'Islands Understand Islands' County To Join Local2030 Islands Network of the United Nations

At Wednesday's Monroe County Board of County Commissioners meeting, Monroe County Mayor Holly Merrill Raschein and Conch Republic Speaker of the House Paul Menta presented the notion of becoming a member of the Local2030 Islands Network of the United Nations. Joining the network will better position Monroe County and the Florida Keys, also affectionately known as the Conch Republic, as a global leader in sustainability and resilience to share knowledge with other like-minded island communities nationally and internationally.

The Local2030 Islands Network is the world's first global, island-led network devoted to advancing sustainable development goals through locally driven, culturally-informed solutions that can be scaled for increased impact.

"Islands understand islands," said Monroe County Commissioner Michelle Lincoln. "This is a great opportunity for us to share best practices with others across the world who are facing some of the issues we are having, like sea-level rise."

Monroe County will join Local2030 through Hawaii's hub, which represents North America, and the Blue Community Consortium, which is the major environmental stakeholders group.

Joining the network opens opportunities for international grant funding, and there is no cost to join.