Assessing the progress of insular areas in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): The case of six isolated Greek islands

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) localisation describes the complex process of translating the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development within the local context and challenges, defining, implementing and monitoring local actions and strategies that contribute to the global achievement of the SDGs. This article seeks to address this issue by assessing the progress of six isolated Greek islands towards achieving SDGs, namely the islands of Karpathos, Chalki, Tilos, Symi, Kasos and Megisti (Kastellorizo), through the quantification of relevant indicators. In an attempt to perceive the effect of insularity in achieving SDGs, the islands’ progress regarding selected goals is compared to the one of areas found in the Greek mainland and have similar characteristics to the islands in terms of population and distance from the country’s capital, Athens.