Press Kit on Small Islands:  Issues and Actions
New York, 27-28 September 1999 

Small Islands Press Release 

Trade, Environment Issues to dominate
UN Special Session on Small Islands

(New York, August 1999) -- Some forty small island nations will use their two days in the global spotlight to seek international support on trade and environment problems, when the United Nations focuses on island issues at a special session of its General Assembly on 27-28 September in New York.

While island nations often conjure up images of a paradise, their coasts, coral reefs and forests are under increasing stress from pollution, development, climate change and natural disasters -- problems often beyond their means or control to solve.

The UN special session -- to be attended by a number of island Presidents and Prime Ministers -- will assess progress on the action plan adopted by over 100 countries five years ago at the 1994 Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, held in Barbados. There small island and donor nations agreed to tackle the islands' challenges in partnership.

The difficulties small islands face in an increasingly competitive global economy was a top issue at preparatory talks held this past April at the UN Commission for Sustainable Development. Caribbean nations protested recent rulings by the World Trade Organization against the long-standing trade preferences for their bananas and other products in European markets. Pacific island economies have suffered from the financial crisis that has afflicted their Asian trading partners.

In light of their limited resources and options, island nations are seeking some kind of compensatory mechanism or assistance while they try to restructure their economies.

"Most small island developing states have taken positive steps since Barbados",   said UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, "but international assistance to them has declined". He added, "If we can find solutions to the special vulnerabilities of islands, it will help us address more global problems. 

The small islands action plan aims to strike a balance for "sustainable development , which promotes needed economic growth and improves social well-being while preserving the environment". This approach was popularized at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, which called for the Barbados Conference.

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Financing the Action Plan

Island nations contend that, while they have taken the Barbados action plan to heart, donor countries have lagged behind on their end of the partnership. In line with global aid declines, official development assistance to small island developing States has continued to fall since 1994, when the UN Conference generated a surge of interest. Net disbursements for bilateral and multilateral aid combined have dropped from $2.36 billion in 1994 to $1.96 billion in 1997.

Although the small islands action plan did not come with a price tag attached, governments agreed in Barbados that to carry out the plan, Aadequate, predictable, new and additional financial resources would be needed. At the April preparatory talks, donors signalled they would reaffirm this statement, but given global aid declines, there is a pragmatic recognition that these may be promises on paper only. Gordon Bispham of the Network for Barbados NGOs, a spokesman for small island groups, considered it a key issue that Adonor nations have failed to fulfil their commitments regarding this agreement. For their part, donors suggest partnerships with the private sector and non-governmental groups, better coordination and use of aid, and improved domestic policies.

Ambassador Tuiloma Neroni Slade of Samoa, Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), said that while islands "hold high the ethic of self-reliance, their acknowledged vulnerabilities and small size mean that development challenges are often seriously magnified. The support of the international community thus becomes a vital element in sustainable development efforts".

Progress on Environment

Despite funding shortages, most small island nations have moved forward on environmental protection as a result of the Barbados Conference. Many have devised national green plans and set up sustainable development councils or agencies. Dozens of projects have been carried out nationally and regionally, but much more is needed.

Of the 14 problem areas identified in the small islands action plan, six have been prioritized as needing urgent attention over the next five years:

* adapting to climate change and rising sea levels, which could submerge some low-lying island nations;

* improving preparedness for and recovery from natural and environmental disasters;

* preventing worsening shortages of freshwater as demands grow;

* protecting coastal ecosystems and coral reefs from pollution and overfishing;

* developing solar and renewable energy to lessen dependence on expensive imported oil;

* managing tourism growth to protect the environment and cultural integrity.

One contentious environmental issue in early talks has been the right of small island nations to restrict or ban the transport of hazardous and radioactive waste through their seas -- which was recognized in the Barbados action plan. Small islands want to reaffirm this right, but other proposals still under negotiation emphasize rights of free passage and navigation.

Press Contact:

Ms. Pragati Pascale
Tel: (212) 963-6870
Fax: (212) 963-1186
Development and Human Rights Section
UN Department of Public Information  

Published by the United Nations Department of Public Information
DPI/2063 -- August 1999 -- 5M 

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For the sun, sand and surf, tourists see small island nations as a little corner of paradise. But the very development which brings tourists and business to small islands is exacting a high toll on their environments, spoiling the natural wealth which makes them so attractive.

Small island nations, like all countries, are seeking the right balance between economic development and environmental protection, called Asustainable development. But because of the islands' smallness and isolation, which seriously limit their options, and their vulnerability to storms and economic shocks, the problems they confront are particularly challenging and often call for solutions that are well beyond their means to provide.

Recognizing this, in 1994 the United Nations held a Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, hosted by Barbados. Over 100 countries adopted an action plan to guide island nations and their donor partners in putting the small islands on a better track. Now, five years later, the United Nations is holding a special session of its General Assembly in New York on 27-28 September to assess progress and boost support for the islands.

Some difficulties the islands face are global problems requiring global solutions, such as climate change and shipment of hazardous and radioactive waste through their waters. Small island nations are doing what they can: signing onto the appropriate treaties and lobbying the world's governments through the 40-nation Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS).

Local environmental problems, such as pollution, population pressure, and natural resource management and conservation require local action, and the small islands have, individually and as a group, embarked on a number of programmes to promote sustainable development. But despite good intentions, because resources are limited, the ability of the small islands to implement these programmes often falls short.

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Rising Temperatures, Rising Seas

Climate change and sea-level rise, which may well pose the greatest potential threats to the small islands, are problems far beyond the small islands' control. In 1995, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) - a group of 2,500 leading scientists coordinated by the United Nations - concluded that there had been between a 0.3 and 0.6 ｰ -- rise in the mean surface temperature of the Earth since the late nineteenth century. It also found considerable evidence that human activities, such as burning petroleum, might be contributing to these changes.

A generalized warming trend could lead to higher sea levels - since water expands when heated and polar regions would melt - with possibly disastrous consequences for small islands. While scientists are still uncertain how much sea level might rise - IPCC projections 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 problem is of acute concern to small islands, which are particularly vulnerable since most of their population lives in the coastal zones.

There have already been reports of extensive coastal erosion on many islands. The South Pacific Regional Environment Programme, a regional group, contends that rising sea levels have already swamped several Amotu 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, countries such as the Maldives have expressed fears that almost 80 per cent of its atolls, which barely rise above sea level, could be completely inundated; and on the Seychelles, it is estimated that a 100 cm (39 inch) rise would erase 70 per cent of its land mass.

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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. It also found that Caribbean island states could be forced to spend almost $1.1 billion on new construction to protect against sea-level rise.

Climate change may affect small islands in other ways as well. 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 Ni phenemenon.

Small island developing States have concentrated their efforts on lobbying the major industrial countries to curb emissions of the greenhouse gases that are blamed for speeding up the warming process. The small islands were among the first to ratify the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and are strongly in favour of its 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which sets legally binding emission limits for the industrialized countries.

One way the Kyoto agreement may benefit small islands is through its Aclean development mechanism, by which industrialized countries could earn credits toward their emissions targets if their government agencies or private corporations carry out emissions-reduction projects in developing countries. Details of the mechanism are still being worked out, but the island nations hope it could promote investment in solar and renewable energy, which could in turn lessen their dependence on expensive imported oil.

Oil, which tends to cost more in the small islands than in other developing countries, accounts for a large percentage of small island imports - for example, almost a third of all of Cuba's imports in 1995, and a quarter of the imports for the Bahamas. Fuelwood, which is also extensively used for energy, primarily for cooking in rural areas, puts additional pressure on forests and is not a long-term alternative, though bagasse, made from sugar cane waste, could be developed in some islands. Several non-governmental organizations have stressed the need to develop alternative, renewable energy generation sources, such as solar systems that can provide sufficient energy to run small appliances.

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Protecting the Shoreline

Rising sea levels are not the only threat to the coastlines of small island nations. Many islands are already experiencing a loss of shoreline and beaches as a result of extensive mining of sand and coral to meet construction needs. On some islands, such as Barbados, the destruction of coral reefs has led to the complete erosion of beaches. And in the past, unchecked construction of tourism facilities -- such as marinas, jetties and artificial beaches -- along the coastlines of Malta, Mauritius, Seychelles, Cyprus and other islands has led to the degradation of fisheries, coral reefs, mangrove forests, sea beds and dune systems. Other threats to the coastal region come from poor land use, the destruction of mangroves and the discharge of agricultural, industrial and sewage effluents.

Several small islands have adopted plans and programmes for protecting and preserving their coastal regions. Cape Verde, Fiji and Kiribati are among those that have developed plans, while Barbados, which has suffered significant beach erosion in the past, has established a special government unit to manage the coastal zone. Virtually all of the small islands have signed on to the International Coral Reef Initiative to monitor and study ways to improve the health of the reefs.

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has provided funds to 14 South Pacific States to develop strategic action programmes to conserve and manage coastal and ocean resources in a sustainable manner. These islands have received close to US$20 million to implement their programmes, with the GEF contributing US$12 million of the total.

Fishing, one of the most important means of livelihood and sources of food on the islands, has been threatened in some areas by depletion of fish stocks and marine pollution. Island governments have generally lacked the resources and training to monitor and regulate fishing practices -- both in inland waters, where local artisanal fishermen work, and in offshore areas, where foreign, industrial-size fleets often buy fishing rights. Worldwide, it is estimated that 60 per cent of all commercial fisheries have been depleted. Since the 200-mile offshore exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of the small island nations add up to about one sixth of the Earth's surface area, better fisheries management in the islands would be a significant step toward improving global fish supplies. Small islands have relied heavily on regional cooperation, which has resulted in agreements such as the South Pacific Tuna Treaty with the United States.

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Preserving Unique Species

Surrounded only by the seas, small islands are home to some of the most unique and diverse plant and animal species, a fact popularized by the evolution theorist Charles Darwin after his studies in the Galapagos Islands. Studies today indicate that the Western Pacific has the highest marine diversity found anywhere, with some reefs harbouring up to 3,000 species. The region is also home to more critically threatened species--110--than anywhere else. Large-scale logging, commercial agriculture, mining and other land-clearing activities have diminished many natural habitats. The most extreme example is Nauru, where phosphate mining has carved out the interior of the island and destroyed entire ecosystems.

Although subsistence farming still accounts for over half of all agriculture on small islands, economic and population pressures are forcing the introduction of more productive farming methods. Many fear that this will open the door to crops with foreign genetic make-ups that could overrun indigenous but low-yielding species.

Natural disasters also threaten biodiversity. Severe storms often have a greater proportional impact on the biodiversity on small islands than elsewhere due to the smaller land mass and smaller habitats. On Montserrat, a frog known as the mountain chicken is believed to have become extinct due to the acidification of standing water caused by the volcanic eruptions that showered the island.

Most small islands, often with assistance from the United Nations system, have taken steps to catalogue and preserve their biodiversity. For example, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is helping small islands to review, manage and conserve their forests, while UNESCO is attempting to preserve the traditional knowledge of local biodiversity. Many countries are using strategies to preserve biodiversity that involve local community participation. Community involvement was an important feature of a coastal management plan in the Comoros, and in a project to protect marine turtles in the South Pacific.

In the Bahamas, made up of 35 major islands covering an area of 100,000 square miles, a project to manage biodiversity data has resulted in a governmental commission that is responsible for coordinating and monitoring environmental and biodiversity activities.

Too often, however, the efforts of international agencies and local governments in the field of small island biodiversity are hamstrung by a lack of resources, a lack of coordination between different organizations, and a lack of integration with other national programmes.

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No Room for Expansion

Islands by their very nature are limited in size, and the amount of land available for farming on the small islands is relatively small. Growing populations are forcing more people to compete for this limited land, and the result has been severe land degradation on many small islands. Almost three quarters of the Pacific islands have cited land degradation as a serious problem.

There is very little unused good arable land available in Fiji and Samoa, and subsistence farmers have been forced to use marginal lands, where the soil is poorer, or hillside slopes. The problem tends to get worse in areas closer to the coast. Even in Papua New Guinea, where most land is not under cultivation, large plantations tend to farm the land intensively, also degrading the quality of the soil. Degraded land is less productive and causes sedimentation problems in rivers and streams, particularly near the coastal zones.

The continuing loss of forest cover on the small islands is also a cause for concern. Population pressures, the elimination of traditional land controls, pasture development and logging are among the factors that have hastened forest destruction. In the Pacific, extensive logging operations have deforested large tracts of land in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, and forests are also under siege in the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Samoa and Tonga. In Micronesia, aerial photographs indicate that only 15 per cent of the island of Pohnpei still has undisturbed forests, down from 42 per cent in 1976. In the Caribbean, where many forests were originally cleared for sugar and banana plantations, those existing now tend to be secondary forests, which lack the rich biodiversity of old-growth forests.

Waste management is also a major problem on small islands, since there is limited space for landfill, and contamination of the groundwater and surface and ocean waters results from sewage, industrial effluents and agriculture. Tourism also taxes the small islands' disposal and treatment facilities.

While many small islands have taken steps to manage their waste problem, most do not have adequate waste management plans. Some efforts have led to tangible results, such as the construction of sanitary landfills in Seychelles and Mauritius, as well as on several Caribbean islands. Barbados, Belize, Jamaica, Maldives, and Trinidad and Tobago have, with donor assistance, embarked on programmes to upgrade their waste management infrastructure.

The movement of hazardous and radioactive wastes remains a serious concern to small islands, who believe that the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal is highly inadequate. In talks leading up to the 1999 special session, small island nations have sought to reaffirm their right, as agreed in the Barbados action plan, to regulate, restrict or ban imports of hazardous waste and to prohibit shipment of hazardous and radioactive substances through their waters, consistent with international law. However, some industrialized countries have sought to soften the wording of the Barbados agreement.

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Meeting the Challenges

Since 1994, small islands have adopted many measures and have created new government bodies to promote sustainable development and to implement the Barbados Programme of Action. The Federated States of Micronesia has established a President's Council on Environment and Sustainable Development and in Fiji, a National Environment Strategy has been developed and legislation has been adopted to carry it out. Barbados has set up a national commission on sustainable development that has representation from government ministries, the private sector and other civil society groups. Barbados has also established a working group on the management of hazardous wastes to develop legislation and safety guidelines for the transport, storage and disposal of toxic chemicals.

Mauritius has formed a national environmental commission, chaired by the Prime Minister, to coordinate efforts by government authorities and other organizations engaged in environmental protection programmes. In Cyprus there has been an effort to use economic instruments as a tool to upgrade tourism, as well as to encourage sound land-use practices and proper coastal zone management.

In addition, regional island groups have been active in setting strategies and carrying out region-wide projects to promote sustainable development, and international organizations, such as the UN Development Programme, have been giving support to national ministries and agencies that actually implement programmes.

Yet for the small islands, the prognosis is always uncertain. Although they have taken the Barbados action plan to heart, a major hurricane or cyclone can erase years of work in hours. At present, there are not sufficient resources to carry out all the programmes needed to ensure that the environment is adequately protected. 

Published by the United Nations Department of Public Information
DPI/2060 - July 1999 - 5M

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Small Islands Feature

On Trade and Aid:
Small Islands Face Economic Crunch

Long vulnerable to the forces of the seas, small islands are now bracing themselves against the gathering forces of globalization which threaten to alter dramatically the economies of many islands and hamper efforts to promote sustainable development.

New developments in the push for greater trade liberalization have served notice to small islands that the special trade preferences that allow them to sell their traditional agricultural exports in developed countries at protected prices will soon end. Without these trade preferences, islanders have little hope that their products -- such as coconuts, bananas, sugar and spices -- can compete in global agricultural markets against larger-scale operations in other countries.

Five years after both developing and developed countries agreed on a special plan to assist small islands in pursuing sustainable development at the Conference on Small Island Developing States held in Barbados in 1994, issues of trade and the effects of globalization--while always important-- have taken on a sense of urgency, as countries prepare to review implementation of the Barbados plan at a special session of the United Nations General Assembly this September.

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The Trade Squeeze

Recent rulings by the World Trade Organization that some of the islands' trade preferences violate free trade agreements have fueled concern that small island economies will not have sufficient time or resources to reinvent their economies before suffering a sharp economic downturn. Tighter national budgets, it is feared, will inevitably lead to fewer available resources for programmes to protect the environment.

Specks of land in the ocean, small islands are easily swamped in today's world economy. Yet they rely on international trade more than most countries, as their limited land mass and resources require that they import virtually everything, from energy to health supplies to machinery. Total freight costs as a percentage of import value for the small islands were 55 per cent higher than for developed market-economy countries in 1993, and by 1996, the disparity grew to as much as 66 per cent.

This reliance on the outside world drives up the cost of living and doing business for islanders, and makes it extremely difficult for them to compete against lower-cost agricultural producers in other countries. Furthermore, because of climate, soil and sometimes severe weather conditions -- such as hurricanes in the Caribbean, cyclones in the Indian Ocean, and typhoons in the Pacific -- small islands are often limited in the types of crops they can grow.

Small islands have been able to sell their agricultural products in many developed countries for more than the market price as a result of several international agreements, often based on former colonial relationships. These have included the Generalized System of Preferences, which was negotiated under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and a number of regional agreements. In particular, under the Lom・Convention, a trade and aid pact often cited as a model of north-south cooperation, the European Union agreed to import commodities such as sugar from small islands and other African, Caribbean and Pacific nations at a negotiated price--usually higher than prevailing market rates.

The subsidies from these arrangements have helped sustain many small island economies. In addition to bringing in valuable foreign exchange, these agreements have also provided the islands with guaranteed access to northern markets, which has been important for attracting foreign investment for other ventures. In Mauritius, this guaranteed access to markets has been credited as the determining factor in the establishment of an Export Processing Zone that today provides jobs to more than 80,000 people.

Yet some have argued that the preferences have lulled the islands into a false sense of security that prevented them from either diversifying or from adopting measures to remain competitive in the global marketplace.

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Banana Wars

Although the small islands account for a very small portion of the total banana market, the United States and several Latin American countries filed complaints that the EU banana quota system harmed their economic interests by preventing the sale of their bananas in European markets. The WTO ruled that the US had a right to retaliate against the EU in the amount of $190 million for the business that its companies lost as a result of the banana quotas. Lost in the clash between the two economic goliaths, however, is whatever sense of security the small islands might have had. Islanders fear that the rush to trade liberalization will mean that preferences for other agricultural commodities and textile products may soon be threatened as well.

Small islands have strenuously opposed the WTO ruling because, they say, it shows an unwillingness on the part of the world's major multilateral organizations to respect, represent or consider the needs of vulnerable developing states. They contend that the continuation of trade preferences is vital in order to increase national income, job creation, international competitiveness and sustainable development.

For banana-producing islands, particularly in the Caribbean, big changes are imminent. Since bananas can be grown in many countries, the elimination of a protected market will mean that the market will be flooded with more bananas, which will drive prices down. Small island growers will be hurt, since their production and labour costs are higher than elsewhere.

If preserving the trade preferences is not possible, the small islands are asking that some differential treatment or preferences be maintained for a certain period of time, or that a mechanism be created to compensate them in some way for their lost exports until their economies are sufficiently restructured.

Negotiations are currently underway for a successor to the Lom・Convention, and new terms of trade between the small island developing States and the developed nations are being discussed. The EU has said that it will make an effort to ensure that the Lom・talks, as well as at the Millennium Round of multilateral trade negotiations under the WTO, will reduce remaining trade barriers and provide the small islands with more secure access to export markets for their products.

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Feeling the Pinch

The continued push for trade liberalization, combined with the steady decline in the amount of official development assistance from donor countries, is expected to have a major impact on sustainable development in small island developing States. As national incomes decrease, island governments will find themselves increasingly unable to carry out programmes that protect the environment, and may be pressured to favour short-term growth over long-term resource conservation. Declining incomes may force already struggling islanders to overexploit land, forests and fisheries, with resulting stress on the environment. In Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, less than one per cent of the country's forests remain.

Antigua and Barbuda has already begun to feel the pinch. As a country where almost 70 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) is derived from tourism, it enjoyed a high level of economic growth during the 1980s and early 1990s. But a series of four hurricanes, combined with an influx of 3,000 refugees fleeing a major volcanic eruption in the neighbouring island of Montserrat, contributed to a decline in the island's fortunes. The government was forced to borrow heavily to repair infrastructure damaged by the storms, and social and environmental programmes were put on hold.

A downward economic spiral could reduce an island's attractiveness as a vacation destination. Greater social tensions and a blighted environment are also likely to keep tourists away. In the short term, as a result of the banana dilemma, there are reports of farmers on some Caribbean islands who are turning from banana production to the cultivation of illicit drugs such as marijuana, which are much more profitable. While virtually all small island governments have pledged to crack down on the drug trade, most do not have the resources to sufficiently curb the business.

A lack of opportunities will also spur further migration from the small islands to developed countries. This Abrain drain has long been cited as a major obstacle for the islands in promoting their economic development.

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Limited Options

While most small islands accept that they must restructure their economies, this is a long-term process involving building new industries and retraining major segments of the labour force. The choices are difficult, expensive and limited.

The larger and more populous of the small island States have more options, but for the smaller islands, such as Tuvalu and Antigua and Barbuda, there are fewer possibilities. Donor countries have recognized that these islands will continue to require ongoing development cooperation.

Some islands might continue to compete in the global agricultural market if they can distinguish their products--by growing bananas that are tastier or environmentally or organically certified, for example--and attempt to carve out a market niche. There are also proposals to develop exports of Anatural products from the small islands, such as the natural cosmetics made from coconuts which Dominica sells abroad. Some islands, such as the Cayman Islands and Bermuda, have become well known off-shore financial centres, and Jamaica has attempted to market itself as a data servicing centre. But for the most part, the small islands must look to something else.

They are handicapped in this search by a number of factors. Most islands are not endowed with rich natural resources, and the need to import materials and energy makes costs higher than elsewhere. It also raises the general cost of living, which translates into higher wages and labour costs. In addition, although islanders tend to have higher levels of education than are found in other developing countries, their small populations often lack the critical mass of skills necessary to sustain an industry.

While private capital is playing a major role in the current push towards globalization, foreign direct investment in the islands has, for the most part, targeted the tourism sector -- which is no panacea.

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The prospects for tourism are good: the World Tourism Organization predicts that globally, there will be a 300 per cent increase in the number of tourists over the next 21 years, to 2021, and that international spending by tourists will increase by 500 per cent over the same period. Regional projections indicate that small islands will substantially benefit from this global growth. Already tourism is one of the largest industries on the small islands, and on many islands, it has surpassed agriculture as the major foreign currency earner. Even though many of the profits Aleak back to overseas investors, local benefits have been considerable.

Yet tourism is a fair-weather industry, and its success is dependent on many fluctuating factors, such as a good world economy, good weather and stable social conditions. Small islands--and foreign investors themselves--are wary of becoming too dependent on tourism, as it is extremely sensitive to environmental degradation and economic shocks. The Asian financial crisis, for example, has caused a significant drop in the number of tourists visiting the Pacific islands. Major hurricanes have had a deadly impact on tourism prospects for some Caribbean islands, and have also prompted insurance rates to skyrocket.

One possible option for small islands might be the exploitation of their exclusive economic zones, or the 200 miles of waters surrounding each island. Most small islands have been unable, so far, to use these zones for economic gain, as the costs of underwater mineral mining are still prohibitive, and the islands have been generally unable to police the fishing activities in their waters. Alternatively, small islands may turn to small and medium-size enterprises in new areas, such as advanced technology, book publishing and some textile trades.

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Declining Assistance

Following global trends, official development assistance to small island developing States has continued to fall since 1994, when the Barbados Conference generated a surge of interest. Net disbursements for bilateral and multilateral aid combined have dropped from $2.36 billion in 1994 to $1.96 billion in 1997, the last year for which data is available.

The levels of assistance that have been received by the small islands have been far lower than anticipated, or needed, to implement the 1994 Barbados Programme of Action, which detailed the actions that were necessary to achieve sustainable development in the small islands. Although partnership efforts have lagged in some respects, representatives of donor countries and small islands met in February 1999 to discuss possible avenues for future assistance. Responding to donor demands that the islands prioritize their needs, representatives from small island governments and regional organizations presented over 300 project proposals for assistance to implement the Barbados Programme. Although small islands and donors both saw the meeting as constructive, few commitments have resulted thus far.

Of the small islands, Papua New Guinea received the most bilateral assistance in 1996CUS $350 million, followed by Haiti, the Netherlands Antilles, and the Federated States of Micronesia. On the donor side, Australia provided the most-- US $311 million, which mainly went to Pacific islands-- and was followed by the United States, Japan, the Netherlands, France, Italy and New Zealand.

Given worldwide declines in aid, the small islands are concerned that their needs might be overlooked in the global picture, since the islands generally have a higher GDP per capita than other developing countries. For example, when the Maldives was removed from a UN list of the world's poorest countries last year, it protested that its prospects for aid would be reduced and that it would be deprived of certain benefits that accrue to the poorest countries, such as interest-free loans, debt write-offs and preferential market access. Samoa, Vanuatu and Cape Verde have also been tapped as countries that should graduate from the list.

International financial institutions often rank developing countries' needs by their GDP per capita, which the small islands contend is not an accurate gauge. Instead, they maintain that they should be classified separately according to a Avulnerability index that takes into account their susceptibility to external factors that could cripple an island's economy, such as natural disasters and trade shocks. The index would also take into account that small islands have higher costs than other developing countries, which impairs their international competitiveness.

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The Search for Solutions

Limited development options, a lack of resources, and ever-present threats from storms and the sea provide some serious challenges for small island developing States. Increasingly, however, these countries have found that there is strength in numbers, and they have banded together to form regional and global groups, such as the 40-nation Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). Small islands in the Pacific and the Caribbean are attempting to create larger regional markets, and the Indian Ocean countries have joined together in an effort to solve environmental problems.

Through cooperation among themselves, the islands have gained a measure of political clout that has been most pronounced in the negotiations on climate change, and they are now attempting to use this cooperation to further their economic strategies. The small island developing States hope that the UN General Assembly five-year review of the Barbados action plan will once again focus global attention on their needs and give new impetus to international efforts to foster their sustainable development.

Published by the United Nations Department of Public Information
DPI/2061 - July 1999 - 5M

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Issues in Brief

Small Islands Five Years Later: Where Do We Stand?

In 1994 in Barbados, over 100 countries adopted a Programme of Action to assist small island developing States in pursuing sustainable development. Now, five years later, at a special session of the UN General Assembly on 27-28 September 1999, delegates from around the world will examine progress since Barbados and discuss how the international community can boost action in support of island nations.

The following summary gives the situation for each priority area according to the chapters of the Programme of Action, as well as progress since Barbados and some of the recommendations proposed -- either at preparatory talks or in reports by the UN Secretary-General -- for consideration at the special session.

The situation: Small islands are especially vulnerable to threats of rising sea levels, as their populations are concentrated in coastal areas. By the year 2100 sea levels could rise by 15-95 cm, with a Abest estimate of 50 cm, if current trends continue, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) cites anecdotal evidence of islets submerging, burial grounds crumbling into the sea, salt water intruding onto farmlands and beaches eroding in low-lying nations such as Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands. The IPCC has estimated that the costs of new construction for protection against sea level rise in the Caribbean States alone would amount to US$1.1 billion. Moreover, building sea walls would seriously interfere with lagoons and coastal ecosystems.

Progress made: Gauges for monitoring sea level rise have been set up in 11 South Pacific countries, funded by Australia. In the Caribbean, the tide gauge monitoring network for the Global Oceanic Observation System has been strengthened. Studies to assess where sea level rise is likely to have the greatest impact have been carried out on 12 Pacific and some Caribbean island nations. In 1997, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) gave a $12.42 million grant to small islands for adaptation to climate change. Most small island nations have ratified the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Talks are underway on how small island nations can best utilize the mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol, which most have signed.

Action called for: Draft recommendations urge the international community and small islands to continue to improve island capacity to respond to climate change. International support is particularly required to identify adaptation options.

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The situation: Small island States are extremely vulnerable to storms, the impact of El Ni and other natural disasters. Hurricanes George and Mitch caused extensive damage in the Caribbean, $450 million worth in Saint Kitts and Nevis alone. Fiji and Papua New Guinea were among Pacific nations which suffered from severe droughts related to El Ni. Tsunamis in Papua New Guinea following an earthquake killed over 2,000 people and destroyed homes and crops. Storm insurance costs in many island nations are prohibitively high; on some islands, insurance is simply not available.

Progress made: The South Pacific Disaster Reduction Programme, which ran from 1994 to 1998, improved disaster management training. A special group on natural disasters set up in 1997 under the Association of Caribbean States is preparing a regional agreement for disaster management.

Action called for: Draft recommendations call for further work on reducing the impact of El Ni and natural disasters and on early warning systems. They also urge partnerships between small islands and the private sector to implement schemes to spread risks, expand insurance coverage and reduce premiums.

The situation: Small islands typically lack waste disposal sites because of a shortage of land and lack of capacity. High rates of population growth and increases in tourism are generating more and more waste. Because sewage treatment facilities are inadequate, poorly treated effluent is often discharged into the sea, seriously affecting the two main industries of small islands: tourism and fisheries. New regulations have proven ineffective because island governments have inadequate staff and resources to enforce them. Islands have little capacity to deal with the growing volume of toxic and hazardous wastes.

Progress made: The private sector has become actively involved in recycling plastics, metals, paper and used oil in some small islands. Sanitary landfills have been built in Seychelles and Mauritius and are under construction or being upgraded in several Caribbean and Pacific nations. A number of countries, including Barbados, Jamaica, Maldives and Trinidad and Tobago, have secured donor support to improve sewage systems. SPREP is assessing the abilities of eight Pacific island nations to manage chemicals. The Comoros, Mauritius, Seychelles and Madagascar are improving their preparedness for oil spills with help from the GEF, World Bank and International Maritime Organization, among others.

Action called for: National priorities identified in the Secretary-General's report include improving waste management systems, landfills and sewage systems; reducing the volume of waste; setting up port reception facilities for disposal of ship wastes; enacting and enforcing government regulations on waste disposal; and building long-term storage facilities for hazardous waste.

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The situation: Two important coastal industries, tourism and fishing, both require management to avoid deteriorating or depleting the resources on which they depend. Common problems for islands include: beach erosion, often due to mining of sand and coral; and loss of shoreline, habitat degradation and marine pollution as a result of development. Small islands often do not have the capacity to manage fisheries in their exclusive economic zones (EEZs) C sometimes hundreds of times the size of their land area. Since the EEZs of small island nations equal about one sixth of the earth's surface area, improving fisheries management would help significantly to stem the global decline in commercial fish stocks, over 60 per cent of which are depleted worldwide.

Progress made: Thirteen Pacific islands, with funding from the GEF, have prepared a Strategic Action Programme for coastal, watershed and fisheries management and have secured $20 million more to carry out the plan. Barbados has set up a Coastal Conservation Unit which has produced a draft coastal zone management act. The Forum Fisheries Agency of the South Pacific provided technical support to small island States for negotiation of the South Pacific Tuna Treaty with the United States. All small islands have adopted a strategy under the International Coral Reef Initiative, and most have networks to monitor the health of the reefs.

Action called for: Draft recommendations call for:

* establishment or strengthening of programmes to assess the impact of development on coastal areas and reduce land-based pollution;

* policies to address fisheries problems, including illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing in small island waters, and strengthening of national capacity for negotiating fishing agreements and promoting commercial investment in sustainable fisheries;

* regional coordination in monitoring fishing, including use of computerized vessel tracking systems;

* community-based reef conservation and management, and initiatives related to alternative livelihoods such as aquaculture and eco-tourism, to build on the International Coral Reef Initiative.

In preliminary talks, small islands have sought to reaffirm their right -- included in the Barbados action plan -- to restrict or ban the import of hazardous and radioactive waste and prohibit its shipment through island waters, consistent with international law. Some recommendations have sought instead to call on States to improve the safety of shipment of hazardous and radioactive waste and emphasize that the sovereign rights of small islands over their EEZs should be in full conformity with rights of transit passage and freedom of navigation under the Convention on the Law of the Sea.

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The situation: Many small islands face serious shortages of freshwater, and have few options to remedy the situation. Surface water and groundwater resources are very limited, particularly on volcanic or atoll islands, while urbanization is both increasing demand and polluting supplies. Small islands are especially vulnerable to drought, low rainfall and saline intrusion. Developing water supply and sanitation utilities is both technically difficult on island terrains and financially unfeasible, given the small scale of island economies and the expense of importing all equipment. Demand on water supplies is also increasing for tourism and irrigated agriculture to grow market crops.

Progress made: Pre-dating the Barbados Programme of Action, a major regional water supply and sanitation project began in 1979 in the Caribbean and in 1986 in the Pacific; both programmes continue under regional environmental and scientific bodies. Since 1994, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Meteorological Organization, GEF, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank have supported a number of projects on various aspects of improving water supplies and sanitation. UNDP has helped Cape Verde prepare a national water master plan and assisted Comoros in the delicate construction of wells tapping coastal aquifers. The Asian Development Bank is financing the set-up of water utilities in Micronesia. Bahrain has set up an action plan to protect freshwater resources and modernize the distribution network.

Action called for: Draft recommendations call for improving assessment, planning and integrated management of freshwater resources.

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The situation: Competing demands for very limited land need to be resolved in a sustainable way. High population pressure, deforestation due to logging or conversion to agriculture and resulting soil erosion are among key factors. Traditional land tenure practices make management difficult. Increased demands for cash income have led to greater production of export cash crops and inappropriate tourism development, with heavy impacts on the land.

Progress made: Among national efforts, Grenada introduced a management scheme using a computerized land information system. Similar work was done in Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Lucia. The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States has asked the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for help in developing a land-use planning and agricultural zoning mechanism. Software for classifying land by use has been set up in Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu. Samoa is awaiting approval of a new land-use policy. Soil conservation and erosion control programmes have been formulated in Jamaica and Barbados. National forestry policies are being established in a number of Caribbean countries with FAO and UNDP support, following a 1997 regional meeting. A three-year programme is assisting 22 Pacific island nations in forest management.

Action called for: The report of the Secretary-General recommends continued movement toward integrated land-use planning, using regional sharing of expertise and international technical assistance.

The situation: The almost total dependence of small island States on imported petroleum for their commercial energy needs continues to cause severe imbalances in trade. Increased use of fuelwood, particularly in rural areas, has led to much deforestation.

Progress made: There has been little or no progress in improving the availability of energy services. Use of renewable energy, especially solar PV systems, has increased in some small islands, especially in rural areas, but this has been heavily subsidized by government or donor agencies rather than developed on a commercial basis. The GEF provided $7.1 million to small island States for environmentally sound energy development; this has subsequently leveraged an additional $60 million from other sources.

Action called for: Draft recommendations urge mobilization of resources, including from the private sector, to encourage energy efficiency and develop renewable energy, especially at the regional level.

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8. Tourism

The situation: Tourism is an economic pillar of many small islands, in many cases contributing more than one third of GNP, but unless properly managed, it can damage the natural environment and unique cultures which are the main attractions to tourists. In the wider Caribbean, travel and tourism output is projected to grow at an annual average rate of 3.6 per cent in real terms up to 2005 and to create 2.7 million jobs. An annual average growth rate of 8 per cent up to 2005 is expected in Asia and the Pacific. Adverse impacts include marine pollution from hotel and ship sewage, degradation of coastal zones, stress on water supplies and local cultures, and substantial Aleakage of profits to foreign investors rather than local entrepreneurs.

Progress made: Master tourism plans, regulations and environmental impact assessments have been adopted in a number of small islands, including Mauritius, Maldives and the Netherlands Antilles. Caribbean countries have set a joint strategy for sustainable tourism. In Cyprus, new economic instruments such as tax incentives are being used to improve the quality of tourism.

Action called for: Draft recommendations call for regional and national environmental assessment programmes to address the carrying capacity for tourism, community-based initiatives, and mobilization of adequate resources from all sources to assist in sustainable tourism development.

9. Biodiversity

The situation: Biodiversity in small islands -- including many unique species -- is under threat from pressures of population growth and development, natural disasters and the introduction of alien species.

Progress made: A number of small islands have prepared national biodiversity strategies and country studies under the Convention on Biological Diversity. A review of biodiversity in small islands was carried out by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre. The Bahamas has developed a model Biodiversity Data Management Report and Plan.

Action called for: The report of the Secretary-General calls for further international support to enable small islands to protect native species and their habitats, control alien invasive species and implement the relevant international legal conventions.

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10. National Institutions

The situation: Small islands often lack effective national institutions to set and carry out plans for sustainable development.

Progress made: Since 1994, many small island nations have established new national agencies or high-level policy-making bodies to set priorities for sustainable practices, although they often lack resources to enforce new legislation. In Micronesia, a President's Council on Environment and Sustainable Development has been set up. In Fiji, a National Environment Strategy has been formulated and legislation drafted. National commissions on sustainable development or the environment have been set up in Barbados and Mauritius. SPREP has coordinated the preparation of national environmental management stratagies in the Pacific region, with assistance from the Asian Development Bank, UNDP and Australia.

Action called for: Draft recommendations call for renewed commitment by small islands to complete national sustainable development strategies before 2002, as agreed at the Earth Summit +5 session in 1997.

11. Regional Institutions and Cooperation

The situation: The limited resources of small island States and their geographic isolation make regional cooperation especially important.

Progress made: In the Pacific, eight regional intergovernmental organizations have been set up to focus on particular aspects of sustainable development, under the umbrella of the newly established South Pacific Organizations Coordinating Committee (SPOCC). The Caribbean office of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), in collaboration with CARICOM, has served as the regional coordination mechanism to carry out the Barbados Programme of Action. In the African region, the Indian Ocean Commission has been actively engaged in implementation.

Action called for: Further strengthening of regional cooperation, scientific programmes and training.

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12. Transport and Communication

The situation: Transport and communications are the lifelines linking small island States with the outside world, but distance and isolation have resulted in high transport costs and limited options for many islands. Public and private monopolies, often by foreign companies, result in high telecommunications costs. The quality and frequency of international shipping and air services is largely beyond national control.

Progress made: Since 1994, 32 out of 38 small island States improved their Ateledensity, or the number of phone lines per 100 inhabitants, with about 20 islands showing growth rates of 15 per cent or more. All small island States except Niue and Tuvalu have established connectivity with the Internet, although for most, access is limited to government institutions and larger private organizations. A number of Caribbean nations are using new communications technologies to develop information-processing centres for North American businesses, with potential for generating significant foreign exchange and jobs. Airport improvements have been made or are underway in over ten small island nations. In 1996 Caribbean nations, through CARICOM, adopted a regional market access agreement to improve airline services and encourage airline investment.

Action called for: The Secretary-General's reports recommend that island nations give priority to improving rural telecommunications and take steps to move telecommunications monopolies toward a competitive environment. They suggest that international development partners should help raise funds for telecommunications investment and that the World Bank and regional development banks should increase lending in this sector. More investment is also needed in infrastructure for shipping and air transport.

13. Science and Technology

The situation: Most small island States lack a national scientific infrastructure and trained personnel to meet their needs, and often lose scientists through a Abrain drain. At the same time, traditional knowledge about sustainable development is dying out for lack of interest.

Progress made: Several UN agencies and programmes, including UNESCO, UNIDO and UNDP, have projects to improve scientific training and technology development in island regions.

Action called for: The Secretary-General's report recommends subregional cooperation among islands in science education and infrastructure development as the most realistic short-to-medium term strategy for building scientific and technological capacity. Island nations are encouraged to seek private domestic and foreign investment in clean technologies.

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14. Human Resource development

The situation: With their small populations, island nations often lack the trained personnel to pursue sustainable development. The Seychelles identified lack of trained staff as the key factor preventing effective management of national parks. In Haiti, no scientists or engineers work full time in the environmental field.

Progress made: In recent years, all but one of the small island States have made progress in developing human resources at the basic level needed for building specialized technical skills for environmental management. Cuba, Barbados and Mauritius have created centres or programmes to promote environmental training and public awareness. In the Bahamas and Jamaica, school curricula now include more instruction about environment and sustainable development. UNDP, through its Capacity 21 fund, has supported training in Pacific and Caribbean islands, including on environmental law. Japan allocated $57.8 million for 1994-1998 for upgrading education facilities in Pacific island nations.

Action called for: Draft recommendations stress the need for increased emphasis on capacity-building and education. The Secretary-General's report suggests regional mechanisms for training, and use of distance education and the Internet.

15. Implementation, Monitoring and Review

The situation: The Barbados Programme of Action, as well as Agenda 21, stipulated that successful implementation would require provision of effective means including adequate, predictable, new and additional financial resources. In all sectors, national and regional efforts toward sustainable development have been constrained by limited resources.

Progress made: Official development assistance (ODA) to small islands peaked in 1994 at $2.36 billion but then declined to $1.96 billion in 1997, reflecting drops in aid levels worldwide. Whereas in some developing countries, loss of ODA has been partially offset by increases in foreign direct investment, small island nations often do not have economies of sufficient scale to attract private capital. Many small island nations find it increasingly difficult to obtain concessional development finance because criteria often focus on their relatively higher per capita GNP without taking full account of their actual levels of development, their vulnerability or their capacity to generate adequate national savings to meet needs for large amounts of investment resources.

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Action called for:

1. Finance. Draft recommendations include a reaffirmation that implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action will require additional financing. They urge that projects be identified for GEF financing and that the effectiveness of bilateral and multilateral assistance be improved through better coordination. Draft recommendations also suggest that donors give special consideration to the over 300 project proposals presented by island nations at a February 1999 meeting between small islands and donors.

2. Globalization and trade liberalization. At preparatory talks, small island nations have sought recommendations for some kind of assistance, compensation or preferential treatment to strengthen their position in the multilateral trading system, but no consensus has been reached.

3. Technology transfer. Draft recommendations, noting that small islands need access to low-cost environmentally sound technologies, encourage information-sharing, participation in clean technology initiatives, and public-private partnerships.

4. Vulnerability index. In view of the usefulness of an index that would reflect islands' small size, environmental fragility, and susceptibility to natural disasters and economic shocks, draft recommendations suggest that the quantitative and analytic work on a vulnerability index for small islands be completed as soon as possible.

5. SIDSNET. Small islands have been closely involved in setting up the Small Island Developing States Network (SIDSNET), the Internet site and listserve created by UNDP in response to the Barbados Programme of Action. Draft recommendations suggest that small islands should enhance their Aownership of the Network and that, with the assistance of the international community, they should address constraints to broadbased Internet access and encourage private sector involvement.

6. International cooperation and partnership. Draft recommendations suggest that existing institutional arrangements within the United Nations system need to be strengthened and coordination improved to support implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action. More regional monitoring is needed, as well as benchmarks and indicators to assess implementation.

Published by the United Nations Department of Public Information
DPI/2062 -- August 1999 -- 5M

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