In a Nutshell: Small Island Developing States and the United Nations

The halfway mark for my fellowship is fast approaching, but there is still so much for me to learn and explore. I’ve only just started scratching the surface of Samoan culture and customs, and there is a vast depth of knowledge that I still need to learn about the history, economy, and politics of small island developing states (SIDS).
   
To help with this, I've decided to write another "In a Nutshell" post. This time, I've researched the major international conferences and documents that have defined the position of SIDS within the international arena since they were first recognized as a distinct group of countries in 1992. The list is organized chronologically, with the key document listed first, the related meeting written underneath in italics, followed by the main takeaways and achievements.

Source: www.un.org/en/events/islands2014/

   
Agenda 21 (1992) 
UN Conference on Environment and Development
SIDS were first officially recognized as a distinct group of countries by the 179 nations present at this UN Conference in Rio de Janeiro. Agenda 21, the Conference outcome document, established the key features of SIDS and committed States to “addressing the problems of sustainable development of small island developing states.” (For more on what characterizes SIDS, see my last “In a Nutshell” blogpost.)
   
Barbados Programme of Action (1994)
UN Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States
The 1994 SIDS Conference took the broad commitments of the Rio Conference and translated them into specific policies and programs. The Barbados Programme of Action outlined fourteen priority areas for the sustainable development of SIDS (e.g. natural and environmental disasters, national institutions and administrative capacity, science and technology). For each of these priority areas, it identified actions that need to be taken at the national, regional, and international level.

Five-year review of the Barbados Programme of Action (1999)
22nd Special Session of the UN General Assembly
The UN General Assembly held a Special Session to assess progress since the 1994 SIDS Conference. Participants concluded that there had been “uneven” progress and highlighted priority areas for SIDS moving forward:

• improving freshwater resources
• developing renewable energy alternatives to expensive imported oil
• minimizing the environmental impact of tourism growth

   
Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (2002)
World Summit on Sustainable Development
States reaffirmed their commitment to respect the principles and fulfill the actions set out in Agenda 21. At the end of the Summit, States adopted the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, which brought up to date the priorities set out in Agenda 21.
   
This Summit was important for SIDS because states re-acknowledged their special case, characteristics, and challenges. In addition, Chapter VII of the Plan of Implementation was dedicated to SIDS, calling for a ten year review of the Barbados Programme of Action and drawing out the most crucial activities from previous international documents (e.g. building capacity, particularly within health services and waste and pollution management, and securing “adequate, affordable, and environmentally sound” energy services).

Mauritius Strategy of Implementation, Mauritius Declaration (2005)
Mauritius International Meeting
This international meeting served as the 10-year review of the Barbados Programme of Action and concluded with the adoption of the Mauritius Strategy, which set out how to take forward the actions and strategies from the Barbados Programme. The Mauritius Strategy built on the fourteen thematic areas of the Barbados Programme of Action and added five additional areas, including graduation from least developed country (LDC) status. With Samoa having graduated from LDC status last year, this is a particularly crucial topic for Samoa’s future development.
   
But why would reaching a higher development classification be a source of concern? While graduating from LDC status is a great accomplishment, it also means that Samoa will no longer have access to the preferential grants and funds that are available for LDCs and that the Government will now need to explore and identify alternative sources of funding. The Global Environment Facility’s Least Developed Countries Fund, for example, is currently supporting a large scale, six-year adaptation and disaster risk management project in Samoa. At the end of the project term, however, the Government will have to identify different partnerships and funding sources if they would like to continue any of the programs under this project. As this suggests, the transition from LDC status is a very crucial and delicate period, and how a country plans and prepares for this transition will determine whether it continues to make further progress or slips back under the line.

Five-year review of the Mauritius Strategy of Implementation (2010)
65th Session of the UN General Assembly
In the lead-up to the MSI+5 High-level Review, each SIDS submitted a National Assessment Report, and states discussed the findings from these reports in three regional review meetings. A final five-year review summarized current progress, continued challenges, and lessons learned.

Overall, states found that SIDS were still highly vulnerable to external shocks that could threaten the progress made since the Mauritius International Meeting. To combat that vulnerability, states recommended:

• strengthening support for national efforts to incorporate resilience into development planning
• focusing in on a few key areas from the Mauritius Strategy, depending on the specific situation of each SIDS
• strengthening partnerships to implement programs under the Mauritius Strategy (This point would prove to be a very crucial one and was made the central focus for the 2014 SIDS Conference.)
• increasing the amount of available financial resources and making it easier for SIDS to access those resources

SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway (2014)
Third International Conference on Small Island Development States

In December 2012, the UN General Assembly declared 2014 the International Year of Small Island Developing States. The highlight of this year would be the convening of the Third International Conference on SIDS – with the theme “sustainable development of SIDS through genuine and durable partnerships” – in Apia from 1-4 September 2014.
   
At the close of the meeting, states adopted the SAMOA Pathway. In this document, states reaffirmed that, with their specific challenges and vulnerabilities, SIDS remained a “special case” for sustainable development and should receive continued and strengthened international support. These international partnerships should help SIDS take forward national programs to become more resilient, better adapt to climate change, and develop efficient, sustainable energy systems.
   
To better monitor progress towards the various commitments made at SIDS and the other conferences discussed in this post, a SIDS Action Platform was developed. It includes a platform of 300 partnerships, a framework to monitor the implementation of partner commitments, and a matrix focused specifically on UN partnerships.
   
I hope you all found this exercise as helpful as I did. To keep this post from being too long, I have only given a very brief overview; there is a lot more information available on the topics discussed and the commitments made at each conference. If you're interested in exploring further, the following websites were really helpful for me in putting together this blog post:

• http://www.sids2014.org/ 
• http://www.sidsnet.org/  
• https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/smallislanddevelopingstates  
• http://www.un.org/en/events/islands2014/

Manuia le aso!/Manuia le afiafi!/Manuia le po!
Have a good day!/Have a good evening!/Have a good night!