Information note on
the International Year of Small Island Developing
States (SIDS)
Nairobi, 24 February 2014- Creating the
enabling conditions for a Green Economy
transition in Small Island Developing States
(SIDS)from improved public investment to
reliable market instruments and better governance
will help the estimated 50 million SIDS
residents build climate resilience, achieve
economic growth and enjoy better standards
of living.
The transition will
offer opportunities for SIDS to better manage
natural capital, protect the environment,
create green jobs and achieve sustainable
development, according to studies by the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
UN Under-Secretary-General
and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner
said, "For many Small Island Developing
States future development is dependent on
a very narrow resource base that is constantly
challenged by the high-risk impacts of climate
change and natural disasters. In our lifetime,
there may be small island developing nations
that will cease to exist as a result of
sea level rise."
"From economic
growth to climate change and food security,
the issues facing SIDS are multi-dimensional
and require integrated action to address
them. An inclusive Green Economy approach
offers opportunities for SIDS to better
manage natural capital, protect the environment,
create green jobs and achieve sustainable
development. For this end, it is vital that
the right enabling conditions are provided
to generate and stimulate both public and
private sector investments that incorporate
broader environmental and social criteria,"
he added.
ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE
VULNERABILITY
SIDS are known to be
especially vulnerable to climate change
due to their small size, narrow resource
base, high susceptibility to natural hazards,
low economic resilience, and limited human
and technological capacity.
In 2007, the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimated
that global warming will lead to a sea-level
rise of 180 to 590 mm by 2100, while more
recent research suggests that these estimates
are likely to be at least twice as large.
Nations such as Kiribati,
Maldives, Marshall Islands and Tuvalu will
become uninhabitable in this scenario, while
a large share of the population of many
other SIDS will be displaced or otherwise
adversely impacted.
These negative impacts
come even though the combined annual carbon
dioxide output of SIDS accounts for less
than one per cent of global emissions, meaning
they have not contributed significantly
to climate change. However, SIDS emissions
are on the rise: from 11000 to 2006, CO2
emissions of SIDS increased at an average
annual rate of 2.3 per cent.
Adverse impacts on drinking
water and agricultural production are expected
due to saline intrusion on coastal aquifers
and the destruction of coral reefs and fishery
habitats from temperature rises and increased
ocean acidification.
Other climate-change
impacts include the destruction of infrastructure
and development gains due to stronger tropical
cyclones, such as those in 2004 (Grenada,
Haiti and Niue), 2005 (the Cook Islands)
and 2008 (Cuba, Fiji and Haiti).
For instance, Hurricane
Ivan damaged 90 per cent of the housing
stock of the island of Grenada, with an
estimated impact of US $527 million or 38
per cent of the country's GDP, according
to the Organization of Eastern Caribbean
States (OECS).
Climate change adaptation
has been identified as a top priority for
SIDS. It also represents a major economic
cost; the capital cost of sea level rise
in the Caribbean Community Countries alone
is estimated at US $187 billion by 2080
under a business-as-usual scenario.
ADAPTATION
UNEP's climate change
adaptation programme works in SIDS across
the Caribbean, the Atlantic, the Indian
Ocean and the Pacific to support them in
reducing their vulnerability and building
resilience to the impacts of climate change.
UNEP is working with
SIDS to better understand the impacts and
vulnerabilities associated with climate
change, and to identify, select and implement
adaptation options, including Ecosystem-based
Adaptation (EbA) approaches (usingthe services
provided by ecosystems).
Through its National
Adaptation Plans Global Support Programme,
UNEP is also assisting SIDS in their long-term
adaptation planning. Furthermore, to facilitate
countries' access to adaptation finance,
UNEP is supporting several SIDS in the process
towards Adaptation Fund direct access accreditation.
Through Regional Networks
linked with the Global Adaptation Network
(GAN), UNEP is facilitating knowledge-sharing
and learning on adaptation. To provide a
platform for cross-regional exchanges between
SIDS, UNEP is exploring interest from the
countries and relevant organizations in
launching a GAN inter-regional thematic
network on SIDS at the Third SIDS Conference
in Samoa.
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY TRANSITION
ESSENTIAL
Many SIDS have little
or no access to modern and affordable energy
sources, and energy prices are among the
highest globally. In some cases electricity
cost is 500 per cent more than in the US,
primarily as a result of the dependence
on imported petroleum fuels.
Consequently, the energy
sector in the vast majority of SIDS is the
principal source of CO2 emissions and economic
vulnerability. Power generation consumes
in excess of 50 million barrels of petroleum
annually to provide 90 per cent of primary
energy.
Improving the SIDS power
sector requires fossil fuel dependence to
be halved by 2035 via a switch to renewable
energy sources (ocean, geothermal, solar,
wind and biofuels). Caribbean Community
Countries estimate the shift could cost
tens of billions of US dollars.
Transportation, meanwhile,
consumes in excess of 100 million barrels
of fuel annually. Reducing this by 25 percent
by 2035 will require new technologies, infrastructure
and financial support.
At the same time, individual
countries have embarked on projects to improve
energy efficiencies,:
In the Pacific, the
national energy policies of Fiji and Vanuatu
promote the production of biofuels through
planting on degraded lands;
In Fiji, Solomon Islands, Samoa and Vanuatu
hydropower is increasingly being used for
electricity production;
In Barbados and Antigua, the government
has provided subsidies to encourage the
use of solar water heaters;
Commercial biomass has become an important
source of renewable energy in many SIDS,
mostly as a spin-off from sugarcane production.
SMALL-SCALE FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE
Fisheries play a significant
role in the economy, livelihoods and food
security of SIDS, who hold jurisdiction
over coastal waters and open seas many times
larger than their land mass. Fisheries-generated
GDP in some SIDS is estimated at up to 12
per cent of the total.
Fish consumption in
the Pacific SIDS accounts for 50-90 per
cent of animal protein in the diet of coastal
communities, while national fish consumption
can be as much as 3-4 times higher than
the global average per capita.
Climate change is anticipated
to indirectly affect fisheries in SIDS,
as changing water temperature impacts negatively
on coral reefs and mangroves that function
as nurseries, habitats and foraging grounds
for fish. Associated shifts in migratory
patterns of fish species are expected to
affect availability.
Other threats to fisheries
include: pollution, habitat loss and alteration,
destructive harvesting methods, overexploitation,
invasive species and natural disasters.
Amid those challenges, the fisheries sector
is expected to meet the demands of a growing
population.
A "green economy"
fishery sector is one that is ecologically
sustainable, provides a higher level of
economic goods and services at lower environmental
costs and equitably distributes those benefits.
Transitioning to a green
economy will require introducing specific
measures for policy planning and institutional
reform, sustainable financing, investment
in technology and building public awareness.
GREENING THE TOURISM
SECTOR
For more than half of
the SIDS, tourism is their largest source
of foreign exchange and tourism receipts
represent more than 30 per cent of their
total exports. In comparison, the average
for the world is just over 5 per cent, according
to World Bank estimates.
Climate change presents
one of the most significant challenges to
the sector. Rising sea levels can cause
loss of land along coastlines of low-lying
islands, disrupting economies and livelihoods.
Climate change may cause
coral bleaching to become an annual occurrence
causing further losses in revenue. Dominica
has reported that 50 per cent of its corals
are bleached, and coral bleaching in Tobago
affected an average of 66 per cent of its
hard corals in 2005 alone.
The tourism industry
is a major consumer of both energy and water.
Given that most SIDS import their energy
supplies and face challenges with regard
to water availability and quality, investment
in greening tourism is vital to reducing
additional burdens placed on related sectors.
The tourism industry
should be one of the lead industries in
the promotion of green initiatives, being
both an industry dependent on natural resources
and a major contributor to employment and
economic growth.
Greening tourism requires
a shift across the entire industry to the
implementation of policies, practices and
programmes that embrace sustainability with
a focus on the conservation of natural resources,
transitioning towards renewable sources
of energy, reduction of water consumption
and generating income for local communities.
TOWARDS AN INCLUSIVE
GREEN ECONOMY
The overall goals of
a green economy are supportive of the sustainable
development concept, which has as its main
objectives development and poverty eradication
predicated on the sustainable use of environmental
resources.
It is vital that the
right enabling conditions are provided to
generate and stimulate both public and private
sector investments that incorporate broader
environmental and social criteria.
Several recommendations
have been presented for enabling the transition
to an inclusive green economy, including:
increasing public investment in Green Economy
activities, developing market-based instruments,
revising legislative and regulatory frameworks
and enhancing institutional capacity.
Economic valuation of
environmental capital and social equity
underpins the capacity of policy makers
to make balanced policy choices in pursuit
of sustainable development.
UNEP has also recently
launched a unique new Foresight Process
to identify and prioritize global emerging
environmental and sustainability issues
from the perspective of the SIDS.
The Foresight Process
will contribute to the Third International
Conference on SIDS in 2014.
UNEP is also working
with partners to produce a Guidance Manual
on Valuation and Accounting of Ecosystem
Services for Small Islands Developing States,
which aims to develop the capacity of governments
to integrate economic valuations of environmental
capital into sustainable development planning
and implementation.
NOTES TO EDITORS
The Third SIDS Conference,
to be held from 1 to 4 September 2014 in
Apia, Samoa, will seek to achieve the following
objectives: assess the progress to date
and the remaining gaps in the implementation;
seek a renewed political commitment by focusing
on practical and pragmatic actions for further
implementation; identify new and emerging
challenges and opportunities for the sustainable
development of SIDS and means of addressing
them; and identify priorities for the sustainable
development of SIDS to be considered in
the elaboration of the post-2015 UN development
agenda.
The Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992
marked the first time that the special characteristics
of SIDS were paid significant attention
and were recognized as a distinct group.
For a full list of SIDS and country profiles
visit: http://unohrlls.org/about-sids/country-profiles/
The Barbados Programme of Action for the
Sustainable Development of SIDS (BPOA) is
a 14-point programme that identifies priority
areas and specific actions necessary for
addressing the special challenges faced
by SIDS. The priority areas are: Climate
change and sea-level rise; natural and environmental
disasters; management of wastes; coastal
and marine resources; freshwater resources;
land resources; energy resources; tourism
resources; biodiversity resources; national
institutions and administrative capacity;
regional institutions and technical cooperation;
transport and communication; science and
technology; and human resources development.
