Excerpt and Photo from caribois.org

While the fourth Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) Conference may have concluded on May 30 in Antigua and Barbuda, stakeholders are committed to their advocacy efforts with the hope of ensuring that SIDS remain classified as a “special case” for sustainable development.

In 1992, SIDS were designated as a “special case” for sustainable development during that year’s UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio, Brazil.

The designation recognised that while many then emerging environmental threats – like climate change – may affect SIDS, the countries themselves weren’t inherently the driving forces behind these threats.

As such, the designation also paved a pathway for Global North countries to be held accountable for the role they play in these environmental threats and, in turn, contribute towards actions to reduce the vulnerabilities and improving the resilience of SIDS.