Sustainable Development Analysis

1. pic: The Global Environment Facility (GEF) thegef.org
inside:
a daily
multi-stakeholder
magazine on
climate change
and sustainable
development
Sustainable economic
development in Samoa
Empowering Pacific women
through marketplaces
outreach.
Be PaperSmart: Read Outreach online
www.stakeholderforum.org/sf/outreach
1 September 2014

2. contents.
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Diane Abad Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat
Ellie van Baaren UN Women
Carlos Germano F. Costa UNDP Consultant
Michael Gill Air Transport Action Group
Fale Lesa Commonwealth Correspondent from New Zealand and Samoa
Karmen Lux Natura PR
Emanuele Taupau Samoa Umbrella for Non-Governmental Organisations
(SUNGO)
UN News Centre
1 Sustainable economic development in Samoa
2 Empowering Pacific women through marketplaces
3 Makareta Rika: In my own words
4 Climate change and the threat of poverty
5 Small Island States: Air transport and a sustainable future
6 Country leadership and ownership: Action in the Pacific
7 The role of tourism in changing island custodian practices
8 Business execs build partnerships with small islands at UN forum
9 Side events calendar
10 Reflections on the Major Groups and other Stakeholders Forum
pic: The Global Environment Facility (GEF) thegef.org
4
OUTREACH IS PUBLISHED BY:
Editor Amy Cutter Stakeholder Forum
Assistant Editor Ian Fenn Stakeholder Forum
Print Designer Faye Arrowsmith www.flogo-design.co.uk
Web Designer Matthew Reading-Smith Stakeholder Forum
About Stakeholder Forum
Stakeholder Forum is an international
organisation working to advance sustainable
development and promote democracy at a
global level. Our work aims to enhance open,
accountable and participatory international
decision-making on sustainable development
through enhancing the involvement
of stakeholders in intergovernmental
processes. For more information, visit:
www.stakeholderforum.org
Outreach is a multi-stakeholder publication on
climate change and sustainable development.
It is the longest continually produced
stakeholder magazine in the sustainable
development arena, published at various
international meetings on the environment;
including the UNCSD meetings (since 1997),
UNEP Governing Council, UNFCCC Conference
of the Parties (COP) and World Water Week.
Published as a daily edition, in both print
and web form, Outreach provides a vehicle
for critical analysis on key thematic topics in
the sustainability arena, as well as a voice
of regional and local governments, women,
indigenous peoples, trade unions, industry,
youth and NGOs. To fully ensure a multi-
stakeholder perspective, we aim to engage
a wide range of stakeholders for article
contributions and project funding.
If you are interested in contributing to
Outreach, please contact the team
(acutter@stakeholderforum.org or
ifenn@stakeholderforum.org)
You can also follow us on Twitter:
@stakeholders
OUTREACH TEAM
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3. 1
Small Island Developing States (SIDS)
are a community of low lying island
nations that share common barriers to
development. We are characterised most
by small populations, limited resources,
endangered ecosystems, isolation,
dependence on aid and trade, and the
frequency of natural disasters. Samoa is
on the cusp of change. At the beginning
of 2014, we graduated from the UN Least
Developed Countries status. It marks
the beginning of a transformation that
depends largely on the community.
In 1962, Samoa became the first Polynesian island to
declare independence from New Zealand. From 1972,
more than 85,000 tourists visited every year, and exports
from agriculture were in good shape. Unfortunately, the
good times were numbered. In 1990, Samoa was struck by
Cyclone Ofa, leaving a quarter of the population homeless
overnight. A year later, Cyclone Val caused hundreds of
millions of dollars in damage. In 1994 a taro leaf blight
outbreak destroyed our agricultural backbone and single
largest export, and a debt-fuelled national carrier required
a multi-million dollar bailout from government. With this
trail of destruction, Samoa’s GDP fell by more than half.
Hopelessness encouraged an exodus; my parents were
among thousands who fled for New Zealand. The vast
majority were hired as labourers, my father included. But
ties to the homeland were never severed, and most sent
money home weekly. Direct remittances from abroad now
total more than $12 million a year, and Samoans living
abroad account for more than half of all tourist visits. In
time, the country bounced back. The taro disaster forced
exporters to adjust and the coconut is now the principle
product. The European Union has emerged as a key
importer, buying more than 20% of the market share.
Tourism revenue has doubled in the last decade and
current arrival numbers more than twice those pre-1990.
Samoans abroad outnumber those here, but local economy
improvements have inspired many to return. Formal
education has made tremendous progress and job market
competition in Australia and New Zealand has led to fewer
graduates moving abroad, sweetened by scholarship deals
and salary increases here. However, there is still a long way
to go and natural disasters in 2009 and 2012 reminded us
that history can and does repeat itself.
If I were prime minister, I would disaster-proof all
construction projects, making it mandatory, and ban
coastline construction projects with no exception. I would
only allow donor countries to build schools and hospitals in
partnership with local tradesmen to avoid calling abroad for
subsequent repair jobs or maintenance (we can sometimes
wait more than a year). I would ask village councils to back a
nationaldisasterevacuationscheme(existingschemescater
only to schools and workplaces; the elderly and disabled are
overly-represented in disaster casualties). I would throw my
weight behind the tourism industry, encouraging tourists to
stay longer while exploring new Asian markets. I would help
combat the widespread misconception that ‘farming is for
fools’ with campaigns like ‘agriculture is our largest sector’
and ‘global food prices are soaring as more people move
from rural to urban centres.’ I believe that public attitudes
account for a lot of challenges. Families force children to
aspire to law or medicine, ignoring trades or other shortage
areas that pay almost as well, and thousands that don’t
make law or med school end up in low-skilled jobs. I would
diversify the student body from an early stage; aligning
personal strengths with pathways and promoting more
contact between school and home. I would provide family-
friendly prospects for young parents, and make the local
job market more attractive for overseas companies, with
strict environmental protections.
I often hear the belief that ‘this is as good as it gets’ for an
island in the middle of nowhere. I detest the resignation,
as did my father and the thousands that left with him.
Some might say that they abandoned home, but I beg
to differ. They went in search of an income stream that
promised even more than what was on offer, and shared
it with those in most need. This is the principle behind
sustainable economic development, and what worked
in New Zealand all those years ago can be replicated in
Samoa right now. A man once said that ‘success is 99%
attitude’, and I don’t disagree.
MORE INFO
Commonwealth Correspondents is a network of youth
writers supported by the Commonwealth Youth Programme.
See: www.yourcommonwealth.org and www.thecommonwealth.org.
Sustainable economic development in Samoa
Fale Lesa
Commonwealth Correspondent from New Zealand and Samoa
pic: Building a hotel, Saleapagaa village, Upolu. By Asian Development Bank

4. 2
For market vendor Rose Starlyn,
attending a series of workshops in
April and May 2014 turned out to be
the beginning of a journey. So far,
that journey has seen her address an
audience of more than 100 people,
including politicians and diplomats,
and being elected as the first
chairperson of the newly formed Honiara
Central Market Vendors Association.
“I think small changes can make a big difference. We can
make a market that is a happy place for everyone,” Rose
says. “A place that is healthy for everyone, where more
people, including tourists, can come, and market vendors
can earn more money. We can create a place where people
can learn and share skills, and women can ‘come up’.”
Rose is one of around 1,000 vendors working at Honiara
Central Market, an estimated 80 per cent of whom are
women. She works six days a week as a tailor and clothing
vendor and the money she makes covers school fees and
bus fares for her five children.
Rose’s story is typical of many women at markets around
the Pacific. Between 75 and 90 per cent of vendors are
women; hours are long, profits often low, and conditions
difficult. Many female vendors come to the market from
rural areas and usually sleep at the market for three or
four days, exposing them to a higher risk of gender-based
and sexual violence as well as theft.
Despite this, they are rarely represented in – and
sometimes excluded from – the planning and decision-
making processes that determine how the markets are run.
This was the motivation behind UN Women’s Markets for
Change (M4C) project. Developed specifically for the Pacific
region, where markets are often central to livelihoods
especially in poorer households, M4C is a six-year, multi-
country initiative that will inject more than US$10 million
into ensuring that markets in Fiji, Solomon Islands and
Vanuatu are safe, inclusive and non-discriminatory.
Principally funded by Australia’s Department of Foreign
Affairs and Trade, M4C was officially launched in Fiji,
Solomon Islands and Vanuatu in April, May and August
2014 respectively. Workshops like Honiara’s are among
the project’s initial activities. They are specifically aimed at
creatingaccessible,inclusiveandrepresentativegovernance
structures to help the markets grow and strengthen the
role and influence of women market vendors. Part of the
workshops is a mapping exercise where participants ask
their fellow vendors about the issues they face and the
changes they would like to see at the market.
Empowering Pacific women through
marketplaces
Ellie van Baaren
UN Women
Ethel Sigimanu, Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of
Women, Youth and Children’s Affairs in Solomon Islands,
says the economic contribution that female market vendors
make to their local councils, families, churches, communities
and their country’s economy often goes unrecognised.
“Markets are male-dominated. The planning and decision-
making and market operations are usually done by men
but it is the women who are doing the selling,” Ethel says.
“The M4C project makes women visible. And when women
are visible, we not only see their hardships and successes,
but we see tangible benefits through what women do.”
So far the workshops have been instrumental in the
formation of vendors associations at Auki and Honiara
markets in Solomon Islands, and the re-activation of
the Suva market vendors association in Fiji. At Nausori,
also in Fiji, the Women’s Club - set up in 2012 to give
female vendors a safe space to express their views - and
the general vendors’ association have agreed to hold joint
executive committee meetings to ensure that the needs
and interests of all vendors are represented.
Preeya Ieli, Regional Programme Specialist for Women’s
Economic Empowerment at UN Women’s Fiji Multi-
Country Office, says that one of the keys to making the
M4C project effective is working closely not only with
vendors but with market management, local government
and other stakeholders.
“Women at each of the markets we work with are facing
different challenges. It’s fantastic to see the enthusiasm
with which vendors, management and government have
embraced the project and how motivated they are to work
together to make changes that will benefit everyone.”
For now Rose is looking forward to helping to make a
difference for herself and her fellow vendors.
“I can see many things inside the market that need
changing – it is not clean, there is no water,” Rose explains.
“This association is an opportunity to work together to
make the market clean and good for everyone.”.
pic: Market vendor Rose Starlyn from Honiara, Solomon Islands.
UN Women/Ellie van Baaren

5. 3
Makareta Rika is 75 years old and
has been working at Lautoka Market
in Fiji’s Western Division for more
than half her life. A seller of
handicrafts, mats and tapa, she has
been instrumental in improving the
market infrastructure, especially for
women, and organising local vendors to
stand up for their rights.
“I come from Naiavu Tailibu near Nausori but I have lived
in Lautoka all my life. I used to work at the western regional
library but it was hard to do that while looking after my six
children and sending them to school, so I decided to run a
handicraft business at the market instead.
At that stage, there was no market building; the vendors
were selling from a number of little tents all over the
place. I asked the city council to build a house for the
vendors, but they refused so I found a piece of land on the
outskirts of town that was not owned by the council and
got the market vendors to sell from there. This meant that
the council didn’t get any revenue from the market, and
we kept it up for 14 days and 14 nights. Then the council
changed their minds! Now we have a big beautiful market
in the city.
That was the start of the market vendors association; I’m
still running it 45 years later. In the beginning I didn’t
really know what to do, so I just sat down and listened and
if vendors told me something was wrong, I would work
it out. I registered the association and now vendors pay
$10 per person to become a member. We get a lot more
women joining now, especially young mothers.
In 2012, the representative from UN Women in Fiji at
the time (Elizabeth Cox) came to find me at my house
because she had seen the articles I had put in the paper
and wanted to know more. Basically about 100 women
who came from the interior of the island to sell at the
market were sleeping out in the open guarding their
produce and they had to go a long way to use the toilets.
With UN Women’s help, and the support of the Australian
Government (through the Department of Foreign Affairs
and Trade), a new accommodation facility was built so the
women could sleep in a proper bed. The Prime Minister
opened it in July this year.
UN Women has been educating the vendors through
workshops, encouraging us to stand up and talk so that we
are not scared any more. Women are learning that even if
they are not well educated, they can go to the market and
run their business, save up their money and educate their
children. I got all my children educated right up to university
level, and now I have five grandchildren at university.
I praise UN Women for what they have done and that is
why when they ask me to do something for them, I’m
happy to stand up for them.”.
Makareta is part of UN Women’s delegation at the Third
International SIDS Conference and will be speaking about
UN Women’s Markets for Change project at a networking
reception on Monday September 1.
MORE INFO
www.facebook.com/unwomenpacific
Marketplaces are central to the livelihoods of households
throughout the Pacific and the majority of the vendors
who work in them are women, two of the reasons why UN
Women is working with market vendors to help strengthen
their conditions of work, earning power and leadership
abilities, which has positive effects on entire communities.
Makareta Rika: In my own words
pic: Makareta Rika. UN Women/Ellie van Baaren
pic: Market vendors at Honiara Market in Solomon Islands.
UN Women/Marni Gilbert

6. 4
The impacts of global warming are
already noticeable worldwide and are
likely to increase in the coming decades
if no action is taken, warns the latest
report from the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC).
In a time when discussions about whether human activity
is responsible for climate change have become outdated,
the world moves towards the discussion of impacts,
vulnerability of territories and possibilities of adaptation.
However, many factors hamper the progress of these
discussions, often due to political issues. Apparently,
among the different countries and private interests there
is a lack of a broad political consensus on how to act.
However, the effects of global warming are not a future
threat, they are a present threat and they can already
be observed in many regions. For example, in Brazil, the
Southeast region of the country is facing a crisis of water
supply as never seen before. This crisis is leaving millions
of people without access to basic essential services,
affecting diverse economic activities from agriculture
to industry, forcing local governments to use the last
available water reserves, and causing political conflicts
between States of the Federation, which may have harmful
consequences on the level of economic and human
development in the coming years. If Brazil, a continental
country known worldwide for its natural resources, is
already facing problems of this magnitude, what could
be expected, in the coming years, in the sustainable
development pattern of Small Island Developing States,
which have limited access to natural resources?
It is clear that the world is not prepared to deal with
the impacts of climate change, but emerging and
developing countries are probably even less prepared.
Climate-related dangers directly affect the lives of the
poor because they have an impact on their livelihoods,
reducing crop yields, destroying homes and, indirectly,
increasing food prices and food insecurity. To illustrate
the size of the problem, the costs of adaptation to
this reality vary greatly between countries. For some
developing nations and Small Island States the impacts
and costs of adaptation can assume several per cent of
their Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Understanding the impacts of climate change on poverty
rates in the developing world and how best to adapt
and remain resilient to changes is essential and should
include efforts to examine large-scale climate and other
global changes (e.g. population growth, economic growth,
political conflicts, territorial vulnerability, etc.) to inform
decision-makers, accurately and consistently, about the
management of socioeconomic and environmental issues.
The intellectual arena is open, and it seems inevitable
that the discussion will start to appear soon in the centre
of the political debate – to date these discussions have
been addressed by academia. However, the big question
is the complex balance between giving in to the populist
temptation to act alone without thinking about the larger
consequences, and the other extreme – the tendency
towards inaction which may interest those who benefit
from the status quo. The balance is even more delicate
in a world that has difficulty in generating sustainable
economic growth and where the redistribution of the
burden should necessarily be a zero sum game, but is far
from it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Carlos Germano F. Costa has PhD in Development and
Environment Studies and is a consultant to the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Climate change and the threat of poverty
Carlos Germano F. Costa
UNDP Consultant
pic: Clean water in the village of Banraeaba,
in Tarawa, Kiribati. By Lorrie Graham for AusAID

7. 5
Aviation connects the world. Over 58
million jobs and $2.2 trillion in global
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) are supported
by modern air transport. We fly nearly
50,000 routes and will carry over 3 billion
passengers this year. But whilst aviation
helps to bridge cultures and support
business, trade and tourism, in some
places it plays a much more fundamental
and important role – connectivity.
The Air Transport Action Group recently launched a report
looking at the role aviation plays in the world’s economy.
It shows that air transport supports 1.7 million jobs and
$37 billion in GDP in Small Island States around the world.
Around 151,000 people are employed within the industry
itself at airports, airlines and air traffic management
organisations and the rest are within the supply chain and
in tourism supported by aviation.
Tourism is a vital source of foreign revenue for islands
– one that can be more sustainable than other sources
of income. In February, for example, Palau’s President
Tommy Remengesau announced that all commercial
fishing around the islands would be banned in order to
create a marine sanctuary, which will enable Palau to
promote snorkelling, scuba diving and ecotourism as an
alternative way to grow its economy. The president, a
former fisherman, explained that a live shark was worth
$1.9 million as a tourist attraction while a dead one was
worth just a few hundred dollars.
With this growth in sustainable tourism opportunities
also comes a growth in passengers and the jobs that they
support. Over the next 20 years, air traffic is expected
to grow at an average annual rate of 5.4% across Small
Island States. The number of jobs supported by aviation
and tourism will grow to 2.9 million by 2032, a 76%
increase from 2012. Meanwhile, the contribution to GDP is
forecast to grow to $83 billion by 2032, a growth of 123%.
Each connection for tourism purposes also builds social
and business connectivity for local residents and traders.
It also means local aviation partners can help build
quality long-term jobs for residents. One example of this
is Nadi International Airport, which handles 98% of all
international visitors to Fiji. But the airport operator does
more than manage this vital gateway: it provides a base
for developing skills of the local population across a wide
range of aviation-related activities.
Airports Fiji Limited (AFL) employs 465 personnel across
its 15 airports. Its growing workforce has a range of skill
sets from operational and technical support to commercial
management and administration. The AFL Aviation Academy
offers training programmes to meet local and regional airport
market needs in areas such as air traffic management,
aviation security, fire-fighting and rescue services.
Domestic airports play a crucial role in the development
of Fiji’s regional economies, especially in the transport
of tourists between the islands. Tourism by air accounts
for around 25% of Fiji’s total GDP, worth $770 million
in 2009. Aviation supports a total of 66,000 jobs in the
islands, out of a total workforce of around 350,000.
But how can the forecast growth be reconciled with the
other aspect of sustainable development – environmental
improvements and specifically climate change? Aviation
currently emits around 2% of global CO2 emissions and,
as an industry, we have been proactive in working together
to reduce emissions. In 2008, industry leaders signed an
agreement in Geneva to stabilise aviation CO2 emissions
from 2020 and halve them by 2050. These are ambitious
targets and more information on how we will meet them
is available on www.enviro.aero, but it is worth giving an
example from a Small Island State on how one part of the
industry is working to help reduce emissions and build a
long-term economic asset.
Next month, Rarotonga Airport in the Cook Islands is due to
turn on its $3.3 million solar-array power station. The 3,800
panels covering just over 10,000 square metres will generate
nearly a megawatt of power, which will provide about 6% of
Rarotonga’s annual electricity generation needs. Although
airports have been using solar power for years around
the airfield, this is one of the growing number of projects
where airport solar power is being used to help meet energy
requirements in the local community. Generating jobs and
renewable energy… now that is truly sustainable! .
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Gill is the Executive Director of the Air Transport
Action Group.
Small Island States: Air transport and
a sustainable future
Michael Gill
Air Transport Action Group
pic: flying over the Rock islands of Palau. By Mark Kenworthy

8. 6
There’s much to be learned from
some of the smallest countries in
our global community. The Pacific
Islands are among those receiving
world attention during 2014, the
International Year of Small Island
Developing States (SIDS).
People of SIDS in the Pacific region are at the forefront
of efforts to address pressing global issues through
ingenuity, innovation and use of traditional knowledge.
This is important work, particularly given their limited
capacity, and fragile and vulnerable environment.
Pacific countries require strong government leadership,
institutions and policies in order to better co-ordinate
their development resources. They also need inclusive
and accountable national development partnerships,
with supportive partners. Achieving the Millennium
Development Goals requires more effective use of domestic
and external resources. Pacific Forum leaders adopted
the Cairns Compact on Strengthening Development
Coordination (Forum Compact) in 2009 to reinvigorate
efforts to achieve real development progress.
The key lies in peer-to-peer learning and reviews, stronger
country systems, donor transparency, political dialogue
with the private sector, and a roadmap towards effective
public financial management systems.
The Pacific region has come a long way in the last five
years. Overall, Pacific countries are exerting stronger
leadership and ownership to foster effective development
co-operation. They are reforming their country systems
based on evidence and regular assessment. They are
defining through robust national and sector development
plans where resources can be best used and are most
needed, providing greater clarity for themselves and
development partners.
Peer reviews of country systems have been the cornerstone
of the Forum Compact’s success. The Pacific region has
embraced this process, with 13 of the Pacific Forum’s 14
SIDS undergoing peer reviews since 2010. This substantial
work has produced beneficial and comprehensive results
and has been particularly valuable for South-South
exchanges of solutions to common and often longstanding
development co-ordination issues. The example of the
Joint Policy Matrix in Tuvalu to focus agreement between
government and its development partners on time bound
policy imperatives and action, has strengthened the Tuvalu
government’s leadership on defining where resources are
most needed, linked to clear monitoring frameworks and
results. Joint Policy Matrices are now a central feature
in the partnership arrangements between most Pacific
governments and their development partners, as a tool to
strengthen country leadership and ownership.
Partner countries drive the process by selecting their peer
reviewteams,definingreviewparameters,andsubsequently
adopting and implementing recommendations. This is
country leadership and ownership in action.
The groundswell of evidence from these peer reviews has
enabled countries to exercise stronger leadership. They are
setting their own national priorities with widespread consent
from parliamentarians, public servants, civil society and the
private sector. They are showing widespread commitment
to these priorities – from allocating appropriate resources
through to implementing, monitoring and reporting.
As a result, development partners are being encouraged
to deliver assistance through Pacific island countries’
preferred means, such as budget support and performance
based expenditure. Some development partners are
intensifying efforts to co-ordinate and harmonise their
support with some notable improvement in efforts to
jointly plan, deliver and monitor results at country level,
and mutual accountability is also on the rise.
Progress has been evident over the past four years, but
significant challenges remain. Smaller island states’
capacity issues in institutional and especially human
resources remain the biggest challenge. Limited staff, high
turnover, and overwhelming workloads are compounded
by high numbers of in-country donor missions, and
frequent overseas travel. In some cases, lack of skills
and experience can hold back or derail progress in key
government initiatives.
From development partners, some efforts are still needed
to reduce fragmentation, improve aid predictability
and transparency and to use recipient countries’
systems. The complexity, volume and rigidity of some
development partners’ procedures overwhelm small
island administrations.
There is a growing appetite in the Pacific region to
institutionalise evidence-based process. This is strongly
supported by political leaders and effective development
partners at both country and regional levels.
The next step will be to start peer reviews of development
partners this year. In a significant and welcome move,
Australia has volunteered to be the first to be peer reviewed.
During the SIDS Conference it is important to reflect on
developing island states’ important strides toward more
effective development co-operation.
Country leadership and ownership:
Action in the Pacific
Diane Abad
Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat

9. 7
Many small island communities have
a history of successful custodian
practices, which have retained
sensitive ecosystems for centuries.
However, due to islands’ small size,
isolation and fragility these have
come under pressure (and some are
being rapidly altered) from socio-
economic and global influences
such as climate change, population
growth/changes in demographics, and
(foreign) development interests.
Nature-based tourism, as one of only a few development
options for those small island environments, is often
seen as a desirable solution to improve the livelihoods of
developing island communities. Economic dependence
on the industry, occupational identity, community
perceptions, and level of external influence are some of
the important factors that guide attitude to tourism.
However, if not properly planned and managed, tourism
can significantly degrade the environment on which it is
so dependent. Overdevelopment of tourism in particular
areas or in whole islands can be environmentally and
culturally disruptive and detrimental to other valuable
sectors, such as traditonally practiced agriculture and
fisheries. For example, during a recent visit to Vanuatu,
one of the issues pointed out to us was a lack of legislation
and even awareness regarding land tenure. In reality this
means a number of cases of previous generations selling
land to foreign tourism developers, and considering that
most agriculture in Vanuatu is subsistence farming this
former ignorance is now potentially translating into nothing
less than compromised ability of present and future
generations to meet their basic needs of survival. Our field
observations also recorded quite a few examples linked
to relatively rapid yet poorly controlled introductions of
tourism that indicate noticable shifts in people’s attitudes
and values drifting away from custodianship towards
percieved benefits of monetary exchange.
The unconsolidated multiple-use of limited resources
may lead to short term growth but irreversible damage in
the long run, including reduced resilience of resources/
community capital, and potentially compromised carrying
and adaptive capacity of islands and communities in the
face of increased uncertainty raised by global changes.
If the goal is sustainable economic development, it is
imperative, therefore, that the expansion of tourism
be carefully planned, particularly in relation to
compatible land uses, existing cultural and environmental
constraints and opportunities present within small island
developing communities.
Competing demands for the use of natural resources
on small islands require solutions that are set on at
least three essential components. Firstly, an improved
understanding of community attitudes, perceptions and
reasons for their change. Secondly, an integrated value-
based management, that will allow for the synthesis of
traditional ecological knowledge, contemporary natural
resource management, vision and principles of sustainable
tourism development, which includes the integration of
useful and relevant information provided by the community
representatives, field-based scientists, managers, and
policy makers. And thirdly, the development of genuine
and lasting partnerships between community land owners
and (foreign) investors, possibly in a form of leasing,
where a substantial portion (more than 60 per cent)
goes towards further sustainable tourism development
investments exclusively on the leased land or inclusive
hosting community. Such arrangements also need to
cater for the local population’s employment, immediate
environmental stewardship and return of values related to
natural resource custodianship.
The role of tourism in changing island
custodian practices
Karmen Lux
Natura PR
pic: Fao Fao Beach, Southeast 'Upolu, Samoa. By Matti, gomasi.net

10. 8
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) offer opportunities
for genuine and sustainable business partnerships, said
executives and officials participating in a UN co-hosted
private sector forum. Held ahead of the opening of the
UN Conference on SIDS, the two-day forum aimed to bring
companies together to share information and best practices.
The expectations were for “dialogue and collaboration,
but also some concrete partnerships,” said UN Under-
Secretary General Gyan Chandra Acharya. He is also the
High Representative for the Least Developed Countries,
Landlocked Developing Countries and SIDS. His office
(OHRLLS) co-organised the forum with the Government
and the Samoa Chamber of Commerce.
“They know what the opportunities are,” in reference to
private sector investment in the region.
“Distance is a big challenge, that's true. The smallness of
the market is a big challenge, that is also true. But if you
look at some of the key resources that these countries
have – whether it is tourism, the agricultural sector –
whether it is the ocean, or fishing, they are not poor.
“It is trying to find the proper niche, and the area that they
want to focus on, and then build on that,” he added.
The Pacific Cooperation Foundation works with island
producers to help them grow and reach new markets. 33
companies partnering with its True Pacific Project label
benefit from access to markets, and a quality label that
certifies products are from the Pacific and were created
sustainably.
“For New Zealand, this is our backyard. My mom is from the
Cook Islands. Many of us working in this area are passionate
to raise standards and employ people from here,”
said Frances Hartnell, True Pacific’s project manager.
Jennifer Austin Foulkes, Manager of Google's Oceans
Program showed a monitor with a swimming sea turtle.
Google took its street view camera underwater to 25
different locations. People can now see the Hourglass Reef
in Bermuda, for example.
“It's a great tool to bring the ocean to more people,” Ms.
Foulkes said. The company is creating more virtual ocean
content to show people “what it looks like under the ocean
and why it matters.”
The tool has been used by local communities to
divide a marine sanctuary up into regions. It could also
help residents pinpoint areas where they should not be
fishing, such as the recently created Palau National
Marine Sanctuary, according to the President's office
press secretary.
Meanwhile, Google has teamed up with National
Geographic Society and the Waitt Foundation, both
represented at the forum, and other partners, to inspire
care of the oceans under the banner 'Mission Blue'. As
part of the forum, the UN is also trying to present the case
to the private sector to look at the sustainability and social
impact of their work.
“I think that type of trend is slowly coming as well,” Mr.
Acharya said. “If you look at the sustainable development
goals, many of the things we are looking at – whether it is
the oceans, energy, sustainable patterns, biodiversity – the
role of the private sector will be critical because they are
the ones who are the players and they are the ones who
should be looking at the environment and sustainability.
And I think if you take the issue of SIDS from the larger
global perspective, that fits well,” he continued. “Sensitize
them to do something towards the goal.”
The forum held meetings in six key areas: oceans and
marine resources, connectivity, sustainable agriculture,
sustainable tourism, disaster risk reduction, and
renewable energy. Its high-level dialogue included UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other UN officials
such as Margareta Wahlstrom, Special Representative
of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction,
and Elizabeth Thompson, Senior Adviser to Mr. Ban's
Sustainable Energy for All Initiative.
As well as hundreds of business representatives, it
included participants such as the Asian Development
Bank, Caribbean Development Bank and the OECD. The
partnership commitments formed will be included in the
overall partnerships to be announced at the end of the UN
conference on Thursday.
“We intend to pursue it further by working on creating a
kind of sustainable business network,” Mr. Acharya said,
stressing that the network would include cooperation
between small islands, international organisations and
other development partners. “We intend to make sure
that what we agree on is not a one-off event here, but
something that can be really taken forward.”.
Business execs build partnerships with
small islands at UN forum
UN News Centre
pic: Under-Secretary-General Acharya addresses opening of the
Private Sector Partnerships Forum in Apia, Samoa. By R. Dunn

11. 9
MONDAY1stSEPTEMBER
11:00 - 12:30 CR 3
Blue Growth/Blue Economy Initiative: Sustainable Fisheries and
Aquaculture in SIDS
Food Agriculture Organization, Government of The Netherlands
and Government of Indonesia
11:00 - 12:30 CR 2 Building Resilience in Small Island Developing States through Foresight Government of Tonga
11:00 - 12:30 CM 5 Enhancing Competitiveness in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) World Bank Group
11:00 - 12:30 CM 4
Inclusive value chains for livelihoods, trade and food security; case of
small-scale fisheries and aquaculture industry in Small Island States
UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
13:00 - 14:30 CM 4
Building Pacific Resilience – The Integrated Strategy for Climate and
Disaster Resilient Development in the Pacific (SRDP)
Government of Tonga
13:00 - 14:30 Partnerships Hall Health and Noncommunicable Diseases based on Healthy Island Vision Ministry of Health, Samoa
13:00 - 14:30 CR 3
Our Sea of Islands, Our Livelihoods, Our Oceania -The Pacific Ocean
Alliance
Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat
13:00 - 14:30 CR 2
Small Islands: high stakes and increased opportunities for promoting
sustainable consumption and production (SCP)
The Republic of Mauritius (Co-host: UNEP)
13:00 - 14:30 CM 5 Sustainable Anti-Corruption Reform UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
15:00 - 16:30 CR 3 Choiseul Integrated Climate Change Programme (CHICCHAP)
Dr Melchior Mataki, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment,
Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology
15:00 - 16:30 CM 4 Forum on Advancing Statistical Development in SIDS in the Post-2015 Era PARIS21-OECD in collaboration with Samoa Bureau of Statistics, SPC
15:00 - 16:30 CR 2
Prevent, Prepare, and Respond: Displacement in the context of disasters
and the effects of climate change
Government of the Kingdom of Norway
15:00 - 16:30 CM 5
Promoting Closer Economic Integration for Full Employment and Decent
Work in the Caribbean
Trinidad and Tobago; International Labour Organization
15:00 - 17:00 CR 1 CEB high-level event CEB Secretariat
17:00 - 18:30 CR 3 Ceremony for the Opening of the SIDS Dock Statute for Signature
Caribbean Community [CARICOM] Climate Change Centre (CCCCC)
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme
(SPREP)
17:00 - 18:30 CR 1 Coping with and adapting to ocean threats for resilient SIDS communities Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission
17:00 - 18:30 CM 5 Inclusive and Sustainable solutions for youth employment in SIDS UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
17:00 - 18:30 CR 2 Linking SIDS and SE4All: From Barbados to Samoa, and Beyond
UN Secretary-General's Special Representative and CEO,
Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All)
17:00 - 18:30 CM 4
Population dynamics for the sustainable development of small island
developing states
UN Population Fund (UNFPA)
19:00 - 20:30 CM 5
Building resilience and partnerships: protecting communities and their
animals from disasters
World Society for the Protection of Animals
19:00 - 20:30 CM 4
Ending Illegal Fishing: How the Right Technology and a Collaborative
Approach to Combatting IUU Fishing Makes a Difference on the Water
The Pew Charitable Trust
19:00 - 20:30 CR 2
Pacific Europe Network for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) –
PACE-Net Plus
PACE-Net Plus Consortium
19:00 - 20:30 CR 3 WIN: Promoting Local knowledge in the SIDS
WIN World Network of Indigenous and Local Community Land and
Sea Managers
DATE TIME VENUE TITLE ORGANISERS
Side events calendar

12. Outreach is made possible by the support of
After the success of day one of the Major Groups and
other Stakeholders Forum, participants began the final
day in collaboration and discussion on the implementation
of the SAMOA Pathway, the outcome document of the
Third International Conference on Small Island Developing
States (SIDS).
The group discussions centred on defining what are durable
and genuine partnerships between civil society and other
stakeholders, and government and the private sector. “What
does ‘partnerships’ mean?” was the challenge for each region
to discuss during the break-out session. The Pacific had the
biggest group with many diverse issues put forth.
Hosts of the Pre-Conference Forum, the Samoa Umbrella for
Non-Governmental Organisations (SUNGO), pointed out in the
Pacific caucus discussions that the support of Government
in providing a level playing field and an environment that is
conducive to partnerships between civil society organisations
(CSOs) and the private sector are needed, as well as
capacity building to ensure sustainability and continuity.
One of its member bodies – Adventists Disaster Relief
Assistance (ADRA) identified that, for them, willingness to be
transparent and proactively accountable to donors fostered
effective donor partnerships, enabling them to strengthen
existing relationships and have a stronger view towards
potential partnerships.
The regions mutually agreed that addressing climate change
and sustainable development through partnerships was
a key issue to lobby for at the SIDS Conference in Apia,
Samoa. Governments, the private sector and CSOs working
collaboratively to bring focus to these two issues is vital to
ensuring the continuity of this partnership approach.
Other issues that were tabled included gender equality,
indigenous rights and health, in the context of sexual
reproductive and health rights (SRHR), to name a few. Some
of the topics discussed were not included in the outcome
document and the participants had the opportunity to lobby
this with the drafting committee of the Forum Statement.
However, the general consensus was also the need to increase
the time and number of days spent on analysing and reviewing
key issues from all the regions and consolidating it into a
document in which all participants felt well represented.
Reflections on the Major Groups and other
Stakeholders Forum
Emanuele Taupau
Samoa Umbrella for Non-Governmental Organisations (SUNGO)
The drafting committee also proposed that the regions conduct
a consultative process to determine a regional focal point to
manage ongoing collaboration and partnership on the issues
that were highlighted and reviewed. Chairperson Chantal
Munro Knight highlighted that the only way forward for civil
society, NGOs and the relationship with the private sector was
the unity and solidarity that must remain an integral part of
the Major Groups.
SUNGO and its members have demonstrated that success
through partnerships is possible by having their affiliated
NGOs and CSOs working together and alongside their
international counterparts towards stronger connectivity and
unity on an international platform. The general consensus at
the close of the forum was that this was a great template for
future collaborations.
SUNGO has been collaboratively working with PIANGO (its
regional partner) on effective ways to push through civil society
views and contributions at the SIDS conference here in Apia for
the sake of the region’s CSO and NGO advancement.
pic: Lefaga Beach,Upolu, Samoa. By Andrew Moore