Small islands in the South Pacific and the Caribbean as well as islands and coastal communities in the Arctic consider themselves to be weather vanes of global environmental change. All are carrying out research and assessments of expected changes to their regions. Now they are working together in a program called Many Strong Voices to make their voices heard at international levels.

The impacts of climate change are already occurring in the Arctic and in the areas represented by the Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The new organization released its five-year action plan in June 2008. The plan calls for a push for deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and an assessment of how small islands in the Caribbean and South Pacific can learn from work done in the Arctic. The group also plans to warn the world of the effects of climate change.

Many Strong Voices is coordinated by a center of the United Nations Environment Programme and the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research – Oslo. The work of Many Strong Voices has been funded by the Norwegian government. More than 16 Arctic and island countries are participating.

Sheila Watt-Cloutier, former chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, which represents Inuit living in the Arctic regions of Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Russia, is quoted as saying, “Climate change in the Arctic is a human issue, a family issue, a community issue, and an issue of cultural survival. The joining of circumpolar peoples with Pacific Island and Caribbean States is surely part of the answer in addressing these issues. Many small voices can make a loud noise. As we melt, the small developing island states sink.”