Growing up in Guam, an unincorporated U.S. territory in Micronesia, Austin Shelton watched as the once-vibrant coral reefs faded. 

“Around the time I was in high school, I noticed that the corals just weren’t as colorful and bright anymore,” he recalls. “I wasn’t catching the same size and quality of fish as I used to.” 

Home to the most diverse coral reefs in the United States, climate change and land degradation are taking a toll on the health of Guam’s ocean — and on the lives and livelihoods of those who call the Pacific Island home. 

Driven by a desire to help his community, Austin became a marine and environmental scientist. He earned his PhD at the University of Hawai’i, and returned home to serve as the Director of the University of Guam Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant.

But he soon realized that marine conservation biology alone wouldn’t save the ocean. Enter the Sustainable Development Goals, which he saw as a clear framework for the interconnected challenges confronting islands like Guam. Unpacking the linkages between SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDGs 15 (Life on Land) and 13 (Climate Action), Austin explains that “sustainability is key to all of the actions we need to take” — from addressing land use issues like soil runoff to global stressors like climate change that are warming ocean temperatures and causing sea levels to rise.

With Austin’s stewardship, Guam became a founding member of the Local2030 Islands Network in 2019, which provides an island-led, peer-to-peer platform to push SDG progress forward. A few months later, Guam Green Growth was launched. Inspired by the work being done by Hawaiʻi Green Growth, Austin put it all on the line to bring the initiative to Guam — literally. 

“I jumped in front of the Lieutenant Governor’s car when he was leaving an event so I could talk to him about it,” he says with a laugh. Luckily, the Lieutenant Governor loved the idea and invited Austin to talk about it in his office the next morning.

Of the many sustainability projects Guam Green Growth has spearheaded, Austin is particularly proud of the work being done to strengthen the circular economy and fortify Guam’s role as a makerspace and innovation hub. 

“Guam imports over 90% of all the food and goods we consume, and we have a huge waste management issue,” he explains. “We put our trash in holes in the ground, but we’re running out of space.” To help mitigate the issue, the initiative created a place for entrepreneurs and artists to gather and turn waste into new, marketable products. “It’s really sparked our green economy.” 

Guam Green Growth is also training the next generation to build a sustainable future through its conservation corps program, which trains graduates in everything from agriculture to aquaculture, invasive species removal, and renewable energy.

They’re also looking beyond their shores, supporting fellow Pacific islanders. Together with Hawai’i, Guam Green Growth has helped to launch similar initiatives in Palau and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. They are helping the Marshall Islands launch their program in Summer 2025. 

“We’ve been here for thousands of years. And we don’t plan on going anywhere,” says Austin, recalling how his ancestors first arrived in Guam some 3,500 to 4,000 years ago. “Indigenous knowledge, and what we call island wisdom, is integrated into everything we do in Guam Green Growth.” 

As Austin and the Guam Green Growth team come together to protect their island home, and make it more resilient, he knows that island leadership — and wisdom — can inspire global change. “All of these changes hold really important lessons for the rest of the world,” he says.

Because at the end of the day, “We’re all just floating around on an island called Earth.” 

— Megan Rabbitt, United Nations Foundation