Small Island Developing States

Map of the Small Island Developing States

The Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are a grouping of developing countries which are small island countries and tend to share similar sustainable development challenges. These include small but growing populations, limited resources, remoteness, susceptibility to natural disasters, vulnerability to external shocks, excessive dependence on international trade, and fragile environments. Their growth and development are also held back by high communication, energy and transportation costs, irregular international transport volumes, disproportionately expensive public administration and infrastructure due to their small size, and little to no opportunity to create economies of scale. They consist of some of the most vulnerable countries to anthropogenic climate change.

The SIDS were first recognized as a distinct group of developing countries at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in June 1992. The Barbados Programme of Action was produced in 1994 to assist the SIDS in their sustainable development efforts. The United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) represents the group of states.^[1]

List of SIDS

As of 2023, the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) lists 57 such nations (39 sovereign states and 18 dependent territories).^[2] These nations are grouped into three geographical regions: the Caribbean;^[3] the Pacific;^[4] and Africa, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean and South China Sea (AIMS),^[5] including 18 Associate Members of the United Nations Regional Commissions. Each of these regions has a regional cooperation body: the Caribbean Community, the Pacific Islands Forum, and the Indian Ocean Commission respectively, which many SIDS are members or associate members of. In addition, most (but not all) SIDS are members of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), which performs lobbying and negotiating functions for the SIDS within the United Nations System.

Caribbean	Pacific	Africa, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean and South China Sea (AIMS)
Anguilla[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3]	Template:ASA[lower-alpha 4][lower-alpha 5][lower-alpha 3]	Cape Verde[lower-alpha 5]
Antigua and Barbuda	Cook Islands[lower-alpha 3]	Comoros[lower-alpha 6]
Aruba[lower-alpha 7][lower-alpha 8][lower-alpha 3]	Fiji	Guinea-Bissau[lower-alpha 6][lower-alpha 5][lower-alpha 9]
Bahamas	French Polynesia[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3]	Maldives[lower-alpha 8]
Barbados	Guam[lower-alpha 4][lower-alpha 5][lower-alpha 3]	Mauritius
Template:BIZ[lower-alpha 9]	Kiribati[lower-alpha 6]	São Tomé and Príncipe[lower-alpha 6][lower-alpha 5]
Bermuda[lower-alpha 3]	Marshall Islands	Seychelles
British Virgin Islands[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3]	Micronesia	Singapore[lower-alpha 5]
Cayman Islands[lower-alpha 3]	Nauru
Cuba[lower-alpha 5]	New Caledonia[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3]
Curaçao[lower-alpha 3]	Niue[lower-alpha 3]
Dominica	Northern Mariana Islands[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 5][lower-alpha 3]
Dominican Republic[lower-alpha 8]	Palau
Papua New Guinea
Guadeloupe[lower-alpha 10]
Guyana[lower-alpha 9]	Solomon Islands[lower-alpha 6]
Haiti[lower-alpha 6]	Timor-Leste[lower-alpha 6][lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 8]
Jamaica
Martinique[lower-alpha 10]	Tuvalu[lower-alpha 6]
Montserrat[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 3]	Vanuatu
Template:PUR[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 8][lower-alpha 3]
Saint Lucia
Sint Maarten[lower-alpha 3]
Suriname[lower-alpha 9]
Turks and Caicos Islands[lower-alpha 3]
U.S. Virgin Islands[lower-alpha 4][lower-alpha 5][lower-alpha 3]

Impacts of climate change

3rd International Conference on Small Island Developing States, Samoa, September 2014

The SIDS are some of the regions most vulnerable to anthropogenic climate change. Due to their oceanic environment, SIDS are especially vulnerable to the marine effects of climate change like sea level rise, ocean acidification, marine heatwaves, and the increase in cyclone intensity. Changing precipitation patterns could also cause droughts. Many citizens of SIDS live near a coastline, meaning that they have a high risk exposure to the effects of marine climate change. Additional climate change vulnerability comes through their economies: many SIDS have economies that are based on natural resources, such as ecotourism, fishing, or agriculture. Phenomena like sea level rise, coastal erosion, and severe storms have the potential to severely impact their economies.^[7]

Sustainable Development Goals

Small island development states are mentioned in several of the Sustainable Development Goals.^[8] For example, Target 7 of Sustainable Development Goal 14 ("Life below Water") states: "By 2030, increase the economic benefits to small island developing States and least developed countries from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism".^[9]

Notes

See also

• 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference
• Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS)
• Group of 77
• Islands First (environmental organization)
• Landlocked developing countries
• List of island countries

References

External links

• About SIDS, United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States
• List of SIDS United Nations, Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States
• United Nations Mandates and Resolutions on SIDS
• AOSIS Members, Alliance of Small Island States
• Chris Becker, International Monetary Fund, 'Small Island States in the Pacific: the Tyranny of Distance?'

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