Small Islands, Big Impact: the Pilot Platform for Sustainable Mediterranean Small Island Communities for the EU Mission Ocean and Waters at Capraia Smart Island 2025

Capraia Island, Italy, 20-22 May 2025

Capraia Smart Island 2025 hosted the Pilot Platform for Sustainable Mediterranean Small Island Communities, a joint initiative by Chimica Verde Bionet, SMILO, and BlueMissionMed. This high-level event brought together key players to explore and scale innovative solutions that strengthen the resilience and sustainability of small Mediterranean islands.

These islands are on the front lines of climate change, facing urgent threats such as coastal erosion, rising sea levels, and extreme weather events. Yet, their unique character and vulnerability also make them ideal testing grounds for pioneering sustainability strategies. The Pilot Platform Initiative showcased successful pilot projects, promoted community-driven approaches, and created opportunities for knowledge exchange among local authorities, researchers, investors, and civil society.

Central to this transformation is the EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030”, which drives research, innovation, and cooperation to restore marine and freshwater ecosystems, reduce pollution, ad make the economy circular and at zero emissions. BlueMissionMed plays a key role in bringing the Mission to life across the Mediterranean Sea basin.

This event was also part of the official programme of the European Maritime Days In My Country, underlining its strategic importance within the broader EU policy landscape.

By equipping Mediterranean small island communities with the tools, knowledge, and networks they need, the initiative aims to support their transition toward sustainability. It demonstrates how resilience, cooperation, and shared expertise can drive an inclusive and impactful ecological transition for a healthier Mediterranean Sea basin.

Day 1: Dialogue, Discovery and Solutions for the Mediterranean

The event opened with a warm welcome from key regional and European voices: Gennaro Giliberti (Tuscany Region), Giampiero Sammuri (Tuscany National Park), Sofia Mannelli (Chimica Verde Bionet), Maxime Prodromides (SMILO President), and Elisabetta Balzi (DG RTD, European Commission), who presented an overview of the Mission Ocean and Waters and of the upcoming calls.
Fedra Francocci (CNR), coordinator of BlueMissionMed, presented how the initiative supports sustainable transformations across the Mediterranean Sea basin.

This was followed by the SMILO Islands Forum, where representatives of small Mediterranean islands shared challenges in sustainable development and natural resource management. Conversations sparked new collaborations and highlighted the importance of tailored, island-specific solutions.
In the evening, the Solutions’ Forum spotlighted seven pioneering projects. These ranged from tackling plastic pollution (SMILO Remedies), marine protected areas in Salina (Blue Marine Foundation), ecosystem services research (COST SMILES), sustainable tourism (Eco-union), nautical pollution tracking (Green Sail), and navigation safety (IFAN).
Through small group rotations, participants engaged directly with solution-bearers, building bridges between innovation and real-world application.

Day 2: Learning from the Island, with the Island

The second day began with a deep dive into the Lavezzi tourism management case, presented by Corsican environmental officers Jean-Michel Culioli and Sebastien Leccia.

Active engagement: participants then engaged in two parallel co-creation tables focused on identifying key obstacles and priority needs for the sustainable transition of small islands (read the key highlights here).
Following the BlueMissionMed approach, the session was designed to capture a comprehensive, place-based understanding of challenges across four dimensions: technological, governance, social, and business. The participatory format enabled island representatives, researchers, and practitioners to jointly identify concrete bottlenecks, emerging opportunities, and critical enablers for implementing Mission-oriented actions in island contexts.

Insights were visually captured in real time, facilitating collective sense-making, and were then synthesised and presented by rapporteurs from CNR and MedWaves. These outcomes will feed into the strategic design of upcoming pilot activities, ensuring that solutions are locally grounded, systemic, and aligned with real community needs.

In the afternoon, attendees toured Capraia to witness sustainable practices in action: the desalination plant and water fountains (plastic waste reduction), sustainable farming, port and mariculture initiatives supported by the Pelagos Sanctuary, and a sea tour showcasing marine ecosystems.
Cultural heritage and spiritual history were honored during a visit to the Church of Sant’Antonio, including a symbolic reunion with the Abbot of Lérins, reconnecting a 1500-year-old link with the island.

Day 3: Scaling Solutions and National-Regional Synergies

The final day focused on aligning local action with EU priorities. The opening keynote by Fabio Trincardi (Sealaska) shed light on the Mediterranean as a climate change hotspot, calling for urgent and coordinated efforts.

Presentations followed from Tuscany and Sicily on biodiversity, sustainable agriculture, fishing strategies, and the national marine protected areas network. Highlights included:

• Sustainable viticulture in the Tuscan Archipelago, by Gennaro Giliberti (Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Tuscany Region)
• Electric mobility and habitat conservation by the Tuscan Archipelago National Park, by Maurizio Burlando (PNAT)
• Fisheries support and marine protection from the Tuscany Region, by Marco Ferretti (Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Tuscany Region)
• The Sicilian MPAs model, by Giorgio Occhipinti (Dipartimento Ambiente Sicily Region)
• The local governance success in Salina Island, Domenico Arabia (Mayor of Santa Marina di Salina)
• The Biodiversity Gateway initiative and the national portal for ecosystem management, by Marta Curiotto (CNR ISMAR)

In a culminating think-tank session, four panellists explored the roadmap for scaling island sustainability:

• CapiMed+, by Ignasi Mateo Rodríguez
• IFAN, by Francesca Pradelli
• Lampedusa Lighthouse, by Francesco Picciotto
• ENoLL and the Living Labs, by Martina Desole

As part of the event, a special reading session of the BlueMissionMed book “Our Blue Treasure” by Susanna Albertini and Valentina Vavassori (FVA, BlueMissionMed) was held on the morning of May 22 at Capraia’s local library, engaging school children from the island. Through an interactive session, children explored key topics like ocean interconnectedness, climate change, plastic pollution, and the role of youth in marine protection. Activities included hands-on experiments, creative crafts with recycled materials, and reflective “messages in a bottle”.