By Yvonne Acosta
"The survival of small island developing States is firmly rooted in their human resources and cultural heritage, which are their most significant assets; those assets are under stress, and all efforts must be taken to ensure the central position of people in the process of sustainable development."
- Declaration of Barbados, May 1994
|
|
AAmbassador Tuiloma Neroni Slade, Samoa's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, looks to the special session of the General Assembly with optimism, and to the future development of countries like his own -- with populations ranging from under 1,000 to just below 11 million inhabitants -- with pragmatism.
UN Photo 130295/Marvin Weill
|
"Our primary message is implementation. We are submitting ideas by which we think the implementation of the Barbados Programme could be deepened and strengthened." Much attention is being given to the question of cooperation and coordination among donor activities, as well as within the United Nations system. Increased cooperation and coordination, as well as the development of well-targeted projects and programmes, will address the issue of duplication in development activities and relieve the burden of implementation by the small bureaucracies and, in many cases, the limited human resources available for such activities in small island States.
|
A 41-member Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) was born in the early 1990s in the context of negotiations on environmental issues. One overarching issue for small island States, Ambassador Slade, Chairman of the Alliance, notes, is the adverse effects of climate change which emphasizes the vulnerability of those countries and has the potential to impact on their very existence. To those problems can be added the loss of biodiversity and the potential for a decrease in trade -- all global problems that are generated externally. "All of them, like climate change, are not of the making of small island States", Samoa's Permanent Representative says. "There are unique circumstances pertaining to island States. They are ecologically vulnerable. Their smallness is a serious physical disadvantage. Their smallness means, for example, that their endeavours to build a good solid economy could be rendered nil overnight as a result of a natural disaster -- by a hurricane."
Regional cooperation is essential. The Pacific has "been able to develop very specialized organizations that deal with political issues, fishing and matters pertaining to the environment, health" and other issues. In the Caribbean, institutions such as the University of the West Indies and CARICOM have also emerged. But this is not true everywhere. "Africa is just beginning to give a lot of attention to strengthening regional institutions," which are "a vehicle for the implementation of foreign assistance and development assistance".
Chairman Slade agrees with the United Nations Secretary-General's assessment that there has been "perceptible progress" in the implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action, especially in the area of regional cooperation among small island States. International action is critical. "Small island States are not seeking handouts". At the same time, the difficulties they face cannot be dealt with unless "we can be assured of the necessary financial assistance". But they face a decline in official development assistance (ODA) and, more so, limited or no private investment. For the near future, however, AOSIS looks forward to receiving support for the more than 300 projects the small island States presented to a donor/SIDS meeting earlier this year.
High on the agenda is the need for training and capacity-building, including engaging in sustainable and active cooperation with the traditional and village communities, active non-governmental organizations and a strengthened private sector. Making use of technological developments is also critical. There is grave concern about the erosion of the existing preferential trade arrangements that benefit these States, which underlines the need to develop their capability to negotiate effectively on those issues in the context of the World Trade Organization. Otherwise, the island States face marginalization as the impact of globalization takes hold. AOSIS expects a positive and forward-looking outcome from the special session, as it continues to stress the very difficult problems posed by the size of their countries and their need of support from the international community, including in particular the United Nations system.
|
In 1995, the Inter- governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that there had been between a 0.3 and 0.6 degree C rise in the mean surface temperature of the Earth since the late nineteenth century. This trend could lead to higher sea levels -- since water expands when heated and polar regions would melt -- with possibly disastrous consequences for small islands. IPCC projections of the rise range between 15 and 95 cm (6 and 37 inches) as soon as the year 2100, with a "best estimate" of 50 cm (20 inches). The South Pacific Regional Environment Programme contends that rising sea levels have already swamped several "motu" or small islets in Kiribati and Tuvalu, destroyed coastal roads and bridges, and caused traditional burial places to crumble into the ocean. In the Indian Ocean, the Maldives has expressed fears that almost 80 per cent of its atolls, which barely rise above sea level, could be completely inundated; it is estimated that a 100 cm (39 inch) rise would erase 70 per cent of the land mass of the Seychelles. The IPCC estimated that global warming could force developing countries to spend about 0.43 per cent of their gross domestic product to adapt to climate changes. Caribbean Island States could be forced to spend almost $1.1 billion on new construction to protect against sea-level rise. Temperature changes, along with altered wind and rainfall patterns, have already created uncommon drought conditions in some Indian Ocean and Pacific islands, although this may be partly related to the recent El Niņo phenomenon.
|
|
Number 3 1999
