Islands and COVID-19: A Global Survey

On 22 March 2020 the Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance (SCELG) started a survey aiming to better understand how COVID-19 was being dealt with on islands. SCELG partnered with Island Innovation and together they reached out to their island network. The goal was not to undertake a research project, but to collate 'raw' data from anybody who was inclined to respond and to put such data at the disposal of policymakers and wider island related stakeholders in their ongoing activities to deal with and adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey was closed on 01 June. The response was very positive and 130 people answered the survey, in some cases more than once providing timely updates. Respondents varied from government officials, researchers, members of island communities not affiliated to any specific organisation. Overall the survey gathered responses from islands in 52 countries, which have been included in a webpage where people can find the data divided by islands and by specific survey questions. The survey focused mainly on phase 1 of the COVID-19 crisis: preventing the spread of the virus and dealing with lockdown. SCELG and Island Innovation will work together on a number of initiatives that will focus on phase 2 of the COVID-19 crisis (living with the pandemic) and phase 3 (life post COVID-19). Acknowledging that islands are incredibly diverse in their geography, society, political organization, and economic capacities, and have responded differently to the different challenges the COVID-19 crisis presented them, this report tries to capture some identifiable trends in the answers to the questions posed in the survey, without expecting to provide a comprehensive picture of islands and COVID-19 in the world. The report also opens up a conversation on how to move beyond the first phase of the COVID-19 crisis exploring means and pathways for the promotion of more resilient and sustainable islands.