Page 23 - qe-07-16-088

The first aid centre teaches fishermen what they have to do when they come into contact with injured
sea turtles. They have to have a pillow, keep a wet towel over the turtle, and learn how to lift the turtle.

Website for the project: http://www.tartalife.eu/en/%E2%80%9Cegadi-islands%E2%80%9D-marine-
protected-area

7. Smart solutions in governance and social
innovation

7.1 Best practice demonstrated during on-site visits

The EESC identified efficient methods of cooperation among inhabitants, the SmileGov project for
multilevel governance, the Pact of Islands, and the Ramon Llul 2030 initiative in Palma.

7.2 Methods of cooperation

Samsø has a long tradition of cooperation which was useful for creating opportunities for renewables.
This tradition “became a culture”, says the mayor of Samsø. The project which brought Samsø to its
current status actually began in 1998 with the wind turbines, before the change in heating systems,
the new ferry line and the broadband system. The next project might be the development of a biogas
plant to fuel the ferry (for the time being, energy is imported from Rotterdam). Farmers and the local
population have been leading the projects from the beginning, somehow forcing the municipality to
be involved.
The way of approaching the problems can be considered a type of social innovation, where
inhabitants take planning and action into their own hands and create an efficient structure for further
development.

7.3 SmileGov project

The project was based on the idea that cooperation between different levels of governance of islands
(i.e. national, regional and local) can play a key role in reaching the EU’s 20-20-20 goals in the area of
energy and climate change.

Good multilevel cooperation has been identified as one of the key factors in consistent (between
different levels) and possibly effective sustainable energy planning at local level. Particularly in island
communities, this role has proven to be crucial for the balanced development of the island, resource
management, economic growth and quality of life for residents and visitors.
SMILEGOV is based on success stories and close European cooperation, and will strengthen local
capacity and work to improve multilevel cooperation in European islands in order to help implement
their sustainable energy action plans with a view to achieving the EU’s 20-20-20 goals.
As regards islands that have not yet been through the sustainable energy planning process towards
2020, capacity building will be offered with the aim of supporting the island’s structures and enabling
them to develop their own planning and energy projects.
In order to support this process, clusters of European islands will be set up in the biggest European
insular regions: the Atlantic (Canaries, Scotland), the Baltic Sea (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland,
Estonia) and the Mediterranean (Italy, Malta, Cyprus, Greece). The formation of clusters of islands and
the exchange of knowledge at local and regional level, the identification of strategic guidelines to
overcome existing barriers with assistance from advanced islands, as well as the process of learning
from the experience of model areas (“learning from the experts”) will guide islands along this path.

21