International NGO Peace Boat offers our current ship, the Ocean Dream, as an around-the-world venue for advocacy action on the challenges faced by Small Island Developing States (SIDS), as it sails the world on our educational and advocacy voyages. In the future, we will offer our new vessel, the Ecoship, for AOSIS/SIDS-related activities and events. Planned to sail in 2020, the 2000 passenger capacity Ecoship combines radical energy efficiency measures and the use of renewable energy at an unprecedented level in maritime transport. It will be a flagship for climate action and for promoting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The collaboration will be carried out using 4 main mechanisms, either alone or combined: - Sustainable tourism activities: Developed in partnership with local civil society organizations, academic institutes and authorities, Peace Boat's sustainable tourism activities expose over 5,000 people each year to various local community contexts and initiatives. With a range of programmes on themes related to climate action and the SDGs, Peace Boat's sustainable tourism simultaneously contributes to the local capacity and economy, while educating tourists about responsible travel and intercultural exchange. - Advocacy and media work: The visit of Peace Boat's ship itself is effective in attracting media, making it a unique tool for public advocacy in relation to issues local partners desire to highlight – including the SDGs and climate action. Press conferences and appeals can be organized in ports of call throughout the voyage - up to 100 ports a year - to reach a wider audience. - Capacity building, training and educational programs: Our specialised organisation, Peace Boat Disaster Relief Volunteer center (PBV) capitalises upon extensive experience in disaster relief and disaster risk reduction in Japan and many parts of the world, including SIDS. Training programmes, conducted in partnership with the UNISDR, take place onboard the ship in combination with local field visits in ports of call, sharing experiences and best practices - The ship as a venue for conferences, meetings and exhibitions: Peace Boat's ship will be offered as a venue for meetings organized by AOSIS and its member states. Utilizing ship travel is a means to tackle the logistical challenges involved in travel between island states, and the setting of the ship provides a neutral, calm space for creative discussions from various perspectives.

From 2020, Peace Boat’s Ecoship will be sailing as a flagship for climate action. The Ecoship will be a 50.000 GT vessel, with a 2000 person capacity. It will gather all technology currently available to be as emission free as possible. The Ecoship gathers a green technological pack that accounts for about a 40% reduction in CO2 emissions. This “Green Technology package” includes energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy, as well as a design that is directly inspired by nature, hence, more efficient and more comfortable. Our green pack could be, either completely or partly, exportable to other vessels, including smaller cruise ferries (to be used for island-to-island mobility structure) or to help cope with the boom of the cruising sector in many of the SIDS. This makes it all the more urgent that individual country states or associations like AOSIS are enabled to take pro-active measures and adapt in a timely and efficient way to these new developments. The transfer of the Ecoship technology is subject to tech ownership schemes, as well as other rules related to third parties and other existing regulations. Maritime transport is regulated by the IMO, to which most state members of AOSIS have a representative. It is urgent that delegates to the IMO push forward a radical agenda for the reduction of CO2 emissions by ships, particularly in those areas where most AOSIS countries are located – some of the most pristine regions of the world, yet at the same time the most at risk to vulnerabilities associated with climate change and unsustainable shipping practices.

This collaboration will be organised around Peace Boat´s global voyages for peace and sustainability, and will be governed using Peace Boat's existing infrastructure, in discussion with other stakeholders. Three worldwide and two Asia-Pacific regional voyages take place annually. Activities will be carried out on regional bases, using Peace Boat visits to ports and education and awareness raising activities while at sea. Ports from member states frequently included in our itineraries are: Asia Pacific: Singapore, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste and Palau Indian Ocean: Mauritius and Maldives Caribbean: Bahamas, Cuba and Jamaica The main objective of the Peace Boat – AOSIS partnership will be to raise awareness of challenges related to climate change, local voices of those affected, and initiatives to achieve the SDGs, seeking primarily to support AOSIS strategies and partnerships towards these goals. The main themes of work will be: - Climate change, Adaptation, Disaster Risk Reduction: These programs will be carried out in collaboration with local civil society groups and authorities, in line with each nation’s CC adaptation strategy guidelines. - The SDGs in general: Raising awareness of the SDGs and how they can be further developed within the particular situation in each member state. - Sustainable tourism: Building on 2017 as the International Year for Sustainable Tourism, and with the objective of contributing to SDGs 8 and 9, Peace Boat calls can become an opportunity for improving local development.

Peace Boat Peace Boat Ecoship Project AOSIS Permanent Mission of the Republic of Maldives to the United Nations