 |
Research
Climate Change and Sea-level rise
The adverse effects of climate change and sea-level rise present significant
risks to the sustainable development of small island developing States, and
the long term effects of climate change may threaten the very existence of
some small island developing States. Based on the report of the Secretary-General
on the review of progress in the implementation of the Programme of Action
and other available data, small island developing States believe that they
are already experiencing major adverse effects of climate change. Adaptation
to adverse impacts of climate change and sea-level rise remains a major priority
for small island developing States.
Natural
and Environmental Disasters
Small island developing States are located among the most vulnerable
regions in the world in relation to the intensity and frequency of
natural and environmental disasters and their increasing impact, and
face disproportionately high economic, social and environmental consequences.
The tragic impacts of the 26 December 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
and tsunami and the recent hurricane/cyclone/typhoon seasons in the
Caribbean and Pacific highlight their vulnerability.
Management of Wastes
While some small island developing States have made significant progress
in both planning and implementation of waste management policies, programmes
and strategies, most of them have serious difficulties in terms of
financial and technical capacity in dealing with waste management issues.
Marine debris, ballast water, shipwrecks with potential to cause environmental
hazard due to leaks and other forms of waste threaten the ecological
integrity of small island developing States.
Coastal and Marine Resources
Small island nations have a large coastal area to land mass ratio, which
means that they are largely coastal entities. Their coastal environment
is therefore particularly important, both socio-economically and culturally,
and there are typically high levels of conflict in the demands for
coastal space and its resources. This conflict is often accentuated
by high and increasing population densities on the coast and by the
development of economic sectors such as tourism.
For the size of their land mass and population, small island nations
usually have large marine exclusive economic zones, which has vastly
extended the fisheries and other marine resources available to small
island developing states. Potential benefits may be great. But so too
are the problems and challenges faced by the countries concerned in seeking
to grasp and optimize these potential benefits.
Freshwater
Resources [visit
website]
Small island developing States continue to face water management and
water access challenges, caused in part by deficiencies in water availability,
water catchment and storage, pollution of water resources, saline intrusion
(which may be exacerbated, inter alia , by sea-level rise, unsustainable
management of water resources, and climate variability and climate change)
and leakage in the delivery system. Sustained urban water supply and
sanitation systems are constrained by a lack of human, institutional
and financial resources. The access to safe drinking water, the provision
of sanitation and the promotion of hygiene are the foundations of human
dignity, public health and economic and social development and are among
the priorities for small island developing States.
Land Resources
Small size, increasing and conflicting demands for access and use, effects
of cyclones and other catastrophic events, insensitive mechanization
of production systems, agrochemical pollution of soils and freshwaters,...these
are among the problems affecting the land resources of SIDS.
Energy
Resources
The development of alternative energy systems is a crucial issue in many
small-island situations, often almost totally dependent upon a steady
supply of seaborne petroleum products. In the last couple of decades,
virtually every avenue that might contribute to greater self-sufficiency
for island communities has been explored, including feasibility studies,
demonstration projects and commercial development of a range of energy
sources including hydropower, wind, ocean waves, solar and geothermal
energy, municipal solid waste, biogas. In many cases, progress in alternative
development has fallen short of expectations. Shortfalls between hopes
and accomplishments have been attributed to many factors, including
inadequate resource assessments, poorly conceived projects based on
unworkable assumptions, and opposition by environmental and other groups.
Tourism
Resources
For a number of small island economies, tourism represents an important
part of annual revenue. Based on this experience, tourism seems an attractive
option for many small island states, even though it may be accompanied
by many problems and difficulties, such as conflicting demands on limited
resources (e.g. fresh water, beach access), issues related to energy
supply and waste disposal, and so on).
Biodiversity
Resources [visit
website]
Small islands are renowned for their biological diversity and their
endemism, and biological diversity fulfils a crucial role in the life
and fabric of many small islands, from subsistence economy to contemporary
tourism. Small islands have also long played an important role in scientific
studies on the genetic diversity and evolution of living beings. A
century-and-a half ago, observations on the Galapagos Islands were
critical in shaping Charles Darwin’s revolutionary Theory on the
Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. And in recent decades,
topics such as island biogeography and the impact of alien invasive species
on island biota have figured prominently in the theory, concepts and
practices of population biology, ecosystem management and conservation
science.
However, biological diversity on many small islands is under increasing
threat, through such impacts as the introduction of exotic species, development
of tourism infrastructures, inadequate waste disposal measures, excessive
harvesting of particular biotic groups (e.g corals), and so on. Generally,
island species tend to be much more vulnerable to changes in their environments.
Populations tend to be small, localized, highly specialized and they
tend not to have developed defence mechanisms against a broad range of
potential predators or competitors. Under these circumstances, they can
easily be driven to extinction. In the case of birds, 90% of recorded
bird extinctions since 1600 have occurred on islands. In many small island
situations, the active support of local communities for conservation
measures takes on special importance, given the nature of traditional,
often communal, ownership of land and marine resources.
Transport
and Communications
Transport and communications remain important lifelines linking small
island developing States with the outside world. While dramatic technological
breakthroughs over the last decade, such as the development of the
Internet and satellite communications, have mitigated the traditional
isolation of small island developing States, transport and communication
nevertheless remain important challenges in the promotion and implementation
of sustainable development nationally and in their regions.
Science
and Technology [visit
website]
With science and technology explicitly recognized
in the Mauritius Strategy as a cross cutting issue for all sectors for
sustainable development, many technical fields are involved, ranging
from renewable energy and natural disaster mitigation to coastal area
management and biodiversity conservation.
Graduation
from LDC status [visit
website]
The adoption by the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly
of resolutions on a smooth transition strategy for countries graduating
from the list of least developed countries is welcomed, and they need
to be fully implemented. The two States that the General Assembly recently
resolved to graduate from the list of least developed countries, as well
as all of the current potential candidates for graduation from least
developed country status, are small island developing States. It is critical
that the elaboration and implementation of smooth national transition
strategies formulated with development partners take into consideration
the specific vulnerabilities of graduating States and ensure that graduation
does not disrupt their development plans, programmes and projects for
achieving sustainable development.
Trade
Most small island developing States, as a result of their smallness,
persistent structural disadvantages and vulnerabilities, face specific
difficulties in integrating into the global economy. Trade liberalization
and globalization present opportunities and challenges to small island
developing States, including in terms of the erosion of trade preferences.
The potential benefits from trade liberalization and globalization
can be best realized if the specific limitations and vulnerabilities
of small island developing States are addressed at all levels.
Sustainable
Capacity Development and Education for Sustainable Development [visit
website]
Small island developing States continue to require support to address
the serious challenges they face in capacity development in policy and
strategy formulation and implementation. Small island developing States
are currently seeking to address these challenges in capacity through
a more integrated approach that includes civil society and the private
sector, noting that within the Caribbean Community region a charter has
been established for the participation of all major groups.
While access to education in small island developing States has developed
considerably over the last decade, it is still a fundamental component
of sustainable development and capacity-building for the long term. The
right to education is also a human right. In this regard, education strategies
and action plans that encompass the wide-ranging needs for improved access
to and quality of education need to be implemented.
Production & Consumption [visit
website]
In response to the call in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation for
the development of a 10-year framework of progress in support of regional
and national initiatives on sustainable consumption and production,
small island developing States are committed, with the necessary support
of the international community, to:
- Considering all initiatives relating to sustainable
consumption and production in the context of the economic, social and
environmental dimensions of sustainable development;
- Taking appropriate
measures to facilitate the implementation of the 10-year framework
on sustainable production and consumption in a coherent manner;
- Assessing the need for programmes on sustainable consumption and production strategies on the basis of national priorities and best practices.
National
and Regional Enabling Environments [visit
website]
Further action is required by small island developing States, with the
necessary support of the international community, to:
- Formulate and implement national sustainable development
strategies by 2005, as agreed to in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation;
- Incorporate
guiding principles of sustainable development into nationally owned
poverty reduction strategies and all sectoral policies and strategies;
- Develop
appropriate national targets and indicators for sustainable development
that can be incorporated into existing national data-collection and
reporting systems in order to, inter alia, respond to the requirements
of the internationally agreed development goals, including those contained
in the Millennium Declaration and other relevant global and regional
targets;
- Improve legislative, administrative and institutional structures
in order to develop and implement sustainable development strategies,
policies and plans, mainstream sustainable development concerns into
overall policy development and implementation, and facilitate the participation
of civil society in all sustainable development initiatives;
- Create
and empower sustainable development task forces, or their equivalent,
to function as interdisciplinary and communally representative advisory
bodies;
- Rationalize legislation that affects sustainable development
at the national level, where appropriate, improve coordination between
legislative frameworks and develop guidelines for those who must carry
out legislative objectives;
- Develop and implement integrated planning
systems and processes;
- Involve youth in envisioning sustainable island living.
Health
Health is a key determinant of sustainable development as identified
through the internationally agreed development goals, including those
contained in the Millennium Declaration. The strengthening and further
development of cooperation and experience-sharing among small island
developing States in the area of health is crucial and should be made
a priority. A major concern in small island developing States is the
increasing incidence of such health challenges as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis,
drug resistant malarial strains, dengue, severe acute respiratory syndrome,
West Nile Virus, bird flu and other new and emerging diseases, and
nutritional disorders, diabetes and other non-communicable diseases,
and their impact on sustainable development.
Small island developing States are also committed, with the necessary
support of the international community, to addressing HIV/AIDS, which
is prevalent in many countries. In addition to its impact on individuals
and families, HIV/AIDS is particularly devastating for countries with
small populations and limited skilled workforces, taking a severe toll
on their economies as productivity declines, income levels are reduced
and the social fabric is undermined. Responding effectively to HIV/AIDS
is both an urgent health issue and a development imperative.
Knowledge
Management and Information for Decision Making [visit
website]
Small island developing States recognize that there are new opportunities
afforded by the rapid new developments in ICT to overcome the limitations
of isolation and remoteness and build their resilience. These new opportunities
include such areas as e-commerce, improved early warning, tele-medicine,
distancelearning, and mobile learning.
Culture
Small island developing States recognize the importance of the cultural
identity of people and its importance in advancing sustainable development,
and also recognize the need to develop cultural industries and initiatives,
which present significant economic opportunities for national and regional
development. Cultural industries and initiatives are viewed as an area
in which small island developing States have comparative advantage,
which have the potential to diversify small island developing States
economies and build their resilience while they adjust to changes in
the global economy.
Implementation
Small island developing States and the international community recognize
that the further implementation of the Programme of Action, Agenda
21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, as well as the achievement
of the internationally agreed development goals, including those contained
in the Millennium Declaration, are mutually reinforcing. This will
require a more focused and substantially increased effort, both by
small island developing States themselves and by the rest of the international
community, based on the recognition that each country has primary responsibility
for its own development and that the role of national policies and
development strategies cannot be overemphasized, taking fully into
account the Rio Principles, including, inter alia, the principle of
common but differentiated responsibilities as set out in principle
7 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development.
University of Malta; University of Mauritius; University of the South Pacific; University of the Virgin Islands; The University of The West Indies