A BRIEF HISTORY
OF THE BPOA REVIEW PROCESS:
The vulnerability of islands and coastal areas was
recognized by the 44th session of the UN General Assembly in
1989, when it passed resolution 44/206 on the possible
adverse effects of sea-level rise on islands and coastal
areas, particularly low-lying coastal areas. The UN
Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in
June 1992, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, brought the special
case of such areas to international attention when it
adopted Agenda 21, a programme of action for sustainable
development. Chapter 17 of Agenda 21 on the protection of
oceans, all kinds of seas, and coastal areas included a
programme area on the sustainable development of small
islands. Agenda 21 also called for convening a global
conference on the sustainable development of SIDS.
GLOBAL CONFERENCE ON THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SIDS:
Established by UN General Assembly resolution 47/189, the UN
Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of SIDS was
held in Bridgetown, Barbados, from 25 April to 6 May 1994.
Some 125 States and territories participated in the
conference, 46 of which were small island developing States
and territories. The Conference adopted the Barbados
Programme of Action on the Sustainable Development of SIDS (BPOA),
a 14-point programme that identifies priority areas and
indicates specific actions necessary for addressing the
special challenges faced by SIDS. The priority areas
include: climate change and sea-level rise, natural and
environmental disasters, management of wastes, coastal and
marine resources, freshwater resources, land resources,
energy resources, tourism resources, biodiversity resources,
national institutions and administrative capacity, regional
institutions and technical cooperation, transport and
communication, science and technology, and human resource
development. The BPOA further identified several
cross-sectoral areas that required attention: capacity
building; institutional development at the national,
regional and international levels; cooperation in the
transfer of environmentally sound technologies; trade and
economic diversification; and finance. The Conference also
adopted the Barbados Declaration, a statement of political
will underpinning the agreements contained in the BPOA. The
Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was given the
responsibility to follow up on the implementation of the
BPOA.
UNGASS-19: Five years after UNCED in June 1997, the
19th Special Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGASS-19)
addressed SIDS issues as part of its general theme to
Review and Appraise the Implementation of Agenda 21. In
that context, the Special Session requested that the CSD at
its sixth session in 1998 undertake a review of all the
outstanding chapters and issues of the BPOA. Delegates also
decided that a two-day special session of the General
Assembly would be held in 1999 to conduct a full review of
the implementation of the BPOA, and requested the CSD to
serve as the preparatory committee for the Special Session.
UNGASS-22: In September 1999, five years following
the Barbados Conference, the 22nd Special Session of the UN
General Assembly (UNGASS-22) undertook a comprehensive
review and appraisal of the implementation of the BPOA. The
Special Session adopted the State of Progress and
Initiatives for the Future Implementation of the Programme
of Action for the Sustainable Development of SIDS, which
identified six problem areas in need of urgent attention:
climate change, natural and environmental disasters and
climate variability, freshwater resources, coastal and
marine resources, energy, and tourism. In addition to these
priority areas, the Special Session highlighted the need to
focus on means of implementation through: sustainable
development strategies, capacity building, resource
mobilization and finance, globalization and trade
liberalization, transfer of environmentally sound
technology, a vulnerability index, information management
through strengthening the SIDS Network, and international
cooperation and partnership. UNGASS-22 also adopted a
declaration in which Member States, inter alia,
reaffirmed the principles of and their commitment to
sustainable development embodied in Agenda 21, the Barbados
Declaration and the BPOA.
MILLENNIUM SUMMIT: In 2000, at the UN Millennium
Summit in New York, world leaders adopted the UN Millennium
Declaration (General Assembly resolution 55/2) and in doing
so, resolved to address the special needs of SIDS, by
implementing the BPOA and the outcome of UNGASS-22 rapidly
and in full.
WSSD: The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD)
convened from 26 August to 4 September 2002, in
Johannesburg, South Africa. The Summit negotiated and
adopted two main documents: the Johannesburg Declaration on
Sustainable Development and the Johannesburg Plan of
Implementation (JPOI). The WSSD reaffirmed the special case
of SIDS, and dedicated a chapter of the JPOI to the
sustainable development of SIDS, which identified a set of
priority actions, called for a full and comprehensive review
of the BPOA in 2004, and requested the General Assembly at
its 57th session to consider convening an international
meeting on the sustainable development of SIDS.
Non-negotiated partnerships/initiatives for sustainable
development, also known as Type II partnerships/initiatives,
proved to be an important outcome of the WSSD. Since the
WSSD, over 260 such partnerships have been launched, 18 of
which focus on addressing the challenges facing small
islands.
UNGA-57: In December 2002, the 57th session of the UN
General Assembly (UNGA-57) adopted resolution 57/262, which
decided to convene an international meeting in 2004 to
undertake a full and comprehensive review of the
implementation of the BPOA, and welcomed the offer of the
Government of Mauritius to host the meeting. The General
Assembly also decided that the review should seek a renewed
political commitment by all countries to, and focus on,
practical and pragmatic actions for the further
implementation of the BPOA, including through the
mobilization of resources and assistance for SIDS. The
resolution further decided to convene regional preparatory
meetings and an inter-regional preparatory meeting in order
to undertake the review of the BPOA at the national,
subregional and regional levels, and invited the CSD at its
11th session (CSD-11) to consider its role in the review
process. The resolution also requested strengthening the
SIDS Unit within the UN Division for Sustainable Development
to enable it to assist in preparations for the review
process.
CSD-11: During CSD-11, which convened in New York
from 28 April to 9 May 2003, the Commission decided to
undertake a three-day preparatory meeting during CSD-12 for
an in-depth assessment and appraisal of the implementation
of the BPOA, and finalize the preparations for the
International Meeting (IM), including its agenda. The CSD
further decided to invite the international donor and
development communities, and international organizations to
provide information on their activities in support of the
BPOAs implementation, and specified the dates and venues of
the regional and inter-regional preparatory meetings.
REGIONAL PREPARATORY MEETINGS: From August to October
2003, three regional preparatory meetings were held for the:
Pacific SIDS (4-8 August, Apia, Samoa); Atlantic, Indian
Ocean, Mediterranean and South China Sea (AIMS) SIDS (1-5
September, Praia, Cape Verde); and the Caribbean SIDS (6-10
October, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago). Each of these
meetings finalized regional positions, which were presented
as Regional Synthesis Reports during the inter-regional
preparatory meeting in the Bahamas in January 2004.
EXPERT MEETINGS: In preparation for the
inter-regional meeting, a series of four expert meetings
were convened from July to December 2003. These meetings
addressed: capacity building for renewable energy and energy
efficiency; vulnerability of SIDS and enhancing resilience;
waste management; and capacity building for sustainable
development. The reports of these meetings together with the
Regional Synthesis Reports comprised the background
documents for the inter-regional meeting.
UNGA-58: In December 2003, the 58th session of the UN
General Assembly (UNGA-58), in resolution 58/213, decided to
convene the IM from 30 August to 3 September 2004, which
would include a high-level segment to undertake a full and
comprehensive review of the implementation of the BPOA. The
General Assembly also decided to hold, if deemed necessary
by an open-ended preparatory meeting and funded from
voluntary resources, two days of informal consultations in
Mauritius, on 28 and 29 August 2004, to facilitate the
effective preparation for the IM.
APPOINTMENT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL
MEETING: In December 2003, UN Under-Secretary-General
Anwarul Chowdhury was appointed the Secretary-General of the
International Meeting. Chowdhury is also the UN High
Representative for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs),
Landlocked Developing Countries and SIDS.
INTER-REGIONAL SIDS PREPARATORY MEETING: The
Inter-regional Preparatory Meeting for the Ten-year Review
of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development
of SIDS took place from 26-30 January 2004, in Nassau, the
Bahamas. At the conclusion of the meeting, the SIDS adopted
the Nassau Declaration and the Alliance of Small Island
States (AOSIS) Strategy Paper for the Further Implementation
of the BPOA. The AOSIS Strategy Paper was forwarded to the
G-77/China for consideration in advance of the SIDS
preparatory meeting. The Paper contains chapters on the
priority areas of the BPOA and identifies new and emerging
issues, including graduation of SIDS least developed
countries (LDCs), trade, health and culture.
G-77/CHINAS LETTER TO THE UN SECRETARY-GENERAL: In a
letter transmitted to the UN Secretary-General on 26
March 2004 (E/CN.17/2004/12), the G-77/China indicated its
endorsement of the AOSIS Strategy Paper and proposed to use
it as a basis for negotiation for the 10-year review of the
BPOA.
INFORMAL INFORMALS: Facilitated by New Zealands
Ambasador to the UN, Don MacKay, informal informals on
matters related to the SIDS preparatory meeting took place
on 24 March and 8 April 2004. During the consultations,
delegates expressed views on and conducted an informal
reading of the Strategy Document for the Further
Implementation of the BPOA.
PREPARATORY MEETING FOR THE INTERNATIONAL MEETING:
The Preparatory Meeting for the International Meeting on the
Ten-year Review of the Programme of Action for the
Sustainable Development of SIDS took place from 14-16 April
2004, at UN headquarters in New York. The meeting was held
during the 12th session of the Commission on Sustainable
Development, which was tasked to undertake the three-day
preparatory meeting for the International Meeting. During
the three days, delegates conducted a first reading of the
Strategy Document on the Further Implementation of the
Barbados Programme of Action, adopted at the inter-regional
preparatory meeting held in the Bahamas in January 2004. At
the conclusion of the preparatory meeting, delegates decided
to use a compilation text as the basis for further
intersessional informal informals. Delegates also adopted
draft decisions on the provisional agenda of and the
accreditation of NGOs to the International Meeting. CSD-12
also considered preparations for the International Meeting
at its high-level segment on Friday, 30 April.
INFORMAL INFORMAL CONSULTATIONS IN PREPARATION FOR THE
INTERNATIONAL MEETING: Two round of informal informal
consultations were held from 17-19 May and 7, 8 and 11
October 2004 at UN headquarters in New York to advance
negotiations on the Strategy for the further implementation
of the BPOA. At the conclusion of the second round of
informals, delegates:
-
resolved chapters on: Natural and Environment
Disasters, Energy Resources, Tourism Resources,
Transport and Communication, Science and Technology,
Sustainable Capacity Development and Education for
Sustainable Development, Sustainable Production and
Consumption, Health, Knowledge Management and
Information for Decision Making, and Culture;
-
reached partial resolution on: the introduction,
Management of Wastes, Coastal and Marine Resources,
Freshwater Resources, Land Resources, Biodiversity
Resources, and Implementation;
-
reached no resolution on chapters concerning:
Graduation, and Trade: Globalization and Trade
Liberalization; and
-
deferred to the International Meeting discussions
on Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise.
UNGA-59: The 59th session of the UN General Assembly
is expected to adopt a resolution on the Further
Implementation of the Programme of Action for the
Sustainable Development of SIDS. In the text that has been
provisionally agreed, the General Assembly decides to hold
two days of informal consultations on 8 and 9 January to
facilitate preparations for the International Meeting.
SIGNING OF HOST COUNTRY AGREEMENT: On 30 November in
New York, Mauritian Ambassador Jagdish Koonjul and the
Secretary-General of the Mauritius International Meeting, UN
Under-Secretary-General Anwarul Chowdhury, signed the
official agreement to hold the small island conference from
10-14 January in Mauritius.