IISD Reporting Services (IISD RS) Coverage
IISD RS has provided daily web coverage of the Third International Conference on SIDS and Associated Meetings. To download our daily reports and summary and analysis from the conference kindly click the HTML and PDF icons below.


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Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) - ‘The Sustainable Development of SIDS Through Genuine and Durable Partnerships’

1-4 September 2014 | Apia, Samoa

Daily Web Coverage (Click on the Following Links to See our Daily Webpages)

Introduction - 28 August - 29 August - 30 August - 31 August
1 September - 2 September - 3 September - 4 September - Summary

Highlights for Tuesday, 2 September 2014

The Third International Conference on SIDS offers a space for delegates to meet and interact

Member States and development partners continued the general debate in plenary, addressing issues of debt restructuring, improving SIDS’ resilience, waste management, climate change, sea-level rise and recovery from extreme weather events. Several SIDS stressed that access to financing and operationalization of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) are key areas for the attention of the international community, in the quest for sustainable development.

In parallel with the plenary discussions, two multi-stakeholder partnership dialogues took place, on climate change and disaster risk management (DRM) in the morning, and on social development, health and non-communicable diseases (NCDs), youth and women in the afternoon.

Many side events took place throughout the day and into the evening, while market stalls in the ‘SIDS Village’ featured music performances and craft products for sale.

General Debate

Masagos Zulkifli, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore

Camillo Gonsalves, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Consumer Affairs, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Aliki Faipule Kuresa Nasau, Titular Head, Tokelau

Elba Rosa Pérez Montoya, Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment, Cuba

Anifah Aman, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia

A.J. Nicholson, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Jamaica

Natália Pedro da Costa Umbelina Neto, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Communities, São Tomé and Príncipe

Partnerships Dialogue: Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management

Panel (L-R): Mary Robinson, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Climate Change; Andris Piebalgs, EU Commissioner for Development; Anote Tong, President, Kiribati; Co-Chair Takao Makino, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Japan; Co-Chair Jose Manuel García-Margallo, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Spain; Secretariat; Moderator Margareta Wahlström, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for DRR; and Rachel Kyte, World Bank Group Vice President and Special Envoy for Climate Change

Mary Robinson, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Climate Change

Anote Tong, President, Kiribati

Rachel Kyte, World Bank Group Vice President and Special Envoy for Climate Change

Andris Piebalgs, EU Commissioner for Development

Helen Clark, Administrator, UNDP

Winston Dookeran, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trinidad and Tobago

Partnership Dialogue: Social Development for SIDS, Health and NCDs, Youth and Women

Panel for social development in SIDS (L-R): Irina Bokova, Director-General, UNESCO; Ewen McDonald, Deputy-Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia; Moderator Yanerit Morgan, Deputy Permanent Representative of Mexico to the UN in New York; Secretariat; and Fuimaono Falefa Lima, Dean of Faculty, School of Business and Entrepreneurship, National University of Samoa

Moderator Yanerit Morgan, Deputy Permanent Representative of Mexico to the UN in New York

Ewen McDonald, Deputy-Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia

Fuimaono Falefa Lima, Dean of Faculty, School of Business and Entrepreneurship, National University of Samoa

Irina Bokova, Director-General, UNESCO

Panel on health and NCDs (L-R): Colin Tukuitonga, Director General, Secretariat of the Pacific Community; Leao Talalelei Tuitama, Minister of Health, Samoa; Moderator Yanerit Morgan, Deputy Permanent Representative of Mexico to the UN in New York; Secretariat; and Toomas Palu, Sector Manager, Health, Nutrition and Population, South East Asia and Pacific Region, World Bank

Colin Tukuitonga, Director General, Secretariat of the Pacific Community

Toomas Palu, Sector Manager, Health, Nutrition and Population, South East Asia and Pacific Region, World Bank

Leao Talalelei Tuitama, Minister of Health, Samoa

Panel on youth and women (L-R): Noelene Nabulivou, Women's Major Group; Roberta Clarke, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, UN Women; Moderator Yanerit Morgan, Deputy Permanent Representative of Mexico to the UN in New York; Secretariat; and Karuna Rana, Major Group for Children and Youth

Karuna Rana, Major Group for Children and Youth

Noelene Nabulivou, Women's Major Group

Roberta Clarke, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, UN Women

Side events throughout the day

Side event: Small Island Developing States Large Ocean States: Sustainable Development from Ridge to Reef and Beyond

This high-level side event focused on ‘Ridge to Reef’ approaches to island ecosystem management and governance that link watersheds to coastal habitats and contribute to poverty reduction, sustainable livelihoods and climate resilience. Heads of State and senior government leaders from Pacific, Caribbean and Indian Ocean SIDS shared their national perspectives on sustainable development and the MDGs and post-2015 contexts for their respective development pathways. A publication titled "Island Innovations – UNDP and GEF: Leveraging the Environment for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States" was launched.

Panel (L-R): Angus Friday, Ambassador of Grenada to the USA; Tommy Esang Remengesau Jr., President of the Republic of Palau; Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson, GEF; Helen Clark, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); and James Michel, President, the Seychelles.

Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson, GEF, emphasized the importance of GEF innovative projects, noting that successful projects illustrate how collaboration can achieve transformational results, playing a crucial role in safeguarding the oceans as a global commons; and facilitate replication around the world.

Helen Clark, Administrator, UNDP, observed that the coping capacity of island states is being constantly challenged and green growth is required to build stronger foundations. She said the ‘ridge to reef’ approach involves maximizing the use of land and water biodiversity to sustain the ecosystems they provide to support decent and sustainable livelihoods.

Emphasizing that marine conservation is a step towards further wealth creation, Amb. Angus Friday, Grenada, expressed satisfaction with work undertaken with the GEF and UNDP on the ridge to reef programme. He called for considering alternative livelihoods in the context of the blue economy and for South-South cooperation, as well as innovative financing.

James Michel, President, the Seychelles, highlighted the opportunities that oceans provide in terms of energy, food security and mineral resources. He observed that engagement in the blue economy has to be inclusive, with strong ownership, which places traditional fishing and coastal communities at the heart of actions.

Tommy Esang Remengesau, President, Palau, highlighted assistance received from the GEF, stressing that the key to genuine enduring partnerships is understating the nature and capacity of the partner. He noted that the GEF’s current co-financing requirements are having a constraining effect on SIDS.

Side event: High-level Panel on SIDS's Pathways to Inclusive Green Economy and Poverty Reduction

Ministers and high-level government representatives shared practice and lessons learned in their transition toward a greener economy, including elements of SIDS-specific approaches and partnerships. UNEP launched the Global Environment Outlook on SIDS (GEO-SIDS) report at the event, available at: http://uneplive.org/media/docs/region/59/GEO_SIDS_final.pdf.

Panel (L-R): Denis Lowe, Minister of Environment and Drainage, Barbados; Shamsad Akhtar, Executive Secretary, ESCAP; Anote Tong, President, Kiribati; Moderator David Sheppard, Director-General of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP); Achim Steiner, Executive Director, UNEP; Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary, UNFCCC; and Devanand Virahsawmy, Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Mauritius.

Anote Tong, President, Kiribati, congratulated Achim Steiner, UNEP, on the launch of the Global Environment Outlook on SIDS (GEO-SIDS) report, calling it “a small report with a big message.”

David Sheppard, Director-General of SPREP, moderated the session. He announced that 17 heads of government have signed on to SIDS DOCK, an initiative among AOSIS member countries to connect the SIDS’ energy sectors with finance, sustainable technologies and the US and EU carbon markets.

Denis Lowe, Minister of Environment and Drainage, Barbados, highlighted his country’s green economy projects, including a coastal risk assessment programme, sustainable waste management, and a landfill-to-energy project, which he said are creating 600 new green jobs on the island.

Taberannang Timeon, Minister for Communications, Transport and Tourism Development, Kiribati, discussed the Phoenix Islands Protected Area as his country’s commitment to green growth, expressing hope that this area will be “a natural laboratory” for scientific research.

Achim Steiner, Executive Director, UNEP, described SIDS as environmentally-defined economies, in which the destruction of coral reefs, decline in fish stocks, and environmental impacts are “the defining drivers and realities that one way or another will determine whether SIDS will thrive or fail.”

Shamsad Akhtar, Executive Secretary, ESCAP, discussed the need to improve efficiency of use of natural resources and ecosystem services, noting that almost all Pacific SIDS have established green growth targets, and referring to ESCAP’s 2020 Low-Carbon Roadmap for Asia.

Devanand Virahsawmy, Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Mauritius, discussed his country’s transition to renewable energy, including the generation of biogas as a by-product of sugar production. He noted that a major objective of the green economy is to overcome poverty, and supported people’s rights to development.

Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary, UNFCCC, said the climate agreement to be discussed in Paris is reintroducing the environment to the center of the economy, and that the needed transformation will likely begin in the smaller economies of SIDS, where it is easier to see the impacts.

Side event: The Last Straw - Preventing our Oceans from becoming Dumps

This side-event presented the activities undertaken by SIDS to reduce and manage waste entering the marine environment from land- and sea-based sources. It also provided an overview of the work and activities of the Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML), including its support for a demonstration project in Samoa to raise awareness of and manage waste and marine debris.

Panel (L-R): Schannel van Dijken, Conservation International; Shiro Amano, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA); Edward Kleverlaan, International Maritime Organization; Mette Wilkie, UNEP; David Haynes, SPREP; Suluimalo Amataga Penaia, CEO, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Samoa; and Takehiro Nakamura, UNEP.

Shiro Amano, JICA, noted that the JICA project, J-PRISM, seeks to develop and increase the capacity of local populations in the Pacific region to address waste management and marine litter.

Takehiro Nakamura, UNEP, said that the GPML was launched after Rio+20 with the objective of protecting human health and the environment by reducing and managing marine litter through addressing the impacts of marine litter, enhancing international cooperation and coordination, promoting knowledge management and information sharing, and increasing awareness.

Side event: Financing for sustainable development in SIDS

This event brought together representatives from the Caribbean, Indian Ocean and Pacific and from international organizations to look at the opportunities and challenges, which face SIDS in their efforts to finance sustainable development. Different country experiences were also explored.

Panel (L-R): Jean-Paul Adam, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Seychelles; Henry Puna, Prime Minister, the Cook Islands; Erik Solheim, DAC Chair, OECD; Amb. Irwin LaRocque, Secretary-General, CARICOM; Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator; Freundel Stuart, Prime Minister, Barbados; and Tuiloma Neroni Slade, Secretary-General, Pacific Island Forum Secretariat.

Erik Solheim, DAC Chair, OECD, highlighted the role of political leadership, market forces and development assistance in the sustainable development of SIDS.

Helen Clark, Administrator, UNDP, explained that UNDP and the OECD are looking at how the financing needs of SIDS can be met and how access to finance can be improved. She noted the need to consider how eligibility criteria for concessional finance can be reformed since most SIDS have been classified as middle-income countries.

Henry Puna, Prime Minister, the Cook Islands, provided a finance perspective from his country, highlighting positive impacts due to strong fiscal management against a background of steady economic growth.

Side event: Promoting Local Knowledge in the SIDS

UNDP, the WIN World Network of Indigenous and Local Community Land and Sea Managers, and the Equator Initiative hosted a side event on the importance of local knowledge among indigenous peoples and local communities in SIDS. Opening keynotes were followed by presentations by community representatives from Papua New Guinea, Fiji and the Solomon Islands, who spoke of their experiences with sustainable development at the local level.

The World Network of Indigenous and Local Community Land and Sea Managers (WIN) representatives to the Third International Conference on SIDS, and event panelists.

Trisha Watson, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), said that the WIN partnership opportunity had given indigenous groups extraordinary potential. “Oceans will rise and storms will come, but our people will stand tall and strong,” she said.

Adolphina Luvongit, Papua New Guinea, gave a presentation on behalf of three indigenous organizations from her country on turtle and marine resource conservation, sustainable agriculture practices and community awareness programmes.

Eric Coppenger, Director of Global Development, Rare, taught the audience to understand the concept of “bright spots,” where solutions already exist in the local community, and new ones do not need to be created.

Scenes from around the venue

Funding for coverage of this conference has been provided by the
UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and the World Bank

Daily Web Coverage (Click on the Following Links to See our Daily Webpages)

Introduction - 28 August - 29 August - 30 August - 31 August
1 September - 2 September - 3 September - 4 September - Summary