Economic and Social Council

 Distr. GENERAL
29 February 1996
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH

COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Fourth session
18 April-3 May 1996

                PROGRESS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAMME OF
                ACTION FOR THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SMALL
                             ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES

       Sustainable development of coastal areas, tourism, energy resources,
       air transport, maritime transport, telecommunications, and management
       of natural and environmental disasters in small island developing
                                      States

                          Report of the Secretary-General

                                     CONTENTS

                                                              Paragraphs  Page

INTRODUCTION ...............................................    1 - 4       2

  I.  COASTAL AREA MANAGEMENT ..............................    5 - 9       3

 II.  SUSTAINABLE TOURISM ..................................   10 - 23      3

III.  ENERGY RESOURCES .....................................   24 - 29      6

 IV.  NATURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTERS ..................   30 - 38      7

  V.  TELECOMMUNICATIONS ...................................   39 - 46     10

 VI.  AIR TRANSPORT ........................................   47 - 61     11

VII.  MARITIME TRANSPORT ...................................   62 - 79     14


                                   INTRODUCTION

1.   The General Assembly, in its resolution 49/122 of 19 December 1994,
requested the Commission on Sustainable Development to carry out, in 1996, an
initial review of the progress achieved and steps taken to implement the
Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing
States. 1/  To meet that request, the Inter-Agency Committee on Sustainable
Development, at its meeting in July 1995, decided, inter alia, that a separate
report should be prepared on each of the following issues identified in the
Programme of Action:  coastal area management, tourism resources, air
transport, maritime transport, telecommunications, energy resources, and
natural and environmental disasters.  These reports are to be found in the
seven addenda to the present report, as follows:

     (a)  Management of natural and environmental disasters in small island
developing States (E/CN.17/1996/20/Add.1);

     (b)  Sustainable development of energy resources in small island
developing States (E/CN.17/1996/20/Add.2);

     (c)  Sustainable tourism development in small island developing States
(E/CN.17/1996/20/Add.3);

     (d)  Maritime transport in small island developing States
(E/CN.17/1996/20/Add.4);

     (e)  Sustainable development of air transport in small island developing
States (E/CN.17/1996/20/Add.5);

     (f)  Development of communications in small island developing States
(E/CN.17/1996/20/Add.6);

     (g)  Coastal area management in small island developing States
(E/CN.17/1996/20/Add.7).

2.   The present report pulls together the seven themes and presents the major
additional findings that serve to deepen understanding of the issues in each
sector as task managers in the various United Nations bodies have reflected on
the basis for action agreed upon in the Programme of Action.

3.   The report does not reiterate the actions and policies to which
Governments committed themselves in adopting the Programme of Action.

4.   Based on the analysis provided by the task managers in each area, the
present report instead contains a menu of recommendations which, if
implemented along with those contained in the Programme of Action, would
enhance sustainable development in the respective areas.  In some cases, the
recommended measures can be considered as complementary.  In other cases, they
add greater specificity to the measures agreed in the Programme of Action.

                          I.  COASTAL AREA MANAGEMENT 2/

                           A.  Major additional findings

5.   In addition to the basis for action described in chapter IV of the
Programme of Action, it may be noted that problems of coastal area management
in small island developing States (SIDS) stem from inappropriate development
policies and practices, the absence of integrated approaches to the management
and conservation of resources, inadequate institutional and infrastructural
capacity, limited human resource capacity, and a lack of public awareness of
and involvement in the issues of coastal area management.

6.   Given the importance of coastal resources, the authorities in many small
island States have begun putting in place  some measures for safeguarding
those resources.  So far, the focus of action has been mainly on particular
subsectors whose problems are the most severe.  Effective management will call
for the following priority policies and measures.  

                          B.  Recommendations for action

At the national level

7.   Policy development:  Adoption of appropriate policies and economic
instruments for the internalization of the environmental costs of coastal
resource use and for their rational management with a view to changing
patterns of use and exploitation.

At the regional level

8.   Marine pollution standards:  Establishment at the regional level of
appropriate criteria for sewage, effluents and coastal water standards in
order to deal effectively with coastal and nearshore water pollution.

At the international level

9.   For effective coastal area management, SIDS will need the cooperation of
the international community in the following area:

     International coordination:  Coordination of the activities of
international organizations in SIDS, with a view to enhancing their
effectiveness in realizing the goals of integrated coastal area management
(ICAM).

                             II.  SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

                           A.  Major additional findings

10.  Looking to the future, there are indications that the development of
tourism in SIDS will be subject to two current global trends.  First, global
travel and tourism output is expected to grow more rapidly in coming years,
outpacing the growth of world economic output.  This trend is expected to
reinforce current trends in SIDS.  Secondly, tourism development in SIDS will
be shaped by the growing interest in, and demand for, specialty tourism,
particularly nature tourism propelled by growing environmental awareness.

11.  From the point of view of the future course of action, the following
findings on the economic, social and environmental aspects of tourism in SIDS
are worthy of note:

     (a)  Economic aspects:  (i) Generally, the leakages through imports out
of direct tourist expenditures to meet the needs of the tourism sector itself
are extremely high in SIDS; (ii) the daily expenditures per visitor vary from
country to country but are generally low; (iii) excessive reliance on tourism
carries many risks, including excessive exposure to international economic
shocks, and weakening of intersectoral linkages which, inter alia, reduces the
potential benefits from tourism;

     (b)  Social aspects:  Rapid development of tourism, particularly mass
tourism, can have significant adverse social impacts on small islands.  The
following are of particular significance:  (i) persistent inflationary
pressures pose the danger of significantly lowering the standard of living of
high proportions of island populations; (ii) the social carrying capacity of
small islands quickly reaches its limits of tolerance as the ratio of visitors
to the local population rises; (iii) prolonged growth of mass tourism is
accompanied by increased incidence of crime, and spread of drugs and diseases,
including the human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
(HIV/AIDS), both of which can devastate the small populations of small
islands; 

     (c)  Environmental aspects:  Intensive tourism development and tourism
activities, particularly if not properly planned and managed, can very quickly
cause environmental damages in SIDS.  The most notable impacts are observable
in (i) land degradation and loss of terrestrial and marine biodiversity; (ii)
increased levels of pollution from dumping of solid and liquid wastes
generated by tourism activities on land and in the sea; (iii) coastal zone
degradation through intensive sand mining, removal of mangrove forests and
destruction of coral reefs, soil erosion and destruction of landscape owing to
tourism facilities and associated infrastructures; (iv) excessive groundwater
pumping and consequent lowering of water tables to meet the demand of the
water-intensive tourism industry for freshwater.


                          B.  Recommendations for action

At the national level

(a)  Policies and measures for enhancing economic benefits

12.  Policy:  Enhance the economic benefits from tourism by:  (i) diversifying
the tourism product, enhancing its quality and increasingly targeting the
upper segment of the tourist market; (ii) strengthening linkages of other
economic sectors with tourism so that domestic production can viably provide
for the consumer needs of tourists to the maximum extent possible; (iii)
increasing the participation of nationals in the tourism sector by encouraging
domestic investments and, as necessary, joint ventures with foreign investors
so as to minimize the proportion of profits generated by the tourism sector
that are repatriated by foreign investors; (iv) encouraging the maximum use of
local materials in resort construction so as to reduce the imports of
construction materials; (v) increasing investments in the training of local
people for the tourist industry in order to reduce dependence on foreign
entities, particularly in the area of overseas promotion and marketing, ground
handling and domestic operation of tourism services; and (vi) minimizing
financial incentives granted to foreign investors, by reducing national risks.

13.  Information:  Invest adequately in the collection of data on all relevant
indicators of benefits and costs necessary for costs-benefits analysis in
order to be able to carry out systematic evaluations of the contribution of
the tourism sector to the domestic economy in relation to other sectors and in
relation to social and environmental costs.

(b)  Measures for coping with the adverse social and cultural impacts of
tourism

14.  Policy:  Make efforts to keep the ratio of the visitor population to the
local population at an acceptable level through appropriate diversification of
the tourism product and the tourist market, particularly if mass tourism has
been promoted for a long time in the past.

15.  Public education:  Develop and put in place effective educational
programmes to raise the awareness of the local population about the good and
bad aspects of tourism.  Such programmes need to emphasize tourism as cultural
exchange, counter undesirable demonstration effects of tourists' lifestyles on
the local culture and consumer habits and emphasize the pernicious
consequences of the spread of drugs and diseases, particularly HIV/AIDS.

16.  Security:  Strengthen security measures country-wide against crime and
drugs, particularly in areas most frequented by tourists.

(c)  Measures for coping with environmental impacts

17.  Project appraisal:  Develop a multidisciplinary approach for rigorous
vetting of tourism development proposals, taking into account prospective
cumulative impacts of tourism development, and establish environmental
standards for approval of projects.

18.  Economic instruments: (i) Review and revise, as appropriate, existing
taxes and subsidies to ensure that they are in fact conducive to sustainable
development, and develop additional economic instruments to better internalize
environmental costs, for example, fiscal incentives or grants or loans for
creating or improving the necessary environmental infrastructure, such as
sanitation plants, existing facilities and deposit-refund systems for
containers of beverages and other canned goods to discourage littering; (ii)
develop and impose appropriate user fees for the use of national terrestrial
and marine parks and reserves, and earmark the accrued receipts for purposes
of improvement and management of sensitive areas; (iii) require the tourism
industry, through appropriate user charges, to meet the full cost of
freshwater it uses, and to contribute adequately to solid waste management and
cleaning of beaches.

19.  Sustainable marketing:  Define and implement a sustainable marketing
strategy in cooperation with all partners involved in the tourism industry.

At the regional level

20.  Sustainable marketing:  Define and implement a sustainable marketing
strategy at the regional level.

21.  Financial incentives to foreign investors:  Adopt uniform incentives at
the regional level to reduce competition among SIDS to attract foreign
capital. 

At the international level

22.  Financial and technical assistance:  (a) Provide international assistance
for the development of basic physical infrastructures such as airports and
harbours, roads, telecommunications systems and freshwater systems to SIDS,
especially the least developed among them; (b) provide assistance to regional
tourism organizations in order to increase their effectiveness.

23.  Code of conduct:  Formulate, ratify and enforce a universal or at least a
regional code of conduct for the tourism sector at the intergovernmental
level.

                              III.  ENERGY RESOURCES

                           A.  Major additional findings

Energy demand

24.  Imported petroleum products, the major source of energy, are used for
transportation and electricity generation.  On average, more than a third of
the petroleum is converted to electricity.  Electricity generation is costly
because most systems are on a small-to-very-small scale.  In a number of SIDS,
the share of petroleum imports in total imports is comparable to that of other
developing countries.  In a number of others, however, it is much higher,
exceeding the value of total merchandise exports.

25.  Solar energy is used for water heating in urban houses as well as
commercial establishments, for drying of crops and for water purification and
distillation on a limited scale.  For instance, in recent years, the use of
solar energy has increased in the Pacific islands.  Following a number of
demonstration projects in the early 1980s, solar water heating has increased
in the Pacific islands, particularly in upper-income homes, hotels and
commercial establishments.  Solar photovoltaic systems have also been used as
an alternative to diesel generation for the electrification of remote areas.

Energy resources

26.  Of renewable sources of energy, other than hydropower, biomass accounts
for the major share in small island countries.  Fuelwood is most commonly used
for cooking, especially  in rural households.  Practically, all fuelwood for
cooking is obtained at no financial cost from natural forests.  Very few
island countries have forest areas covering a substantial part of their land
area and few of them have any sizeable commercial production of fuelwood. 
Increased demand for fuelwood has led to much deforestation in many SIDS.  In
addition to wood, residues from agricultural commodities constitute a
significant source of energy. 

27.  Prospects have been improving for electricity generation by wind
turbines, but much depends on the availability of suitable sites.  Several
SIDS have favourable sites for wind energy; they are, however, prone to severe
storm conditions.  Most islands have abundant solar and ocean resources; some
also have significant hydropower potential.  A number of them also have
geothermal resources.  However, in spite of some efforts to develop indigenous
energy resources, the overall contribution of renewable energy sources to the
energy balance of most SIDS has remained small.

28.  The development of indigenous new and renewable sources of energy should
focus on the few options that hold out the promise of technical, economic and
financial viability.  The renewable energy technologies and resources that
appear to be more promising in the near term are solar photovoltaic-based
utilities, particularly for remote islands; large-scale and mini-hydropower
plants, where adequate sites and institutional support are available; wind
turbine generators, depending on favourable wind regimes; and the enhanced use
of biomass fuel, where good sustainable biomass cover exists.  In the long
term, ocean thermal and seawave power may prove to be substantial energy
sources, although so far attempts at their commercial development have not met
with success.

                          B.  Recommendations for action

29.  Finance:  To implement projects that would ensure a sustainable fuelwood
industry, seek assistance from the international community, including from the
Global Environment Facility (GEF), for commercial energy development based on
those renewable sources with demonstrated viability, and to assist with the
financing of investments necessary to expand energy supplies beyond urban
areas. 
                     IV.  NATURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTERS

                           A.  Major additional findings

30.  A critical factor in the vulnerability of SIDS is their limited capacity
to reactivate the development process, in particular in the least developed
small island States.  The fragility of their ecosystems and their limited
human resources often preclude any possibility of developing and implementing
meaningful disaster-mitigation programmes and the substantive vulnerability
studies called for in this respect.  In many of them, forecasting and warning
dissemination systems are inadequate, affordable insurance against disasters
is unavailable and disaster emergency funds are lacking.

31.  Equally, environmental hazards can have serious impacts on small island
States.  The pollution of marine living resources, both from land-based
sources and transit shipping, is an area of particular concern.  

32.  Progress has been made to varying degrees in addressing disaster problems
in most small island developing States.  In the small island States in the
Caribbean and the South Pacific subregions, progress relates primarily to the
strengthening and building of institutional disaster-management capacities at
the national and local levels, as well as to the promotion of respective
regional and subregional levels.  The small island States outside those
subregions have been generally less successful in realizing concrete progress
in disaster reduction.  This may be attributable in part to the lack of
comparative mechanisms of cooperation between those small island States, even
though they face similar problems and opportunities for disaster reduction.

33.  Natural disaster reduction contributes, as a cross-cutting issue, to
poverty alleviation through sound environmental management, the protection of
natural resources and the achievement of sustainable development.  The
implementation of Agenda 21, the pursuit of concrete progress with regard to
the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island
Developing States, and the efforts to attain the goals and objectives of the
International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (1990-2000) must go hand
in hand.

34.  The priority areas need to be addressed through coherent national
programmes that aim to achieve the targets of the International Decade for
Natural Disaster Reduction by the year 2000, while at the same time
implementing chapter 2 of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable
Development of Small Island Developing States.  Not all small island States
have yet been able to establish these programmes.  This, together with the
generation of the necessary policy support for disaster-reduction activities,
is a particular priority need.  In addition, consolidation and further
strengthening of regional cooperation mechanisms in the Pacific and the
Caribbean are required. 

                          B.  Recommendations for action

At the national level

35.  Priority areas:  (a) Improve the use of traditional systems for disaster
reduction and preparedness; and (b) develop appropriate national insurance
programmes.

At the regional level

36.  Institution building:  (a) Formalize and strengthen cooperation
arrangements at the regional level through the designation of a regional
policy body for disaster reduction; operationalize working arrangements for
disaster mitigation, preparedness and response; and consolidate existing
disaster- reduction programmes; (b) consider the establishment of an
interregional mechanism for training in disaster reduction, in particular by
facilitating liaison between existing institutes and programmes.

At the international level

37.  Institution building:  (a) Provide support for the establishment of a
mechanism for interregional cooperation and exchange of small island States in
disaster reduction, in particular in training, institutional development and
disaster-mitigation programming; and (b) establish an international programme
on disaster reduction in small island States to facilitate the implementation
of disaster-reduction programmes and to provide a framework for cooperation
and exchange in support of disaster reduction in small island States.

38.  Research:  Provide support for the targeted research and further
development of knowledge in the following thematic areas for building risk-
reduction capacities in small island States:

     (a)  Insurance as a preventive and mitigating tool for disaster
reduction;

     (b)  Telecommunications and information management as a tool for disaster
reduction;

     (c)  Limits and opportunities for the establishment of national disaster
emergency funds and emergency administrative procedures;

     (d)  Evaluation of constraints in small island developing States' access
to reliable data, disaster-specific knowledge and technology;

     (e)  Review of the linkages between disasters, development and
environment, including the development of methods for systematic appraisal of
developments in relation to disaster risks;

     (f)  Analysis of the linkages between global climate change and the
characteristics and occurrence of natural hazards in small island States.

                              V.  TELECOMMUNICATIONS

                           A.  Major additional findings

39.  SIDS as a group have relatively well-developed internal networks.  At the
country and regional levels, however, there are marked differences.  Internal
networks are least developed in the least developed and the archipelagic SIDS.
The extent of integration into international networks also varies between
regions and countries.  There remains plenty of room for further growth and
improvement of telecommunications in all SIDS.  Even where it is most
developed, for example, Singapore and Malta, no saturation of traditional and
new services is on the horizon. 

40.  Aside from resource constraints for expansion and modernization, SIDS
face a number of problems in the area of telecommunications:  (a) poor
maintenance of equipment owing to poor planning and unorthodox installation
practices; (b) frequent damage done to telecommunications infrastructure by
hurricanes; (c) increasing cost of human resources development owing to rapid
change in technology and techniques which call for higher calibre trained
personnel; (d) poor management owing to monopolistic structures and inadequate
human resources; (e) high tariffs for telecommunication services owing to
monopolistic structures; (f) high per capita cost of infrastructure,
especially in the archipelagic SIDS, with few benefits from economies of
scale.

                          B.  Recommendations for action

At the national level

41.  Policy:  (a) Define clear universal service objectives and specify how,
within prevailing conditions, they can be achieved; consider imposing
preconditions for franchising or privatization of lucrative services such as
mobile communications or international services, for instance by stating
obligations to develop rural telecommunications in the licensing conditions of
new operators; (b) where public or private telecommunications monopolies still
exist, take steps to create a competitive environment through restructuring
and liberalization of service provision and market access; (c) make greater
efforts to take advantage of new international telecommunication projects and
institutions such as WorldTel.

42.  Institutional development:  Create an adequate regulatory entity to
assure harmonious growth of an increasingly complex and rapidly changing
industry. 

43.  Investment:  Increase investment in telecommunications development in
order to increase the penetration of basic telecommunications facilities to
achieve universal availability of those services and to facilitate the
introduction of new services for the information society of the twenty-first
century.

At the regional level

44.  Policy:  Maintain and strengthen communications and business links on a
regional and subregional basis with their larger neighbours in the continental
shelves, as well as with development partners abroad.

At the international level

45.  Finance:  (a) Assist SIDS in identifying the best ways and means of
securing financial assistance from different sources; facilitate understanding
of the requirements and obligations of each party (government, development
partners, private sector); (b) encourage the World Bank and the regional
development banks to systematically fund a series of projects over a number of
years to finance telecommunications development where most urgently needed. 

46.  Allocation criteria:  Encourage the development banks to work together to
develop a common set of criteria to be used when evaluating potential
projects. 

                                VI.  AIR TRANSPORT

                           A.  Major additional findings

47.  The majority of SIDS have their own airlines; some, particularly in the
Pacific and the Caribbean, that do not are co-owners of a regional airline,
notably Air Pacific and Leeward Islands Air Transport, respectively.  In
addition to national and regional airlines, SIDS are served by foreign
carriers:  the Caribbean SIDS by North American, European and some other
airlines; the Pacific SIDS essentially by Air New Zealand; and the African
SIDS essentially by European airlines.

48.  Owing to inadequate information, a thorough assessment of the viability
of SIDS airlines could not be made.  Financial information available for about
one half of the scheduled airlines of the Caribbean and Pacific SIDS indicates
that in most cases their recent operations have not been profitable.

49.  The services provided by national and regional airlines of SIDS vary
widely.  Some airlines in all the regions provide services to other SIDS and
to some continental countries in their regions.  Singapore, Malta, Cyprus and
Bahrain are among the best served SIDS.  At the regional level, with important
exceptions in all regions, the best served SIDS are those in the Caribbean and
the least served those in the Pacific.  For most Pacific and African SIDS,
service frequencies on international routes are low.

50.  In the interest of public health, most SIDS adopt "in quarantine"
measures as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO); some also require
disinfecting of aircraft.  With regard to safety, SIDS largely share the same
concerns as other developing States, although the extreme weather conditions
experienced by a number of SIDS may pose additional problems.  Through the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), agreement has been achieved
on the necessary level of standardization for the operation of safe, regular
and efficient air services.  This has resulted in high levels of reliability
in all the various areas that collectively make up international civil
aviation.

51.  Since the Barbados Conference, there has been significant air transport
development affecting Caribbean SIDS at the government level.  The Association
of Caribbean States (ACS) adopted a Declaration of Principles on Tourism,
Trade and Transportation and Plan of Action in August 1995 in which they
stressed the importance of the principles of easy access and equal opportunity
to affordable air (and maritime) transportation as indispensable factors in
the economic integration of the ACS region.  In the Pacific, no specific air
transport proposals have yet emerged.

52.  Significant developments at the airline levels in the Caribbean include
privatization and mergers of existing airlines, formation of commercial
alliances among airlines and the creation of a new airline.  In the Pacific,
there has been an expansion of services of one airline, increased commercial
links among some airlines and various cooperative arrangements between some of
the inter-island carriers on aircraft sharing and sharing of seats on
individual flights.

53.  With regard to innovative, energy-efficient and low-cost air transport
solutions, no significant progress has been made.

54.  As a result of increased costs and competition, structural changes are
taking place in the air transport industry at the world level.  These include
the privatization of many government-owned airlines, the formation of
commercial alliances between airlines and various forms of inter-airline
cooperation.  Many developments in international air transport will inevitably
affect SIDS.  For example, with international airlines being encouraged to use
their own commercial judgement, their services to and from SIDS will become
increasingly based on unpredictable and rapidly changing market forces rather
than on more constant public service considerations.  Governments of SIDS may
face the difficult task of weighing the need to protect or subsidize their
national airlines against the need to allow greater market access for
competing airlines to achieve other national objectives such as the
development of tourism.  In addition, the airlines of SIDS will have difficult
decisions to make on the extent to which they should cooperate with one
another and with the major international airlines, bearing in mind that those
airlines may also be their competitors.

55.  For SIDS, the environmental problems of major significance are those
associated with:  (a) airport construction and expansion:  loss of land and
soil erosion; impact on water tables, river courses and drainage; and impact
on flora and fauna; (b) airport operations:  water pollution caused by
inadequate treatment of contaminants in airport wastewater or by leakage from
storage tanks; disposal of environmentally harmful materials used in aircraft
servicing and maintenance; and disposal of waste from the airport and incoming
aircraft.

                          B.  Recommendations for action

At the national level

56.  International standards:  As required by the Convention on International
Civil Aviation (art. 38), the many SIDS that have not responded to ICAO
indicating their positions with regard to ICAO standards and recommended
practices (contained in the annexes to the Convention) should indicate their
compliance with or differences from those provisions.

57.  Technology:  Familiarize themselves with current technological
developments of relevance to air transport, such as communications,
navigation, surveillance/ air traffic management (CNS/ATM) systems and the
ICAO flight safety programme, with a view to ensuring active participation on
an individual or subregional basis in global programmes related to these
developments; seek guidance from ICAO in the formulation of projects, location
of donors for the funding of such projects, and implementation of projects.

58.  Human resources development:  Introduce, wherever possible, human
resources development programmes in such areas as air traffic control, airport
management, aviation security, flight operations and airworthiness, air
transport regulation and air law. 

59.  Information:  Participate more actively in the ICAO statistics programme,
which provides data on air transport that would be of value to SIDS in their
future planning.  To that end, ensure that their international airlines file
with ICAO their traffic reports, cost statistics and financial statements, as
required by the Convention on International Civil Aviation (art. 67). 

At the regional level

60.  Formulate regional projects for the evaluation and creation of air
transport master plans for the following groupings of SIDS:  Caribbean SIDS;
Pacific SIDS; African SIDS off the west and east coasts, respectively.  This
recommendation excludes the other SIDS - Maldives, Bahrain, Cyprus, Malta and
Singapore.  It may be appropriate to include Maldives in the regional project
for African SIDS off the east coast.  These projects would cover all the
action items identified in the Programme of Action and would seek to:

     (a)  International standards:  Ensure compliance with international
standards and recommended practices and implementation of measures related to
the ICAO flight safety programme;

     (b)  Economics:  (i) Address problems associated with distance and
isolation (such as relatively high transport costs, including both fuel and
insurance); (ii) study the impact on SIDS of commercial changes taking place
in the air transport industry, including exploring the scope for greater
cooperation (both commercial and technical) between airlines within the SIDS
grouping concerned and with other international airlines; (iii) study the
impact on SIDS of changes taking place in the economic regulation of air
transport, including exploring the scope for more regional cooperation with
regard to the regulatory aspects of air transport, such as joint negotiation
of air transport agreements; and (iv) develop strategies for dealing with
potential conflicts between SIDS air transport policies and their tourism
policies;

     (c)  Capacity-building:  Establish or improve programmes in aviation
management skills and other suitable skilled occupational categories;

     (d)  Impact of technological changes:  Examine the impact on SIDS of
technological changes such as CNS/ATM systems and new developments in
aeronautical meteorology, including the World Area Forecast System (WAFS)
satellite broadcasts;

     (e)  Finance:  Address difficulties experienced in obtaining funding for
aviation projects;

     (f)  Communications:  Improve the reliability of aviation communications
facilities.

At the international level

61.  Research:  Sponsor studies, for example, by aircraft manufacturers, to
investigate the feasibility of developing innovative energy-efficient and low-
cost transport solutions that would be of benefit to SIDS.

                             VII.  MARITIME TRANSPORT

                           A.  Major additional findings

62.  The maritime transportation issues are not uniform for all SIDS.  The
group is significantly diverse in geographic location, natural endowments and
stages of economic development.  Therefore, the problems of a country such as
Singapore, with its excellent geographic location, the second largest
container throughput in the world, are very different from those of most other
SIDS.  Estimates of total freight costs for SIDS are more than 45.5 per cent
higher than developed market economies.  Moreover, most small remote islands
incur even higher freight costs as a percentage of import value.

63.  The impact of open-registry fleets creates a statistical bias on the
analysis of the fleet capabilities of the SIDS group.  Open registries are
legal mechanisms used to attract merchant tonnage from countries with more
stringent safety regulations and higher operating costs to countries offering
more flexibility and lower registration fees.  The benefits for the
open-registry countries are additional tax revenues and employment
opportunities when ship management companies are established within the
country.  The main benefits, however, remain with the nationals of the owners
because the share of tonnage owned by open-registry nationals is minimal. 
Within the SIDS group, open- registry tonnage represents 77.2 per cent of the
total.  Thus, a more accurate analysis of the SIDS fleets should focus on the
remaining 30.6 million d.w.t.

64.  The age of the SIDS fleets is another qualitative factor worthy of note. 
Seventy per cent of the merchant fleet is 15 years old and over.  This ageing
fleet leads to higher operating costs, as repair and maintenance rapidly
increase with age, schedule delays and unreliability and greater environmental
risks associated with obsolete vessels.  In brief, the SIDS fleet is ageing
and needs replacement.

65.  SIDS need to increase their capabilities for serving their own trade. 
This is desirable because most of the fleet is owned abroad.  While this
provides foreign exchange earnings, employment for seafarers and
diversification, it is not fully complementary to the trading requirements of
SIDS because most manufactured goods move by container or general cargo ships. 
The former represent only 3.6 per cent and the latter 17.5 per cent of the
SIDS fleet.  If the vessels registered in Singapore and the two Caribbean
countries extending open-registry facilities (Antigua and Barbuda and Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines) are excluded from these two essential ship types
(container ships and general cargo) the SIDS fleet is minimal.

66.  Restructuring trends in the international liner shipping industry are
also a factor affecting the transportation capabilities of many SIDS.  Over
the past decade, consolidation and cooperative commercial agreements between
large container operators have resulted in a concentration of services.  This
has created economies of scale and encouraged the expansion of hub and spoke
service patterns between major trading areas.  For SIDS, however, the impact
has been to increase the need for transshipment port services, acquiring
vessels with container lifting capabilities, investing in electronic data
interchange (EDI) technology and training management personnel.  Without
investments, particularly in ships and port facilities, the ability of many
SIDS to trade effectively and sustain development will be marginal.

67.  In brief, SIDS are more than ever dependent on trade and efficient
shipping services.  Shipping services, however, continue to deteriorate
because of inappropriate and ageing ships, ever-increasing concentration of
liner shipping companies and the expansion of hub ports that require
transshipment services.

                          B.  Recommendations for action

At the national level

68.  Investment incentives:  (a) Promote investments in modern ships through
fiscal policies that encourage investment, for example, rapid depreciation
allowances, investment credits, and reducing personal income taxes for
seafarers; (b) encourage the development of ship repair facilities through
favourable fiscal policies and customs exemption for essential equipment and
ship components; (c) support port infrastructure investments through direct
loans or by guaranteeing loans from development agencies; (d) in the case of
SIDS with very small island archipelagoes, consider the need for a licensing
scheme and mail subsidies to private ship companies.

69.  Institutional development:  (a) Strengthen or encourage shippers'
councils to act as focal points for the protection of shippers' interests; (b)
participate actively in regional port management associations.

70.  International legal instruments:  Ratify United Nations conventions
pertaining to the maritime sector (Convention on a Code of Conduct for Liner
Conferences, United Nations Convention on Conditions for Registration of
Ships, United Nations Convention on International Multimodal Transport of
Goods, United Nations Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea, 1978
(Hamburg Rules), International Convention on Maritime Liens and Mortgages,
1993).

71.  Human resources development:  Upgrade maritime safety and environment
administration by advanced training through the International Maritime
Organization (IMO) and by sending government officials to specialized training
and academic institutions such as the World Maritime University at Malmo".

72.  Maritime safety:  Gradually phase out existing over-age vessels and ban
imports of ships exceeding 15 years old that cannot meet minimum IMO safety 
regulations.

73.  Upgrade maritime safety and environmental protection procedures: 
Consider adopting and implementing the international instruments that form the
basis of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control and
applying the international instruments adopted by the Paris Memorandum of
Understanding on Port State Control, including the International Convention on
Load Lines, 1966; the Protocol of 1988 relating to the International
Convention on Load Lines, 1966; the International Convention for the Safety of
Life at Sea, 1974; the Protocols of 1978 and 1988 relating to the
International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974; the
International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as
modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto; the International
Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for
Seafarers, 1978; the Convention on the International Regulations for
Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972; and the Convention concerning Minimum
Standards in Merchant Ships, 1976 (ILO Convention No. 147).

At the regional or subregional level

74.  Expand the maritime capabilities of the region or subregion:  (a) Accede
to the Convention on a Code of Conduct for Liner Conferences; (b) form an
intraregional liner freight conference; (c) prevent the importation of further
obsolete ships into the region; (d) update and harmonize the maritime
legislation of various SIDS at the subregional and national level with a view
to providing a legal framework for more effective maritime transport; and (e)
upgrade and strengthen the procedures for inspection of ships registered in
the region.

75.  Provide an improved intraregional sea transportation service:  (a)
Establish a ship finance division within the regional development banks in
partnership with a foreign ship mortgage bank; (b) give berth preference to
vessels carrying perishable foodstuffs; (c) give preferential berth treatment
to regular traders; (d) improve ship-to-shore radio communications; (e) form
small shipowners' regional associations.

76.  Reduce overall sea transportation costs by improving shipping
infrastructures:  (a) Investigate and remedy port congestion, and critically
examine future capital investments for major port development projects; (b)
review and streamline customs and documentation procedures; (c) investigate
and modernize port labour working practices.

77.  Protect shippers' interests:  (a) Establish shippers' councils at the
regional level; (b) encourage the formation of open conferences for liner
ships serving the regions; (c) encourage the shippers' councils and small
shipowners' associations to use the services of a maritime transportation
centre; (d) encourage shippers to negotiate favourable rates directly with
shipowners for indirect services using existing North-North and North-South
routes and ensure adequate services also for commodities with special
transport needs; (e) promote slot charter agreements and transshipment
services at required frequencies.

78.  Promote cooperation among traders by:  (a) Encouraging cooperation
between traders to consolidate LCL (less than container load) shipments for
economy and convenience and to negotiate better rates; (b) promoting the
exchange of information and market intelligence between traders to identify
opportunities for cooperation in obtaining shipping and other transport
services, and developing databases for maintaining information on available
shipping services, particularly relating to South-South opportunities; (c)
encouraging traders, acting together, to discuss their South-South transport
needs with local transport companies, ship operators and entrepreneurs
interested in investing in shipping; (d) encouraging traders to enter into
agreements on the minimum quantities required to be shipped, to justify the
establishment or improvement of services.

79.  Improve maritime managerial skills and knowledge in the region: (a)
Establish a maritime transportation centre with two divisions:  a maritime
safety administration and an economic policy division; (b) provide subregional
short training courses in shipping and port management through schemes such as
the Trainmar programme of the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD); (c) encourage the regional shipping lines to enter into
joint ventures with foreign shipowners with a strong training component in the
contract of agreement; (d) undertake a manpower study to assess the training
needs of the region and supplement regional training capabilities, as
appropriate; (e) establish a system for the examination and issuance of
certificates of competency.

                                       Notes

     1/   Report of the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of
Small Island Developing States, Bridgetown, 25 April-6 May 1994 (A/CONF.167/9
and Corr.1 and 2) (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.94.I.18 and
corrigenda), chap. I, resolution 1, annex II.

     2/   The report of the Secretary-General on the protection of the oceans,
all kinds of seas, including enclosed and semi-enclosed seas, and coastal
areas and the protection, rational use and development of their living
resources (E/CN.17/1996/3) uses the Agenda 21 terminology "coastal area".  The
same terminology is used here for the sake of consistency and to avoid
confusion.  The terminology used in the Programme of Action is "coastal zone". 
Issues related to the exclusive economic zones of small island developing
States are not dealt with here.  Those issues are dealt with in the report of
the Secretary-General on the protection of the oceans, all kinds of seas ...
(E/CN.17/1996/3).

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Date last posted: 3 December 1999 10:25:35
Comments and suggestions: DESA/DSD