SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES NEED STRONGER PARTNERSHIP, EVEN MORE HELP, SECRETARY-GENERAL TELLS SPECIAL ASSEMBLY SESSION
Press Release
SG/SM/7149
ENV/DEV/521
SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES NEED STRONGER PARTNERSHIP, EVEN MORE HELP, SECRETARY-GENERAL TELLS SPECIAL ASSEMBLY SESSION
19990927Following is the text of the address today of the Secretary-General to the special session of the General Assembly on the sustainable development of small island developing States:
Five years ago in Barbados, it was said of small islands that there was "trouble in paradise". Trouble there was and is. And certainly many of these islands are among the world's most beautiful places. But a much more accurate description of the situation was the conference slogan, "small islands, big issues".
The world's small island developing States are front-line zones where, in concentrated form, many of the main problems of environment and development are unfolding. As such, they are among the big tests for the commitments made at the Earth Summit in 1992.
Small island developing States are fragile and vulnerable, both ecologically and economically.
First are the built-in constraints. Most small islands have only limited resources, whether land, human and financial. Many lie in the path of hurricanes and cyclones.
Second are the environmental problems: climate change, freshwater shortages, inadequate waste management, over-fishing, marine pollution and the threat of accidents involving transports of hazardous wastes.
A third set of challenges are those linked to globalization. Tourism is both a blessing and a bane, bringing jobs but putting strains on water supplies and ecosystems. Trade brings much-needed goods, but liberalization and an end to special trade preferences will make it harder for some of the products of small islands to compete.
The Barbados Programme of Action was a response to these challenges. It was predicated on an understanding: small islands would do as much as they could to manage their problems. The international community, as fellow inhabitants of the world island, would provide funding, technology and other
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assistance in a spirit not only of solidarity, but of enlightened self-interest. How have both sides delivered on this bargain?
Small islands are making genuine progress. Many have formulated national plans of action, created appropriate institutions, enacted legislative reforms and revised their regulatory frameworks.
Most are parties to the Law of the Sea Convention and to legally binding conventions on climate change and biodiversity. The Alliance of Small Island States has become an important voice, a way for small islands to magnify their political clout.
The international community has supported these moves.
The Global Environment Facility has provided millions of dollars in grant money. The United Nations Environment Programme, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and other entities have provided technical assistance and policy advice.
The United Nations Development Programme has supported SIDSNET, the Internet network for small islands. The private sector has lent its expertise. Non-governmental organizations, as usual, are deeply involved at the grass roots.
And yet, island nations hope for even stronger partnerships and even more help. They need the international community to do more -- more in terms of investment, more in terms of official development assistance, more in terms of low-cost technologies.
What we do with respect to small islands has implications far beyond their troubled shores. By working with small islands on their problems, we can find solutions for ours. Brighter horizons for small islands can mean brighter horizons for the world, in general.
I urge the international community to reaffirm its commitment to the world's small island developing nations. Let us find our way to a sustainable world, and to the brighter horizons that we would all wish to bequeath as our legacy to our children. Thank you very much.
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