a shared blog for the 2014-2015 Fulbright-Clinton Fellows.
The Fulbright-Clinton Fellowship in Samoa has given me the rare opportunity to see first hand what life is like in a group of countries that I had previously only briefly researched and studied: small island developing states (SIDS).
To further familiarize myself with this grouping of countries, I decided to do a bit of background research. I will share the results of this research with you through this and other “In a Nutshell” blog posts. Let’s start at the very beginning (the very best place to start): who are the small island developing states?
There are thirty-nine SIDS (fifty-one if you also include territories) spread throughout three regions: AIMS (Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, and South China Sea), the Caribbean, and the Pacific. According to the UN, they house 63.2 million people and have a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of US$ 575.3 billion. To give a point of comparison, Samoa has a GDP (2013) of US$ 801.9 million, and as of 2014, its population totaled 192,000.
 |
| 51 small island developing states and territories are scattered across the AIMS, Carribbean, and Pacific regions. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_Island_Developing_States |
SIDS are distinguished from other developing countries by four key characteristics: small size, isolation, climate change and sea-level rise, and natural and environmental disasters.
Small size brings with it many challenges, including a more narrow range of resources; a high dependence on international trade for goods that can’t be produced locally (and as a result, a high vulnerability to fluctuations in international markets); and higher costs for infrastructure (including transportation and communication). Their small size also prevents SIDS from benefiting from the same economies of scale (i.e. mass production to reduce per unit costs) that a larger economy could achieve.
Small size does, however, offer definite opportunities. It makes SIDS ideal locations for pilot projects that could then be rolled out to other countries on a larger scale. Renewable energy is a particularly promising area for SIDS pilot projects. The New Zealand territory of Tokelau, for example, uses solar sources for 100% of its energy needs.
During my time in Samoa thus far, I have been able to appreciate the advantages that come with its small size. It was rather daunting to be responsible for finalizing a climate change policy review for an entire country, but Samoa is one of the rare locations where, because of its small size, I can actually feasibly get a sense of everything climate change related that is happening across the entire country. I’m given the chance to deal with national level issues while dealing with what for many countries would be local level scale.
Isolation means that on top of being highly dependent on international trade, SIDS also have to fight harder to stay competitive with more easily accessible locations. They also incur much higher costs for everything they import and export. And as I have now seen first hand, the arrival of imported goods takes a lot more time. At the end of December, I stopped by a store to buy some reef shoes, and they only had a few large sizes left in stock. I asked when they expected to get in some smaller sizes, and they said that the next shipment was slated to arrive at the end of January – at the earliest.
Climate change and sea-level rise are also a much more serious risk for SIDS than other developing countries precisely because of their small size (which means that there is a high coastal zone concentration for limited land area) and isolated position. It is because of the serious implications of climate change and sea-level rise for SIDS that Samoa is now seeking to develop a coherent, unified national approach to climate change and ensure that climate change is incorporated into all of their sector development plans.
Natural and environmental disasters are also a very serious risk. SIDS are located in the regions that are the most vulnerable to these disasters – in terms of their intensity, frequency, and increasing impact. Because of the interplay between this and the other key characteristics for SIDS, they also face disproportionately high economic, social, and environmental costs from such disasters.
When Cyclone Evan hit Samoa in December 2012, it destroyed a wide range of crucial infrastructure (from roads and bridges to water and electrical facilities) and damaged tourist facilities, homes, and crops. An IMF Official estimated the impact of the Cyclone to be at least as high as the 2009 tsunami, which displaced 3,500 people and caused US$ 147 million in damages (an amount that equals over a quarter of Samoa’s GDP). Samoa received over $103 million WST in foreign aid from 2013 to 2014 to help with Cyclone Evan recovery and has now "built back better", more climate resilient infrastructure. And climate resilience continues to be an important part of climate change-related programs in Samoa. Such projects are critical if we are to lessen the impact of any future natural or environmental disasters.
I hope this post has helped you discover a little bit more about what it means to be a small island developing state. To finish off, here is a new set of Samoan phrases:
'O a mai 'oe? (How are you?)
Manuia fa'afetai. (Fine, thank you.)
If you would like to find out more about small island developing states, these sites were particularly useful for me in writing this post:
http://aosis.org/
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-22/cyclone-evan-impact-on-samoa-s-economy-as-bad-as-2009-tsunami.html
http://data.worldbank.org/country/samoa
http://powersmartsolar.co.nz/our_projects/id/185
http://www.sids2014.org
http://www.sidsnet.org/
http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/smallislanddevelopingstates
http://www.un.org/en/events/islands2014/
http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/pacificislands
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.