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E/CN.17/1998/7 |
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Economic and Social Council
Distr. GENERAL
20 April-1 May 1998
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
Economic and Social Council
Commission on Sustainable Development
Sixth session
20 April-1 May 1998
Progress in the implementation of the programme of action
for the sustainable development of small island developing
States
Report of the Secretary-General *
(* The present report has been prepared by the Department of Economic and
Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. It is based on reports on
nine programme areas of the Programme of Action, which have been issued as
addenda 1-9 to the report. The addenda were prepared in accordance with
arrangements agreed to by the Inter-Agency Committee on Sustainable
Development, and were the result of consultation and information exchange
between United Nations agencies, interested government agencies and a range of
other institutions and individuals.)
Contents
Paragraphs Page
I. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2
II. Climate change and sea level rise. . . . . . . . 2-10 2
III. Management of wastes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-14 3
IV. Freshwater resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-24 4
V. Land resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-32 5
VI. Biodiversity resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33-37 6
VII. National institutions and administrative capacity 38-45 7
VIII. Regional institutions and technical cooperation . 46-58 8
IX. Science and technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59-65 9
X. Human resource development. . . . . . . . . . . . 66-72 10
I. Introduction
1. At its fifth session, in 1997, the Commission on
Sustainable Development adopted resolution 5/1, which was
endorsed by the General Assembly at its nineteenth special
session. In that resolution, the Commission requested its
secretariat, with the assistance of the Inter-Agency
Committee on Sustainable Development (IACSD) task
managers, to prepare reports on all the outstanding chapters
of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable
Development of Small Island Developing States for
consideration at its sixth session, in 1998. The present
report and the nine addenda on which it is based
(E/CN.17/1998/7/Add.1-9) have been prepared in response
to that request. The present report summarizes the major
findings and recommendations contained in the addenda.
It does not reiterate the basis for action and
recommendations contained in the Programme of Action but
is meant to supplement the Programme of Action in the light
of new findings and experience that have arisen in the
course of its implementation. The recommendations for
action provided in the present report, if implemented, would
give greater effect to those contained in the Programme of
Action.
II. Climate change and sea level rise
A. Major additional findings
2. There are varying degrees of national-level efforts
within small island developing States. Most small
developing islands have ratified the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change and are making
efforts to comply with its provisions through a series of
measures. Some are undertaking studies of greenhouse gas
sources and sinks, with assistance from regional and
international organizations. Broad strategic directions
related to climate change are included in the national
strategies for sustainable development of many small island
developing States. In some cases, specific policies or
strategies for climate change are being developed, with the
assistance of regional and international organizations; in
others, they are being integrated into coastal management
plans. In a number of small island developing States,
climate data-collection systems have also become operative.
So far, however, little work has been undertaken to develop
detailed plans for adaptation to climate change and sea level
rise at the national level. Ongoing work to determine
vulnerability to climate change and to meet national
reporting obligations under the Convention will provide the
essential foundation for such plans.
B. Recommendations for action
1. National level
3. Incorporate all considerations, in particular adaptation
strategies relating to climate change and sea level rise in
long-term development planning processes.
4. Build adequate human resource and institutional
capacity to absorb and adapt the findings of the current
projects on planning for adaptation to climate change and
sea level rise that are currently under implementation in
some small island developing States, and take preventive
and remedial measures in order to minimize and mitigate
the impacts of climate change and sea level rise.
2. Regional level
5. Establish effective institutional capacity for all small
island developing States regions to undertake activities
related to the modalities of effective and efficient adaptation
to climate change and sea level rise. Where such capacity
exists, they need to be further strengthened.
6. Implement projects on planning for adaptation to
climate change in all small island developing States regions,
with the provision to sustain them on a long-term basis, and
help to develop the scientific and technical capacity of small
island developing States to formulate and implement
effective strategies and policies to minimize or mitigate the
impacts of climate change and sea level rise. Where such
activities have been initiated, they must be sustained.
3. International level
7. Facilitate further research on the regional and
temporal responses of sea level rise that takes account, if
possible, of changes in the frequency, intensity and location
of higher-frequency and smaller-scale phenomena.
8. Facilitate further research on the contributions of ice
sheets, glaciers and land and ground water storage to sea
level change.
9. Provide adequate financial and technical assistance
to help small island developing States to build human-resource and
institutional capacity at the national and
regional levels to cope with the impacts of climate change
and sea level rise, and supplement, as necessary, the
resources of the relevant regional small island developing
States institutions responsible for implementing projects on
adaptation to climate change and sea level rise.
10. In addition, facilitate the establishment of an
observing system for generating data sets to improve model
predictions of climate change and to help direct future
impacts on small island developing States. Such a system
should include (a) a high-accuracy altimeter to measure
spatial variations and monitor temporal variability and
trends in sea level rise; (b) sufficient (about 30) open-ocean
gauges to monitor and eliminate trends in the altimeter; (c)
globally distributed set of gauges for sampling at the margin
of the altimeter (including coastal regions and high
latitudes); (d) geodetic positioning to improve reference
levels of in situ gauges; (e) improvements in the World
Weather Watch Network to address small island developing
States meteorological data gaps.
III. Management of wastes
A. Major additional findings
11. To date, there have been no concerted attempts to
develop integrated and comprehensive approaches to waste
management strategies in most small island developing
States. The concept of waste separation and recycling is still
in its early stages, though some attempts have been made
to reduce the amounts of wastes generated. Many small
island developing States have yet to ratify the Basel
Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements
of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal.
12. There are very few sanitary landfills in small island
developing States. A large proportion of industrial and
hazardous wastes continues to be disposed of in the
municipal solid waste stream or even dumped without any
control, though this may be prohibited by law. Leakages are
quite common. Only a fraction of wastewater is treated
before being discharged into the surrounding land and water
resources. A lack of technical and financial capabilities to
operate and maintain the existing facilities for sewage
treatment makes it difficult to control wastewater. Solid and
liquid wastes generated from ships and the resulting
pollution are of considerable concern to small island
developing States, but no perceptible progress has been
made in building port reception facilities for accepting
ship-borne wastes or for avoiding oil spills in ports. A few
international and regional initiatives have been taken, but
much remains to be done for the protection of the marine
environment and for development.
13. Suitable financial planning for the entire cycle of
waste management has not been well developed in most
small island developing States, resulting in severely
underfunded operations and a shortage of proper facilities
and trained operators. One of the most disturbing aspects
is the lack of financial autonomy of waste management
institutions. Where waste management departments are
self-financing, the revenue generated is often used for other
purposes. Tools for mobilizing financial resources, such as
government budgetary allocations, charge systems and other
relevant economic instruments, have yet to be developed
and included as core elements of financial strategies.
B. Recommendations for action
14. Further efforts are needed at all levels to implement
the actions, policies and measures identified in the
Programme of Action. Higher priority should be given to
the economic and financial aspects of waste management.
Revenue-generating policies for improving the financing
of waste-management facilities should be seriously
considered by regional and local governments in small
island developing States. Specific priority actions which
could give effect to the objectives of the Programme of
Action at the national and regional levels could include:
(a) Improve landfill management, including by
selecting optimal technologies and financial mechanisms,
such as landfill charges and other levies. The management
plan should also encompass operational requirements with
appropriate guidelines/standards, including capacity-building, regular
monitoring and measures to be taken in the closure of landfills;
(b) Separate industrial wastes, particularly
hazardous wastes, from domestic waste and dispose of them
properly. Inventories of industrial waste, pollutants and
hazardous waste and code of practice need to be introduced
for environmentally sound industrial operations in small
island developing States, modified as appropriate for local
use, in close cooperation with regional and international
bodies;
(c) Secure suitable long-term storage facilities for
hazardous waste and identify suitable final disposal options;
(d) Where they have been introduced, efforts are
needed to improve the efficiency of septic tank systems.
Sound practices leading to the incorporation of septic
sludge into local agricultural and forestry operations should
be developed and disseminated;
(e) Environmental impact assessments should be
made mandatory for all projects related to waste disposal.
IV. Freshwater resources
A. Major additional findings
15. Small islands have limited options when developing
their freshwater resources. The relatively short length of
freshwater circulation in small islands limits the methods
available to utilize them. To maintain surface and
groundwater circulation requires regular recharge events.
The geophysical settings of many small island developing
States make them vulnerable not only to extreme
climatological and seismic events, but more critically to
unpredictable periods of low recharge. On volcanic piles
with rapid baseflow recession and on atoll islands with thin
freshwater lenses, hydro-environmental limits in terms of
water quantity and quality are reached very quickly in
periods of low recharge. Moreover, many small island
developing States have few or no permanent streams or
lakes. They have limited capacity to store water for use
during the dry season. Building large reservoirs in small
island developing States can flood large areas of their
relatively scarce land area. Furthermore, steep topography,
short river channels and easily erodible soils can cause
siltation of reservoirs, further decreasing their capacity for
water storage.
16. As a result, many small island developing States
depend heavily on groundwater resources, which often exist
in the form of freshwater "lenses" that contain limited
quantities of water. Water withdrawals at rates that exceed
sustainable replenishment can result in saline intrusion,
thereby damaging or destroying freshwater lenses. Sea-water
intrusion into small island developing States
groundwater resources is obviously a serious problem, given
that they are surrounded on all sides by marine water. The
relative fragility of the hydrological cycles in small island
developing States necessitates careful planning and
development of freshwater resources in order to work within
these hydro-environmental limits.
17. The water quality problem in small island developing
States is aggravated by the disposal of partially treated or
untreated domestic and industrial effluents into the sea.
Indiscriminate disposal into near-shore environments with
poor flushing to the open sea has reduced coastal water
quality, particularly near large coastal settlements. As
chemical and organic pollutants become more pervasive,
the impact on marine environments is becoming evident,
and long-term accumulation of pollutants in marine
ecosystems is threatening biodiversity and local fishing
industries. Pollution of marine resources from land-based
activities is also a critical issue for small island developing
States because they are frequently subject to torrential rains.
Combined with steep topography and short river channels,
this results in storm-generated run-off, including industrial
wastes, mining drainage and domestic wastes, into
surrounding coastal waters.
18. High water consumption by tourists and consequent
production of wastewater, particularly in coastal settings,
poses problems for liquid and solid waste disposal in coastal
aquifers or atoll freshwater lenses. Indeed, the marketing
of small island developing States as "sun, sea and sand"
paradises has resulted in many hotels being built on or near
beach areas, thereby concentrating waste-producing
establishments near coastal waters.
B. Recommendations for action
19. Small island developing States need an integrated
approach to strengthening institutions, including ministries
and departments that can fundamentally affect their
environmentally sustainable management and use of water
resources. Cross-sectoral collaboration between land and
water planning should be actively promoted, and the
effectiveness of environmental agencies to monitor and
enforce good spatial planning practices in fragile upland and
coastal zones needs to be enhanced. The diminutive size of
small islands means that sustainable socio-economic
development and the needed natural resource base,
including water resources, are interdependent. Thus,
management and use of freshwater, coastal and marine
resources should be undertaken within an institutional
framework that considers linkages with the sources of
potential impacts on those resources.
20. Small island developing States often need island-specific
or regional studies to identify and assess their
water resources, and to implement effective development
and management programmes. To that end, some regions
have organizations so that small island developing States
can share their technical expertise and experience with each
other. Establishment of relevant institutions, where needed,
is one means of facilitating such exchange. One existing
example is the Pacific Water and Waste Association. It
would also be helpful to encourage linkages between small
island developing States and bigger archipelagic countries,
such as Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, which have
development programmes for their island provinces.
21. Efficient management and use of appropriate
technologies can conserve and protect limited water
resources. Further efforts are required to implement policies
for promoting efficient water services and the efficient use
of and protection of available water resources. As an
illustrative example, Maldives has made it mandatory for
all new houses to have rainwater harvesting facilities.
Demand management and leak detection can help to
conserve the existing resource base. Proactive programmes
of waste management and waste minimization can help to
protect the resource base, but they also need to be linked to
land management policies if they are to be effective.
22. Technologies more appropriate for small island
developing States, such as rainwater harvesting, infiltration
galleries to skim freshwater lenses and the use of low
yielding solar pumps, need to be promoted to avoid last
resort solutions, such as desalination.
23. The further identification and application of cleaner
production methodologies that are suited to the specific
development and resource needs of small island developing
States should also be priority activities. These should
include cleaner practices and technologies for the efficient
use of water resources in all industries, particularly hotels
and tourism facilities.
24. The unique characteristics of small island developing
States call for urgent efforts to develop (a) self-sufficient
facilities to handle solid waste, sewage and wastewater, and
(b) facilities for the prevention of groundwater
contamination.
V. Land resources
A. Major additional findings
25. Land pressures in some small island developing States
have been further worsened by the intensification of animal
farming, particularly high-input production chains. The
persistence of unsustainable agricultural practices continues
to contribute to deforestation in several small island
developing States. A number of small island developing
States are affected by changes in cropping patterns, with
consequent losses of biodiversity across the landscape, loss
of soil fertility, and agrochemical pollution of soils,
freshwater and coastal resources downstream. Furthermore,
land tenure policy in some small island developing States
and other policy issues in all of them critically affect land
management, as do a multiplicity of socio-economic factors,
such as trade and the influence of outside markets,
traditional and cultural practices, and demographics. Small
island developing States rarely have an extensive and stable
cadre of professional expertise, so that there is a lack of
information on land resources, appropriate tools, best
practices and technologies for implementing sustainable
land use options and for making informed policy decisions.
B. Recommendations for action
1. National level
26. Critical efforts to better address land resources include
the need to better understand land use objectives, land use
options and trade-offs between uses, the need for
institutional collaboration and coordination of ministries,
the need to implement land dispute resolution systems and
the need to use technologies as a basis for land use decision-making.
27. Institutionally, there is a need to take an intersectoral
approach to addressing the complex issues of land resources
wherever that is not already being done, which will entail
the adoption of an integrated planning process with
enhanced collaboration on the part of the Government and
all relevant non-governmental stakeholders so as to make
the best use of the comparative advantage of each.
28. Numerous tools, approaches, techniques and
guidelines have been developed by relevant United Nations
and non-United Nations organizations that small island
developing States can take advantage of to address issues
of land resources. A number of those modalities are
currently being utilized or tried in individual small island
developing States. There is a need, however, for training in
the use and institutionalization of such tools, approaches
and guidelines in all small island developing States.
29. Natural resource conservation should be strongly
promoted by rehabilitating traditional attitudes and value
systems, and by making people aware of the finite and
fragile nature of those resources in today's conditions,
particularly in small island developing States.
2. Regional level
30. Mechanisms must be put in place to enhance the
communication networks that have been developed, as well
as to develop those that are still needed. Recognizing the
complexity and diversity of the natural resource
management task, and the difficulty and financial burden
associated with the provision of the required
multidisciplinary teams of professionals in each country, the
establishment of an appropriate regional mechanism within
one of the existing regional organizations might be
considered. Such a mechanism would provide resource
management services to small island Governments, make
available skills and experience that would be much more
difficult to build at national level, and facilitate the transfer
and sharing of technical information and research results.
31. Effective coordination of measures designed to foster
an integrated approach to the planning and management of
land resources by regional institutions, including
universities and relevant international programmes or
initiatives, should be encouraged in all small island
developing States regions where such measures have not yet
been taken.
3. International level
32. International agencies and organizations must better
coordinate their efforts in assistance to small island
developing States; assist in the strengthening and support
of regional networks; facilitate the adoption and
implementation of appropriate integrated planning
processes for natural resources as a means of ensuring their
sustainable use; provide technical assistance in support of
information systems for effective decision-making regarding
land resources, as well as to assess and revise national
legislation, if needed; implement appropriate training
programmes; and facilitate the application of databases in
integrated land use planning and management.
VI. Biodiversity resources
A. Major additional findings
33. The biodiversity of small island developing States
continues to be seriously threatened by a combination of
natural and anthropogenic factors. Effective conservation
and sustainable use of small island developing States
biodiversity entails the sustainable management of genetic
resources for food and agriculture, forestry, fisheries and
aquaculture, which may call for a "farming" systems
approach. For forestry and capture fisheries, it implies
adopting an environmentally sound and socially beneficial
management approach, integrated with other land and water
management strategies. Community-based management
systems and related land and fishing rights in supporting
food production systems are important as a basis for
applying this approach. Urgent implementation of relevant
regional and international agreements is particularly
important for the sustainability of the fishery resources that
migrate through or straddle areas of the natural jurisdiction
of small island developing States.
34. To curb rapid loss of biodiversity, deforestation
caused by agricultural expansion and overharvesting of
forests must be controlled to reverse the continuing serious
environmental consequences of lost tree cover and
downstream impacts on marine areas. For sustainable forest
use, the remaining forest areas of most small island
developing States require immediate attention, including
possible reorganization of the entire logging industry sector.
Deforestation must be minimized through a coordinated
policy for effective use and conservation of the remaining
forest resources. In erosion-prone areas, farmers must be
encouraged to adopt appropriate agro-forestry practices,
which also should become an established component of
integrated rural development.
B. Recommendations for action
1. National level
35. Further efforts are needed at all levels to implement
the actions, policies and measures identified in the
Programme of Action. Moreover, additional measures are
also needed to:
(a) Build national technological and human capacity
for managing natural resources, and upgrade national
capabilities for marine and terrestrial resource surveys, by
training key personnel and implementing measures to retain
their services within the public sector;
(b) Introduce charges for using sea lanes and straits
to internalize part of the costs of small island developing
States biodiversity losses arising from inappropriate
practices, such as waste discharges, incineration or
accidental spills in proximate national or international
waters. Charges and taxes on enterprises for discharges of
inadequately treated wastes, taking into account the
potential biodiversity losses resulting from such practices,
could also be considered;
(c) Strengthen national capabilities to maintain
agro-biodiversity, including animal and plant protection and
quarantine services through assessment and strengthening
of national legislation, facilities and services, including
surveillance;
(d) Enhance farming systems and improve
management of natural resources, as applicable, rehabilitate
degraded habitats, where appropriate, and monitor the
impact of development programmes, including the impact
of introduced species on native ecosystems, and the success
of rehabilitation efforts;
(e) Evaluate and modify if necessary and
implement existing guidelines and codes of practice on best
practices in farming systems and species introduction.
2. Regional level
36. Measures are also needed to:
(a) Strengthen regional activities for harmonizing
legislation and promoting the exchange of technologies and
expertise;
(b) Strengthen the capacity of regional bodies to
undertake surveys on reef, estuary, wetland and lagoon
resources, and monitor and promote innovative coral reef
and mangrove programmes.
3. International level
37. Measures are also needed to:
(a) Assist small island developing States in
developing inventories of marine biodiversity resources and
in strengthening regional and marine research centres;
(b) Support participation of small island developing
States representatives in relevant global negotiation
processes, including in meetings of the Convention on
Biological Diversity, especially the Conference of Parties
to the Convention and its Subsidiary Body on Scientific,
Technical and Technological Affairs, and in expert and
liaison groups, to ensure appropriate consideration of small
island developing States priorities;
(c) Support small island developing States in
strengthening national and regional capabilities for
conservation and the sustainable use of genetic resources
for food and agriculture, including the implementation of
priorities identified in the Global Plan of Action for Plant
Genetic Resources adopted at Leipzig in 1996;
(d) Provide technical assistance to assess and revise,
where needed, national legislation, implement appropriate
training, and enhance database development and technology
transfer. Countries that import small island developing
States animal and plant resources should be encouraged to
assist small island developing States in upgrading their
facilities and strengthening animal and plant protection and
quarantine services to ensure the achievement of
international standards.
VII. National institutions and administrative capacity
A. Major additional findings
38. Most small island developing States Governments
have taken important initiatives to strengthen national
institutions and administrative capacity. Many of them have
established high-level bodies charged with the overall
responsibility for guiding and coordinating national policies
and measures for integrating environmental protection and
development. New legislation has been adopted to provide
a sound and updated legal framework for the pursuit of
sustainable development. In a number of small island
developing States, comprehensive national strategies have
been formulated to provide blueprints for long-term
coordinated action. There has also been a growing trend of
public participation.
39. There is, however, a continuing need for strong action
in this area because small island developing States remain
constrained by limited financial, human and technical
resources. Some have very limited capacity, even for
handling inter-agency coordination. Planning to enforce new
legislation and to implement sustainable development
measures and implementation of sustainable development
policies and measures remain uncoordinated, and are
invariably fragmented. There is much room for improving
inter-ministerial coordination at the national level and more
effective cooperation at the regional level.
B. Recommendations for action
1. National level
40. Small island developing States Governments should
further strengthen their national sustainable development
bodies by enhancing their political and legal status,
increasing their staffing levels and improving their
modalities of operation. Those that have not established
such a body should take immediate action to ensure that a
national mechanism for guiding and coordinating
sustainable development policy be put in place and given
adequate status and resources for effective functioning.
41. Although many small island developing States have
adopted new legislation and formulated national strategies,
they need to ensure that the new laws are enforced and
strategies are implemented. Particular attention should be
paid to the training of civil servants to adequate levels in
order to enable them to effectively implement reformed
legislation and revised development strategies.
2. Regional level
42. Small island developing States Governments should
both expand and deepen their regional and subregional
cooperation in national institutions and administrative
capacity-building, especially in areas where they are lacking
in expertise and where joint activities in research and
training could help to overcome national resource
constraints, facilitate the exchange of national experience
and increase the cost-effectiveness of regional cooperation.
43. Regional institutions should be given adequate
resources to provide research and training opportunities,
undertake critical assessments of priorities and needs, and
facilitate the exchange of experience and the dissemination
of information. Regional institutions that have the
appropriate expertise should assist small island developing
States in the preparation of new legislation, as necessary,
and in the formulation and implementation of national
strategies.
3. International level
44. The international community should provide adequate
financial resources to small island developing States so as
to enable them to carry out necessary institutional reforms
and changes, and to improve their national administrative
capacity. The United Nations agencies should increase
training activities to help to update and improve the skills
of staff engaged in sustainable development activities.
Organizations with the appropriate technical capacity,
including United Nations funds and programmes and
specialized agencies, should also provide technical
assistance or advisory services to small island developing
States in building up their national institutions.
45. Bilateral donors should provide financial and
technical support to small island developing States to
facilitate their ratification and implementation of relevant
international instruments; help to provide training
opportunities and facilities, including scholarships,
particularly in areas where small island developing States
suffer from serious lack of local expertise; and support
current efforts to build an information network for small
island developing States so that they may have better access
to information on state-of-the-art technology, and become
active participants in the exchange of experience and the
dissemination of information.
VIII. Regional institutions and technical cooperation
A. Major additional findings
46. Governments of small island developing States in the
Pacific and the Caribbean have put in place a number of
regional and subregional intergovernmental institutions,
with mandates ranging from specific areas of the
Programme of Action to the entire Programme of Action.
In recent years, they have also demonstrated their
commitment to regional institutions through increased
financial support for some of them.
47. Regional institutions have taken a keen interest in the
implementation of the Programme of Action. In the recent
past, regional institutions in the Pacific and some in the
Caribbean have also taken measures to enhance their own
effectiveness and efficiency through greater inter-institutional
coordination and the avoidance of duplication of activities.
48. However, regional and subregional institutions have
faced a number of constraints that tend to undermine their
effectiveness. The major constraints are related to
insufficiency of financial and human resources to carry out
core programmes. They are also hampered by the lack of
firmly established regional coordination mechanisms,
particularly in the Caribbean and the African regions, as
well as the inadequacy of integration of environmental
dimensions in the socio-economic planning process at the
national level, which makes it difficult to identify priorities
for the development of coherent regional and subregional
programmes.
B. Recommendations for action
1. National level
49. To strengthen regional cooperation, it will be
necessary for small island developing States to explicitly
integrate environmental dimensions in the long-term policy
planning process at the national level and to identify priority
areas for regional implementation in order to enable the
development of coherent regional and subregional
programmes.
50. In the recent past, small island developing States that
are member States of some regional institutions have
increased their financial support for the running of such
institutions. Such support needs to be further strengthened
so as to make it commensurate with the needs of all regional
and subregional institutions in order to raise their
effectiveness.
51. In some small island developing States regions, there
is a need for greater political commitment to the
implementation of regional programmes.
2. Regional level
52. Efforts to strengthen coordination among regional and
subregional institutions have begun in the Pacific. Such
efforts are needed in all small island developing States
regions. For effective coordination of the implementation
of the Programme of Action, there is a need to establish
permanent regional coordination mechanisms and to provide
them with resources commensurate with their needs.
53. Regional institutions need to make efforts to
strengthen their own technical capacity in order to meet
technical assistance needs of member States.
54. Regional and subregional institutions need to work
more closely with national Governments to identify
programmes and projects for the development of realistic
regional and subregional programmes in the short and
medium terms.
3. International level
55. In view of the obvious benefits to be derived from
regional cooperation, the international community needs to
adequately supplement the financial resources provided by
member States for the support of regional institutions.
56. In order to enable regional institutions to effectively
meet the technical assistance needs of member States, there
is a need for the international community to assist regional
institutions in building their technical capacity to levels that
are commensurate with the needs of member States.
57. Although the prime responsibility for the execution
of regional programmes and projects rests with small island
developing States Governments, in view of the meagre
resources of individual small island developing States and
the high costs of regional programmes, there is an obvious
need for adequate financial support from the international
community for timely and effective implementation of
regional programmes.
58. Relevant United Nations regional commissions and
other United Nations organizations need to demonstrate a
greater level of engagement in the implementation of the
Programme of Action, particularly in the African region.
IX. Science and technology
A. Major additional findings
59. In spite of considerable efforts by several of them,
most small island developing States lack a critical mass of
qualified scientists and associated institutions. Current
reward systems in island countries do not encourage long-term
careers in science, and the availability of funds for
training and research in specialized fields of science is
limited. Brain drain adds to the scarcity of skills and
expertise in relation to the advance of science in small
island developing States. This is evident in the high
proportion of expatriate personnel in island institutions, and
in aid programmes heavily weighted towards technical
assistance.
60. Most small island developing States do not possess
economies of a sufficient scale to allow for a national
scientific infrastructure of the scope required to address
many national needs. One solution to this problem is for
countries to cooperate at subregional or regional levels to
share institutions of higher learning and advanced research
and development facilities. Pooling the resources of
countries with similar problems, agreeing on common
programmes and building synergies are evidently more cost-effective
than developing national institutions. Given the
serious lack of resources and qualified personnel in small
island developing States, a realistic short-to-medium-term
strategy for building scientific and technological capacity
to manage the effective transition to sustainable
development would be to concentrate on subregional
measures, wherever feasible. Subregions usually tend to
share several common characteristics that facilitate a more
rational and efficient use of resources, including qualified
staff. Subregional efforts also have greater potential for
creating local capacity in the short to medium term than
regional (continental) and international programmes.
Frequent contacts between scientists from small island
developing States and industrialized and relatively advanced
developing countries would serve as an efficient modality
for rapidly disseminating and applying new scientific and
technological methods. At relatively low cost, much can be
achieved in practical terms through funds for scientific
visits and meetings, electronic communication, access to
data banks and so on.
B. Recommendations for action: science
1. National level
61. Intensive and appropriate use of science and
technology in small island developing States is essential for
attaining sustainable development goals. Governments of
small island developing States are encouraged to:
(a) Make greater efforts to improve science
education in all phases of formal and informal education;
(b) Establish a network of scientists to work in
schools and the public and private sectors;
(c) Undertake national or regional assessments of
needs for the capacity in science;
(d) Promote strong linkages between universities
and research institutions, on the one hand, and national
industries, agriculture and other economic sectors on the
other hand, so that scientific knowledge and information
finds its way into the productive sectors, and make every
effort to induce the private sector of national economies to
invest more in the development of science;
(e) Take steps to record and apply indigenous
knowledge in promoting participatory approaches to natural
resources management and to the equitable and sustainable
use of resources.
2. Regional and international levels
62. Relevant regional organizations and international
organizations, with donor assistance, could collaborate in
assisting small island developing States in:
(a) Implementing programmes to improve the
teaching of basic science within the context of the local
environment and culture. In Pacific small island developing
States, use could be made of the regional Science Education
for Pacific Schools programme;
(b) Better educating current and future leaders of
civil society on key scientific issues affecting a sustainable
future, through schools, youth work and community
awareness activities.
C. Recommendations for action: technology
1. National level
63. The Governments of small island developing States
are encouraged to:
(a) Provide incentives to venture capital and explore
other modalities for meeting the required financing needs
of environmentally sound technology firms;
(b) Provide fiscal and other policy incentives to
encourage domestic and foreign investment in the industrial
sector, and consider special incentives for environmentally
sound technology-related investments.
2. Regional level
64. At the regional level, it is necessary to:
(a) Promote the establishment of appropriate
regional institutions for the collection and synthesis of data
and information on innovative industrial technologies for
the sustainable development of small island developing
States and on the impacts of industrial innovation on their
economies, including their marine and coastal systems;
(b) Develop regional mechanisms to further promote
ventures for financing new technology-based firms;
(c) Assist small island developing States with very
small populations in (I) better applying science and
technology to sustainable development at the community
level through participatory projects, (ii) sharing information
on best practices and successful methods.
3. International level
65. The international community is urged to:
(a) Enhance international cooperation in the
development and promotion of technological innovations
relevant for small island developing States as components
of international or regional investment projects;
(b) Provide improved access to financial and
technical resources to assist small island developing States
in establishing regional centres for capacity-building,
including training in the management of innovative
technologies, technology negotiations and transfer.
X. Human resource development
A. Major additional findings
66. Small island developing States Governments, regional
organizations and the United Nations system have accorded
priority to this area, as reflected in the initiatives by small
island developing States and support action by both regional
organizations and the United Nations system. However, the
unique demographic, economic and geographic constraints
faced by small island developing States call for a
strengthening of the concerted efforts at human resource
development. The recent declines in external resources
allocated to human resource development in small island
developing States are a cause of grave concern.
67. Policy initiatives by some small island developing
States Governments in the areas of institution-building,
educational reform, training and regional cooperation in
environmental management provide useful experiences, and
should be shared with others in their efforts to formulate and
implement human resource development strategies.
B. Recommendations for action
68. It is strongly recommended that small island
developing States Governments continue to accord priority
to human resource development in all its dimensions
human health care, basic education, environmental
education, training and resource management in specific
fields.
69. Given demographic, economic and geographic
constraints, small island developing States should consider
a well educated, highly adaptable and environmentally
conscious population and workforce to be a central pillar
of national sustainable development. Small island
developing States Governments should create conditions,
including through regional mechanisms, to retain newly
acquired or updated endogenous expertise.
70. Small island developing States should further
strengthen regional cooperation through pooling of
resources and expertise, increase the effectiveness of such
cooperation through systematic identification of needs and
planning of projects, and increase the efficiency of regional
resource use through better coordination.
71. Regional organizations and the United Nations system
should strengthen their support to small island developing
States. In particular, the organizations and bodies of the
United Nations system should increase their operational
activities to provide training and expertise to small island
developing States in integrated resource management. Areas
where local capacity is relatively insignificant should be
accorded priority in funding and provision of technical
assistance.
72. The declines in external resources provided to small
island developing States for human resource development
should be reversed as a matter of urgency. In this regard,
the envisaged meeting between representatives of small
island developing States and bilateral and multilateral
donors provides a great opportunity for taking concrete
actions.
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Date last posted: 8 December 1999 15:15:30
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