The fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) was held from 27 to 30 May 2024 in St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda. Under the theme of “Charting the course toward resilient prosperity” the Conference sought to assess the ability of SIDS to achieve sustainable development. The fourth in a series of conferences held every 10 years, SIDS4 convened the international community to review SIDS’ sustainable development progress and propose a new decade of partnerships and solutions to fast-track their path to resilient prosperity. The Conference featured eight plenary meetings, including opening and closing segments, and five interactive dialogues. The interactive dialogues were collaborative and multi-stakeholder in nature, with due regard for gender and geographical balance, and focused on addressing existing and new and emerging challenges and opportunities for the sustainable development of SIDS and ways and means to address them, including through the strengthening of collaborative partnerships between SIDS and the international community, and sought to identify priorities for the sustainable development of SIDS. (United Nations)
Upon the conclusion of the conference, world leaders adopted the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS: A Renewed Declaration for Resilient Prosperity. This new 10-year plan of action will aim to deliver meaningful change for this group of vulnerable countries. To help SIDS meet their ambitions for resilient prosperity, countries agreed to facilitate easier access to affordable and concessional finance, increase the effectiveness of development finance, scale-up biodiversity climate finance, in line with existing obligations and commitments and urgently accelerate climate action. Other areas of focus included the ocean-based economy, science, technology and innovation, and monitoring and evaluation, including improving data collection and analysis in SIDS. (United Nations)
Virtual Side Event at SIDS4
The Global Ocean Forum (GOF) was pleased to have organized a virtual side event during SIDS4 in collaboration with the University of the South Pacific (USP), Solomon Islands National University (SINU), the Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner (OPOC), and the Common Oceans Cross-sectoral Project (CSP). The side event, titled Integrated approaches to ocean governance in the context of climate change, the BBNJ Agreement, and Small Island Developing States, was held on Tuesday, 28 May 2024 from 17:00-18:30 Antigua and Barbuda Local Time (GMT-4) and involved a high-level panel discussion on integrated and collaborative approaches used to progress the ocean in the climate, biodiversity, and sustainable development agendas. The event underscored the opportunities provided by the adoption of the BBNJ Agreement to explore the mitigation and adaptation potential of the vast high seas, along with its ecosystems and resources.
SPEAKERS:
- Ambassador Janine Coye-Felson, Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Belize to the United Nations in New York
- Ms. Cristelle Pratt, Assistant Secretary General, Environment & Climate Action, The Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States
- Ms. Kristina Gjerde, Senior High Seas Advisor, International Union for Conservation of Nature
- Dr. Filimon Manoni, Pacific Ocean Commissioner, Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner
- Dr. Transform Aqorau, Vice Chancellor, Solomon Islands National University
- Dr. Judith Gobin, Professor of Marine Biology, Department of Life Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago
- Ms. Cherie Morris, Assistant Lecturer, Marine Sustainable Development, Institute of Marine Resources, University of the South Pacific
- Mr. Richard Delaney, Board President, International Coastal and Ocean Organization (Global Ocean Forum)
Watch a recording of the event here and to access the materials used by panelists during their interventions, as well as a summary report of the event, please see here.
About SIDS
According to the United Nations (UN), Small Island Developing States (SIDS) comprise 37 UN member nations and 20 associate members of regional commissions. Uniquely and unfortunately positioned at the forefront of multiple global crises, notably climate change, they were formally recognized as a special case both for their environment and development at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. These nations are spread across three key regions: the Caribbean, the Pacific and the Atlantic, Indian Ocean and South China Sea (AIS).
The Special Case of SIDS
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are a “special case” for sustainable development, which was recognized in the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio, in the 1994 first UN Global Conference on SIDS, in the 2005 second SIDS Conference, in the 2012 Rio + 20 Conference, and in the 2014 Third International Conference on SIDS. SIDS possess certain common characteristics, including, among others, small size, remoteness, insularity, and vulnerability to external shock. Many of the challenges facing SIDS, such as climate change, marine stress, and natural disasters, are challenges related to the global commons and are decidedly not of SIDS’ own making. Despite not being part of the causation, SIDS are experiencing the impacts of these threats with particular immediacy and intensity. Social development problems among SIDS, including gender equality, youth employment, and other urgent issues inextricably tied to global realities, compound these mounting climate, ocean, and biodiversity threats. (UN DESA 2014)
Past SIDS Conferences
The following SIDS conferences were held to consider how small island developing states could find solutions to the environmental challenges and sustainable development problems they were facing:
- Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, Bridgetown, Barbados, 26 April – 6 May 1994
- International Meeting to Review the Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, Port-Louis, Mauritius, 10-14 January 2005.
- Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States, Apia, Samoa, 1-4 September 2014
The 1994 Global Conference on Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States was the first conference that translated Agenda 21 into a programme of action for a group of countries: the Barbados Programme of Action on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (BPoA). The BPoA set forth a fourteen point program identifying priority actions and measures to be taken at the national, regional and international levels in support of the sustainable development of SIDS.
The ten-year review of the BPoA was held in Port Louis, Mauritius in January 2005. The Mauritius International Meeting resulted in the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. The Mauritius Strategy noted the actions needed in order to achieve implementation of the BPoA. Section IV of the Mauritius Strategy relates to coastal and marine resources and includes seven items (26-32), including issues associated with delimitation of maritime boundaries, assessment of living and non-living marine resources, financial and technical assistance, capacity building, ascension to the U.N. Fish Stocks Agreement, enforcement, and the implementation of the UNEP Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (UNEP/GPA), among other issues. Another outcome of the Mauritius International Meeting was the creation of the University Consortium of Small Island States to further SIDS cooperation on sustainable development education and to strengthen the national capacity of small island states to implement the Barbados Programme of Action and the Mauritius International Strategy. The five founding member institutions include the universities of Malta, Mauritius, South Pacific, Virgin Islands, and West Indies.
The Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States was held in September 2014 in Apia, Samoa in order to focus the world’s attention on the special case of SIDS for sustainable development in view of their unique and particular vulnerabilities. United Nations Member States formally adopted the outcome document of the Conference, the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action – or SAMOA Pathway – in which countries recognized the need to support and invest in these nations so they could achieve sustainable development.
GOF Initiatives on SIDS and Involvement in SIDS Conferences
The Global Ocean Forum has worked with the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) since 2001, when SIDS and ocean interests started to become particularly active in advancing the SIDS, oceans, and coasts agenda at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development. The Global Ocean Forum participated in, and provided analytical input to the 2005 Mauritius International Meeting and in the 2014 Third Conference on SIDS, and has worked with SIDS representatives in assessing and responding to capacity development needs in ocean and coastal management.
The Global Ocean Forum contributed to advancing the oceans agenda at the 2005 Mauritius International Meeting by preparing a series of policy analyses on ocean and coastal management issues in SIDS. The reports of the policy analyses, which were presented at the Mauritius International Meeting, was sponsored by the UNEP/GPA.
Dr. Biliana Cicin-Sain, past GOF President, participated as the keynote speaker in the Multi-stakeholder Partnerships Dialogue on “Oceans, Seas and Biodiversity” held on 14 September 2014 during the Third Conference on SIDS. This dialogue aimed to provide the opportunity to identify new partnerships that demonstrate the scope for enhanced support for SIDS as they tackle the scope for sustainable development.
Tracking the progress of achieving global ocean targets related to the SIDS were among the focus of a series of global ocean conferences organized by the Global Ocean Forum starting in 2001. Working closely with the Pacific SIDS, the Global Ocean Forum collaborated with governments and civil society in the Agenda 2030 sustainable development process in articulating the need for a stand-alone sustainable development goal on oceans (ultimately embodied in SDG 14).
SIDS4 Virtual Side Event Co-organizers
University of the South Pacific
The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a premier institution of higher education and research in the Pacific Islands region committed to building on a dynamic research culture that empowers its staff and students, finds the solution to the problems, creates new knowledge across a broad array of disciplines, and helps to bring positive change leading to innovative, cohesive, resilient and sustainable communities in the region.
Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner
The Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner (OPOC) has been established within the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat to provide dedicated professional support to the Pacific Ocean Commissioner. OPOC serves as a voice for the region, with responsibilities including, among others, development of key messages to promote regional ocean policy and regional ocean interests in coordination with relevant CROP agencies, administration and facilitation of the Pacific Ocean Alliance (POA), support for countries in the region with coordinated advice on cross-sectoral ocean issues, and engagement with civil society networks, the private sector, and other regional stakeholders.
Solomon Islands National University
Solomon Islands National University (SINU) was incepted in January 2013 after the passage of a bill in parliament in late 2012. It now stands as a quality National University, raising standards of education and applied research in the Pacific region. SINU champions the pursuit of knowledge, skills, academic inquiry and applied research to transform lives through higher education and training, inclusive of diverse communities, while providing relevant solutions for the Solomon Islands. To achieve its Vision and Mission, the Solomon Islands National University is guided by the following principles: excellence and quality, innovativeness, relevance, accessibility, and collegiality.