T&E Info Exchange

Small Island Developing States

During this final (formal) preparatory meeting for the IM, delegates discussed the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Strategy Paper for the further implementation of the BPOA -- generally referred to as the 'Strategy Document'. The meeting heard comments and proposals from SIDS' development partners on the Strategy Document, which was adopted by the AOSIS -- a coalition of small island and low-lying coastal countries -- at the Inter-regional Preparatory Meeting in January (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 6 February 2004).

Countries differed on whether the Document should become the main outcome of the IM or, as advocated by the US, whether discussions should be limited to a few key priorities. The US voiced reservations over the document's length and size, stating that it is a list of demands, it seeks to alter language negotiated in other international forums, and it contains issues that are not particular to SIDS. The EC supported using the Document as a basis for discussions, but favoured greater emphasis on country-driven strategies and the Millennium Development Goals.

Opinions also varied on how the IM's outcomes should relate to other international processes and agreements, such as the WTO and the Monterrey Consensus. The US particularly objected to the inclusion of a trade section, arguing that the UN was not the appropriate body to deal with these issues. In general, development partners were cautious regarding any language that might prejudge the outcomes of the current trade talks, in particular the current work programme on small economies. They expressed concerns that SIDS would aim to create a new group under the WTO or try to create an alternative venue for trade discussions.

At the January meeting, the AOSIS had raised concerns over the impacts of trade liberalisation on SIDS. "We will be further marginalised unless specific provisions are made for SIDS in the multilateral trading system," AOSIS argued. As outlined in the UN Secretary-General's report on the BPOA's implementation, SIDS continue to face serious challenges and vulnerabilities in this regard, due to their small economies, limited diversification in production and exports, susceptibility to natural disaster and climate change, and the erosion of market access preferences for commodities such as sugar, bananas, coffee and coconut.

The need to address these concerns has been widely recognised at the international level, including in the WTO's Ministerial Declaration adopted in Doha in 2001, which launched a work programme on small economies. Discussions continue, however, to revolve around the question of defining such economies and avoiding the creation of a sub-category of WTO Members (see BRIDGES Weekly, 13 May 2004).

The IM, which was originally scheduled for 30 August to 3 September 2004 in Mauritius, has been tentatively postponed to 10-14 January 2005.

CSD-12 Review Session: Water, Sanitation and Human Settlements

The Review Session of CSD-12 was widely welcomed as an important opportunity to move forward on the implementation of the sustainable development targets set out in the Millennium Development Goals and at the World Summit on Sustainable Development. The Commission meeting was the first to focus more on substantive issues and progress of implementation -- in particular related to water, sanitation and human settlements -- than on negotiating text. Chair Borge Brende, Norway's Minster for the Environment and Chair of CSD-12, called on delegates to begin a "decade of keeping promises", envisaging the CSD to become the "watchdog" of progress on implementing global sustainable development goals.

Discussions at CSD-12 reaffirmed the WSSD's emphasis on poverty eradication as a central element of the sustainable development agenda. While many countries were not on track to meet the water, sanitation and human settlement targets, delegates considered these goals to remain achievable with the proper means of implementation, including financial assistance, capacity building and technology transfer. In his opening speech, however, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned that the recent emphasis on terrorism and the war in Iraq had diverted high-level political attention away from sustainable development, calling for balancing these concerns with a greater focus on environmental protection, social progress and economic growth.

CSD-12 was the first session under the Commission's new multi-year programme, adopted at CSD-11 in spring 2003. The programme is organised on the basis of seven two-year cycles, with each cycle focusing on selected thematic clusters. For the first two-year cycle (2004-2005), the CSD is focusing on water, sanitation and human settlements, to be followed by energy, climate change, atmosphere and industrial development issues in 2006-2007. The 2008-2009 cycle will include agriculture, land and desertification. A number of cross cutting issues are addressed during each cycle, including poverty eradication, sustainable development in a globalising world, protecting and managing the natural resource base for economic and social development, means of implementation and the institutional framework for sustainable development.

CSD-13, tentatively scheduled for 2-13 May 2005 and to be chaired by John Ashe of Antigua and Barbuda, will again focus on water, sanitation and human settlements.

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