneficiaries; improving the management of 5,000 hectares of marine ecosystems; and mainstreaming climate-resilience across 40 institutions, 50 private sector MSMEs, and 39 policies. Over a 20-year horizon, it will contribute to transitioning 200,000 metric tons of fisheries to sustainable levels, avoiding 5,000 metric tons of marine plastic pollution, and catalyzing indirect GHG emission co-benefits of approximately 507,000 tCO₂e.