爆料公社

St. Johns, Antigua, 7 August, 2022 – Representatives from small island developing States (SIDS) and UN agencies met in Antigua and Barbuda from 5-6 August to review national efforts and exchange best practises in implementing the SAMOA Pathway, the dedicated plan of action for SIDS, and to discuss emerging sustainable development priorities ahead of the Fourth International Conference on SIDS in 2024.

The National Focal Points Network consists of government nominated representatives from thirty-eight SIDS coordinated by the UN Office for the Most Vulnerable States (OHRLLS). The network is designed to strengthen coherence between sustainable development discussions taking place on the global stage at the United Nations and at the country-level in the implementation of the SAMOA Pathway.

In video remarks at the opening of the meeting, Ms. Heidi Schroderus-Fox, Acting High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States said “For small island developing States the notion of "building back better" is much more than a soundbite. It represents a lifeline for a sustainable future.”

With multiple crises swirling, small island nations are being forced to choose between investments with long term benefits, like the blue economy, versus more immediate needs.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hampered development gains with declines in economic performance seen across most SIDS. In 2020, SIDS’ GDP dropped by 6.9% versus 4.8% in all other developing countries. Some SIDS also witnessed unprecedented double-digit declines in real GDP and a slower recovery due to their heavy dependence on tourism and fisheries.

Furthermore, according to the OECD, SIDS make up two thirds of countries that suffer the highest relative losses – between 1 and 9 percent of their GDP each year – from natural disasters.

National focal points shared the challenges and opportunities their respective countries are facing.

On the one hand, as the SAMOA Pathway soon concludes in 2024, island nations are suffering from declines in economic activity in tourism and fisheries as well as rising debt and high vulnerability to climate change.

At the same time, island nations are pursuing innovative and home-grown solutions. These range from issuance of blue bonds in Belize in 2021 to the rehabilitation of the interior of the island of Nauru which for decades was the site of phosphate mining.

In the Seychelles, emerging priorities for the country include economic and product diversification, increased value chains, strengthening domestic markets, food sovereignty and the digital economy.

SIDS are also making major strides in developing blue economies, with Pacific SIDS that are Parties to the Nauru Agreement for instance increasing their fisheries revenue from $50 million in 2010 to $500 million in 2020, thus controlling the richest tuna waters in the world.

Also high on the agenda were discussions on the Multi-dimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI), a new tool being developed at the United Nations to use a data-driven approach to define what it means to be vulnerable and to support an evidence-based approach to development policy and decision making, especially in the context of increasingly scarce external financing resources.

SIDS remain unequivocal on their needs. On climate finance, they are calling for providers to simplify and harmonize their procedures for efficient access. On debt, they are calling on multilateral development banks and international financial institutions to adopt more progressive approaches that provide expanded debt relief to SIDS as well as exploring opportunities for debt swaps and other support measures.

Learn more about the SIDS National Focal Points at: /ohrlls/content/sids-national-focal-points