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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7 Sep

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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 Thursday, 4 September 2014

The “Samoa Partnerships Commitment” banner signed by participants of the Third International Conference on SIDS.

The Third International Conference on SIDS drew to a close today, after a final session of general debate in the morning that continued into the afternoon, followed by a closing plenary.

Moderators reported back from the six partnership dialogues that took place in previous days.

Delegates adopted the SAMOA Pathway outcome document, and adopted a draft resolution expressing thanks to the people and Government of Samoa. Wu Hongbo, Secretary-General of the Conference, highlighted a monitoring and accountability mechanism to review progress of implementation, and assured delegates of continued support from the UN family.

Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said the Samoa conference is not the final destination for SIDS development challenges, looking ahead to further international discussions on climate, disaster risk reduction and the post-2015 development agenda. He gaveled the meeting to a close at 4.43 pm.

Following the closing of plenary, the Third International Conference on SIDS was officially closed with a flag-lowering ceremony, accompanied by the Royal Samoa Police Band.

General Debate

Melchiade Bukuru, UN Convention To Combat Desertification

Tuiloma Neroni Slade, Pacific Islands Forum

Rawleston Moore, Global Environment Facility Secretariat

Gyan Chandra Acharya, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and SIDS

Braulio de Souza Dias, Executive Secretary, UN Convention on Biological Diversity

Franz Drees-Gross, Country Director for Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and the Pacific Islands, World Bank

David Sheppard, Secretariat of the Pacific Region Environment Programme, Director General

Partnerships Dialogue: Water and sanitation, food security and waste management

Panel (L-R): Karen Tan, Permanent Representative of Singapore to the UN in New York; Federico Ramos de Armas, Secretary of State for Environment, Spain; Rolph Payet, Minister of Environment and Energy, Seychelles; Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary General, Economic and Social Affairs and Secretary-General for the Third International Conference on SIDS; Chair Ronald Jean Jumeau, Ambassador for Climate Change and SIDS Issues, Seychelles; Secretariat; Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization; and Alemneh Dejene, UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Karen Tan, Permanent Representative of Singapore to the UN in New York

Federico Ramos de Armas, Secretary of State for Environment, Spain

Chair Ronald Jean Jumeau, Ambassador for Climate Change and SIDS Issues, Seychelles

Rolph Payet, Minister of Environment and Energy, Seychelles

Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization

Alemneh Dejene, FAO

Closing Plenary

Panel (L-R): Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary General, DESA and Conference Secretary-General; Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister, Samoa; Secretariat; and Milan Meetarbhan, Permanent Representative of Mauritius to the UN, as Rapporteur-General

Lucinda Longcroft, Head of the New York Office, World Intellectual Property Organization

Daniele Violetti, Chief of Staff, UNFCCC Secretariat

Side event: What’s in it for SIDS? Findings from the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report

This event highlighted findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) and what they mean for SIDS. In order to increase understanding of these implications, the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) produced a guide to the AR5 for SIDS, which was introduced at the event. The event brought together climate change experts, and senior officials and negotiators from various organizations and regions to discuss the recent findings and the causes and consequences of climate change for SIDS.

Panel (L-R): Ulric Trotz, Deputy Director, Caribbean Community Centre for Climate Change (CCCCC); Elizabeth Carabine, Overseas Development Institute (ODI); Faamoetauloa Lealaiauloto Taito Dr Faale Tumaalii, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Samoa; Moderator Kenrick Leslie, Director, CCCCC; Ngedikes Olai Uludong, Chief Negotiator, Alliance for Small Island States (AOSIS); and Evaipomana Tuuholoaki, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)

Faamoetauloa Lealaiauloto Taito Dr Faale Tumaalii, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Samoa, said the side event would address the root causes and consequences of climate change, and pointed to the impacts of slow-onset events, a new phenomena for SIDS.

Ulric Trotz, Deputy Director, CCCCC, called attention to the Caribbean Climate Online Risk and Adaptation Tool (CCORAL), said even achieving 350 ppm of CO2 in the atmosphere is generous and we should really be aiming for 260 ppm. He said delaying action on climate change is not an option, and stressed the need to define a vulnerability index more suitable for SIDS.

Evaipomana Tuuholoaki, IFRC, said her organization is: scaling up humanitarian response and preparedness; reducing risk through increased awareness and understanding and using early warning information; and contributing to increasing resilience at the community level. She emphasized that while science is the foundation, the information must be translated so that local communities can understand it.

Ngedikes Olai Uludong, Chief Negotiator, AOSIS, stressed the usefulness of the CDKN guide for SIDS negotiators, pointing to difficulties in understanding thousands of pages of scientific reports. She called for a special financing window for SIDS.

Elizabeth Carabine, ODI, mentioned two key risks for SIDS: loss of livelihoods, coastal settlements, infrastructure, ecosystem services and economic stability; and the interaction of rising sea levels in the 21st century with high water level events threatening low-lying coastal areas. She said adaptation costs are high for SIDS relative to the size of their economies; and that SIDS can benefit from integrated adaptation and mitigation approaches.

Kenrick Leslie, Director, CCCCC, moderated the event, expressing hope that participants would gain a better understanding of what the AR5’s findings mean for SIDS.

Closing Ceremony

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

Related Links

Conference resources

Conference Website	Draft Organization of Work	SAMOA Pathway document
Side Events	Multi-stakeholder Partnership Dialogues	Parallel Events
General Assembly Resolutions	Barbados Programme of Action	Mauritius Strategy of Implementation
International Year of SIDS Website	SIDSnet	Host Country Website

IISD RS resources

IISD RS report on SAMOA Pathway

IISD RS summary and analysis of the Inter-Regional Preparatory Meeting (IPM) for the Third International Conference on SIDS, 26-28 August 2013, Bridgetown, Barbados (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)

IISD RS summary and analysis of the Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, and South China Sea (AIMS) Regional Preparatory Meeting for the 2014 Third International Conference on SIDS, 17-19 July 2013, Baie Lazare, Seychelles (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)

IISD RS summary and analysis of the Pacific Regional Preparatory Meeting for the 2014 Third International Conference on SIDS, 10-12 July 2013, Nadi, Fiji (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)

IISD RS summary and analysis of the Caribbean Regional Preparatory Meeting for the 2014 Third International Conference on SIDS, 2-4 July 2013, Kingston, Jamaica (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)

IISD RS coverage of the High-level Review Meeting on the Implementation of the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (MSI+5), 24-25 September 2010, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America

IISD RS coverage of the International Meeting to Review the Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of SIDS, 10-14 January 2005, Port Louis, Mauritius

IISD RS coverage of the SIDS Preparatory Meeting for the 10-Year Review of the Barbados Programme of Action, 14-16 April 2004, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America

IISD RS coverage of the Inter-regional Preparatory Meeting for the 10-year Review of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of SIDS, 26-30 January 2004, Nassau, Bahamas

IISD RS coverage of the Twenty-second Special Session of the General Assembly for the Review and Appraisal of the Barbados Programme of Action (BPOA+5), 27-28 September 1999, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America

IISD RS summary report of the Barbados Conference on the Sustainable Development of SIDS, 25 April - 6 May 1994, Bridgetown, Barbados (HTML - PDF)

SIDS-L - A mailing list for news on SIDS policy

SIDS Policy & Practice - A Knowledgebase of UN and Intergovernmental Activities Addressing SIDS

Linkages Update - Bi-weekly international environment and sustainable development news


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