TWO-DAY GENERAL ASSEMBLY SPECIAL SESSION TO REVIEW PROGRESS OF BARBADOS ACTION PROGRAMME BEGINS 27 SEPTEMBER AT HEADQUARTERS
Press Release
GA/9604
ENV/DEV/518
TWO-DAY GENERAL ASSEMBLY SPECIAL SESSION TO REVIEW PROGRESS OF BARBADOS ACTION PROGRAMME BEGINS 27 SEPTEMBER AT HEADQUARTERS
19990923 Background ReleaseThe General Assembly will hold its twenty-second special session at Headquarters from 27 to 28 September to review and appraise implementation of the Programme of Action adopted by over 100 countries at the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, held in Barbados in 1994.
The Programme of Action aimed to strike a balance for sustainable development, which promoted needed economic growth and improved social well-being while preserving the environment. The Barbados Conference was called for during the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.
Five years later, delegates from around the world will examine progress since Barbados and discuss how the international community can boost action in support of island nations. Some 40 small island nations will use the two-day session to seek international support on trade and environmental problems, as the United Nations focuses on island issues. While island nations often conjure up images of a paradise, their coasts, coral reefs and forests have been under increasing stress from pollution, development, climate change and natural disasters -- problems often beyond their means or control to solve.
Despite funding shortages, most small island nations have moved forward on environmental protection as a result of the Barbados Conference. Many have devised national green plans and set up sustainable development councils or agencies. Dozens of projects have been carried out nationally and regionally, but much more was needed.
Of the 14 problem areas identified in the small islands action plan, six have been prioritized as needing urgent attention over the next five years: adapting to climate change and rising sea levels, which could submerge some low-lying island nations; improving preparedness for and recovery from natural and environmental disasters; preventing worsening shortages of freshwater as demand grew; protecting coastal ecosystems and coral reefs from pollution and overfishing; developing solar and renewable energy to lessen dependence on expensive imported oil; and managing tourism growth to protect the environment and cultural integrity.
- 2 - Press Release GA/9604 ENV/DEV/518 23 September 1999
The special session will hold six plenary meetings over two days, along with parallel meetings of an Ad Hoc Committee of the Whole. The session is expected to culminate with the adoption of a political declaration and a text on the state of initiatives for the future implementation of the Programme of Action.
Negotiations on the draft documents were conducted by the Commission on Sustainable Development, acting as the preparatory committee for the special session. The preparatory committee met in New York on 23 and 30 April, and again in a resumed session on 9 and 10 September.
While the draft texts of the political declaration and that of the state of initiatives have been transmitted to the special session, for further consideration, some unresolved issues still remained in the draft text on the state of progress for the future implementation of the Programme of Action. One contentious environmental issue had been the right of small island nations to restrict or ban the transport of hazardous and radioactive waste through their seas -- which was recognized in the Barbados action plan. Small islands want to reaffirm that right, but other proposals still under negotiation emphasize rights of free passage and navigation.
In addition to the six priority areas needing urgent attention, the text on future implementation also addresses sustainable development strategies, capacity-building, resource mobilization and finance, globalization and trade liberalization, transfer of environmentally sound technology, vulnerability index, and global management: small island developing states network, and international cooperation and partnership.
The special session will begin by electing its President, taking up the report of the Commission on Sustainable Development acting as the preparatory body for the special session, and adopting its agenda. It will then begin its overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action, hearing from high-level government representatives.
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