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A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SMALL ISLANDS STATES CONFERENCE

The first meeting of the Preparatory Committee for the GlobalConference on the Sustainable Development of Small IslandDeveloping States begins today at UN Headquarters in New York. Thetwo-week session will focus on preparations for the Conference andconsideration of plans and programmes to support the sustainabledevelopment of small island developing States and the utilizationof their marine and coastal resources.

The Conference, which is scheduled for 4-15 April 1994 in Barbados,has its roots in the preparatory process of the UN Conference onEnvironment and Development (UNCED). Participants at the thirdmeeting of the UNCED Preparatory Committee expressed considerableinterest in the problems facing small island developing States andrequested the Secretary-General to add a programme area on islandsto the oceans chapter (17) of Agenda 21.

When Programme Area G, "Sustainable Development of Small Islands"was first presented at PrepCom IV in New York in March 1992, it wasaccepted by the delegates with comparatively little debate. Theobjective of the programme area is to adopt and implementsustainable development plans for islands, including theutilization of marine and coastal resources, the maintenance ofbiodiversity and the improvement in the quality of life for islandpeoples. Paragraph 17.131 of the final text of Agenda 21 statedthat: "Small island developing States, with the support, asappropriate, of international organizations, whether subregional,regional or global, should develop and strengthen inter-island,regional and interregional cooperation and information exchange,including periodic regional and global meetings on sustainabledevelopment of small island developing States with the first globalconference on the sustainable development of small islanddeveloping States to be held in 1993."

THE 47TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The UN General Assembly resolution establishing the GlobalConference on the Sustainable Development of Small IslandDeveloping States was one of the five major resolutions on UNCEDfollow-up to be negotiated during the 47th General Assembly in1992. The final resolution states that the Conference will:

• Review current trends in the socio-economic development of small island developing States;

• Examine the nature and magnitude of the specific vulnerabilities of small island developing States;

• Define a number of specific actions and policies relating to environmental and development planning to be undertaken by these States, with help from the international community;

• Identify elements that these States need to include in medium- and long-term sustainable development plans;

• Recommend measures for enhancing the endogenous capacity of these States; and

• Review whether institutional arrangements at the international level enable these States to give effect to the relevant provisions of Agenda 21.

ORGANIZATIONAL SESSION

The Preparatory Committee for the Conference held itsorganizational session in New York on 15-16 April 1993. PenelopeWensley, Australia's Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva,was elected Chair of the PrepCom. The four Vice-Chairs are: TakaoShibata (Japan), Marian Dinu (Romania), John Ashe (Antigua andBarbuda) and Jos‚ Luis Jesus (Cape Verde). Barbados, as hostcountry, is an ex officio member of the Bureau.

The PrepCom had before it three documents for consideration: thedraft provisional agenda (A/CONF.167/PC/1); a report of theSecretary-General on the preparations for the Conference(A/CONF.167/PC/2); and the draft provisional rules of procedure(A/CONF.167/PC/3).

The discussion on the draft guidelines for the work of the PrepComwas the most contentious. Issues that generated debate included theresponsibilities of the international community in providing smallisland developing States access to financial resources; and theinternational community's responsibility to small island developingStates regarding "access to environmentally sound andenergy-efficient technology, including delivery mechanisms." Theguidelines eventually adopted suggest that the PrepCom'sconsideration of the role of small island developing States shouldinclude actions at the micro level aimed at environment anddevelopment planning, measures for enhancing local skills andexpertise, and medium- and long-term planning for sustainabledevelopment. The guidelines also emphasize the importance ofregional technical cooperation on environmental problems and thenecessity for regional organizations and commissions to participatein this process.

REGIONAL TECHNICAL MEETING FOR THE INDIAN AND PACIFIC OCEANS

As part of the preparatory process, two regional technical meetingswere held. The first meeting for the Indian and Pacific Oceans wascoordinated by the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme(SPREP) and was held from 31 May - 4 June 1993 in Vanuatu. Thereport of this meeting is contained in document A/CONF.167/PC/7.

The meeting recommended that the PrepCom consider the following 15priority areas as the basis for developing an action programme forsmall island developing States. These priority areas include:climate change and sea level rise; natural and environmentaldisaster preparedness; environmentally sound management of wastesand toxic substances; coastal and marine resources; freshwaterresources; land resources; management of energy resources;management of tourism development; conservation of biologicaldiversity; national institutions and administrative capacity;regional institutions and technical cooperation; transport andcommunication; management of science and technology; humanresources (population, education, urban development and health);and environmental legislation.

The meeting also decided to endorse and recommend to the PrepComguidelines for implementation, monitoring and review of the actionprogramme for small island developing States. The recommendationsinclude action to be taken at the national, regional, subregionaland international levels. Some of the recommended actions at thenational level include: prioritization of national strategies;nationwide reviews of national development and environmental plans;integration of environmental management into development planning;development of appropriate legislative measures; and improvingunderstanding at the political and public levels.

At the regional and subregional levels, the meeting recommendedthat the appropriate organizations assist small island developingStates to: build capacity to implement principles of sustainabledevelopment; participate in international negotiations onsustainable development issues; meet their commitments relating tointernational and regional instruments on sustainable development;facilitate the involvement of NGOs; and develop and applyenvironmental law. At the international level, the recommendationsinclude: the provision of improved access to financial resources;support for agencies and programmes; encouraging private capitalflows; encouraging cooperation and coordination between regionaland subregional organizations; facilitating access to sound,efficient and appropriate technology; and ensuring education andthe dissemination of information.

REGIONAL TECHNICAL MEETING FOR THE ATLANTIC/CARIBBEAN/MEDITERRANEAN REGION

The second regional technical meeting for theAtlantic/Caribbean/Mediterranean region was held in Trinidad andTobago from 28 June - 2 July. The meeting was coordinated by theCaribbean Community (Caricom) with the assistance of the EconomicCommission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). The reportof this meeting is contained in document A/CONF/167/PC/8.

The meeting noted the constraints on small island developing Statesin pursuing sustainable development and the subsequent options.These options were developed as a series of programmatic actions onpriority areas at the national, regional and international levels,as well as some cross sectoral actions. The priority areas wereidentified as the management of environmental problems of smallisland developing States, the integrated management of naturalresources, and capacity building.

Programmatic areas noted within these areas included natural andanthropogenic environmental disaster preparedness; climate change,sea level rise and climate variability; pollution and wastemanagement; coastal zone management and marine resources; energyresources; tourism; fresh water resources; land resources and humansettlements; biological resources; national institutions; regionalinstitutions; regional transport and communications systems;science and technology including indigenous knowledge; humanresource development including education, training, health andpollution; finance including insurance; and information management.

As a general recommendation, the meeting encouraged theparticipation of NGOs and other major groups in policy formationand called for further work on developing a vulnerability indexthat would better reflect the particular situation of small islanddeveloping States. The meeting noted that the Global Conference,with the involvement of national, regional and internationalcommunities could provide a unique opportunity to developsupportive and integrated approaches to programme development.

PROPOSED PROGRAMME OF WORK

The proposed programme of work for the PrepCom meeting is containedin document A/CONF.167/PC/5/ Corr.1. The PrepCom will focus onpreparations for the first Global Conference on the SustainableDevelopment of Small Island Developing States (Item 2) andconsideration of plans and programmes to support the sustainabledevelopment of small island developing States and the utilizationof their marine and coastal resources (Item 3).

Discussion of Agenda Item 2 will include the following items:activities of the UN system and intergovernmental and other bodiesof relevance to the preparatory process; reports from regionaltechnical meetings; preparations by the host Government (Barbados);participation of NGOs; and operation of the voluntary fund.Discussion of Agenda Item 3 will include: meeting essential humanneeds; maintaining biological diversity; and improving the qualityof life for island people; as well as measures that will enablesmall island developing States to cope effectively, creatively andin a sustainable manner with environmental changes and to mitigatethe impacts on and reduce the threats posed to marine and coastalresources. The general discussion of Agenda Items 2 and 3 isscheduled to last throughout the first week of the meeting.Informal consultations are currently scheduled for the second weekof the meeting. Agenda Item 4 -- Provisional agenda for theConference -- is scheduled to be introduced on Wednesday, 8September.

The documentation for the PrepCom includes:

• A/CONF.167/PC/4: Draft report of the Preparatory Committee for the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States on its organizational session

• A/CONF.167/PC/5 and Corr.1: Provisional agenda

• A/CONF.167/PC/6: Overview of system-wide activities relevant to General Assembly Resolution 47/189

• A/CONF.167/PC/7: Report of the regional technical meeting for the Indian and Pacific Oceans, Port Vila (Vanuatu), 31 May - 4 June 1993

• A/CONF.167/PC/8: Report of the regional technical meeting for the Atlantic/Caribbean/Mediterranean Region, Trinidad and Tobago 28 June - 2 July 1993.

• A/CONF.167/PC/9: Activities of the Conference Secretariat and other matters

• A/CONF.167/PC/10: Plans and programmes to support sustainable development of small island developing States

• A/CONF.167/PC/11: Provisional agenda for the Conference

THINGS TO LOOK FOR TODAY

PLENARY: The PrepCom for the Global Conference on theSustainable Development of Small Island Developing States will opentoday at 10:30 am in the Trusteeship Council Chamber. The meetingwill begin with statements by Under-Secretary-General for PolicyCoordination and Sustainable Development Nitin Desai and PrepComChair Amb. Penelope Wensley. The Committee is expected to adopt theagenda for the meeting (A/CONF.167/PC/5 and Corr.1) and begin thegeneral debate on Agenda Items 2 and 3. The first speakers areexpected to be the Group of 77, AOSIS and the European Community.

The adoption of the agenda may provoke some discussion. The generaldebate on Agenda Items 2 and 3 is scheduled to last four days.However, given the fact that this session includes only nineworking days (Monday, 6 September being a US holiday), somedelegates may wish to cut the general debate down to two days. Thusfar there are no evening, weekend or holiday meetings scheduled.Considering the announcement last week by UN Secretary-GeneralBoutros Boutros-Ghali regarding a wide range of cost-cuttingmeasures that will be instituted during the forthcoming session ofthe General Assembly, it seems unlikely that additional meetingswill be scheduled.