Imagine a World Without Islands: SIDS4 campaign shines spotlight on island issues and opportunities

If you close your eyes and imagine island life, what image comes to mind? Most of the world would envision aquamarine waters, golden sand, and lush palm trees swaying in the breeze — a perfect so-called "getaway" from the hustle and bustle of urban life. Others may think about the vibrancy of island culture, from the colourful Carnival parades through Caribbean streets to the thrilling fire dances of Polynesian islands in the Pacific.

But island people may share a different vision. They will tell you that each island offers its own unique cultural experience and distinct natural landscapes. Where islanders will most find agreement may be in telling you that island life is becoming significantly harder to sustain. And for many island people, there is no "getaway" option. 

As a series of compounding crises have converged upon islands to jeopardise their future prospects, island people are forced to imagine a world without islands Read on to learn why.

From small islands to SIDS

There are approximately 11,000 permanently inhabited islands scattered throughout planet Earth's oceans, lakes, and seas. Some of them are territories that form part of larger mainland countries but quite a few of them chart their own course on the world stage. For the smaller islands whose size makes them vulnerable on multiple fronts, this can present a few challenges. That's why in 1992 at the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the international community embraced the classification of small island developing States (SIDS) as a unique category of countries.

There are currently 39 SIDS and 18 Associate Members of United Nations Regional Commissions who belong to this group. Some examples include Fiji, an archipelago of more than 300 islands in the South Pacific Ocean, and Barbados, an island country in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. This classification counts island States rather than individual islands and territories and nods to their particular situations of social, economic, and environmental vulnerabilities and constraints.

In a few cases, mainland countries such as Belize, Guyana, and Suriname, with low-lying coastal areas, belong to the SIDS groups because they share the same challenges. In other cases, an island that may appear to be more advanced in its development, such as Singapore, is part of the group because the vulnerabilities still apply.

At the UN General Assembly (UNGA), 37 of the world's 193 Member States are SIDS.

SIDS as Large Ocean States

Small islands are very dependent on their coastal environment and surrounding seas, with many responsible for maritime areas several times larger than their land area. Thirty percent of the world’s ocean natural and cultural resources are in the care of islands. For example, Tuvalu, an island country in the Pacific, has an ocean territory 27,000 times the size of its land space, while another, Kiribati, has the 13th largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) on Earth.

Island people are ocean people, depending on the sea for food, recreation, transport, economic activity, and more. Despite their small contributions to drastic changes in the world’s seas and oceans, island people have the mammoth task of protecting their large ocean states.

Understanding SIDS vulnerabilities

Island life can sound like a dream but in times of crisis, it quickly becomes a nightmare. External shocks such as a hurricane or a global pandemic, can disproportionately destabilise a SIDS economy. For example, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected a nine per cent drop in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for #SIDS — almost three times higher than other developing countries. Because of their limited populations and landmass, SIDS economies often rely heavily on just one or two industries, such as agriculture or tourism, leaving them uniquely vulnerable.

Agenda 21, a daring program of action that arose from the 1992 UNCED Conference, defined SIDS as ecologically fragile and vulnerable, stating: “Their small size, limited resources, geographic dispersion and isolation from markets, place them at a disadvantage economically and prevent economies of scale.” 

Another major UNCED outcome was an acknowledgement that SIDS should be considered as a special case by the international community when addressing matters of the environment and sustainable development.

The challenge of geographic isolation

Some SIDS are geographically isolated and far away from their nearest neighbours. Even the ones that aren't too off far in distance, must still contend with the accessibility constraints of being surrounded by ocean. Remoteness and isolation has its charm but leaves small islands susceptible to harm. 

Geographic isolation affects SIDS in several ways: Many SIDS must depend on imports for survival; SIDS can be cut off form the world amid extreme weather events; SIDS economies can be destroyed in quick time, without having access to the support needed for a quick recovery.

Moreover, in two out of three island states, the tourism industry, which can be fickle, represents 20% of national income. So when things go wrong, economic activity slows down, amplifying all of the existing challenges posed by isolation and remoteness.

SIDS on the frontline of the climate crisis

The climate crisis could spell death for some small island developing States (SIDS). The collective's rallying cry of "1.5˚to Stay Alive" highlights the fact that failure to limit temperature rise endangers their lives and livelihoods more rapidly and severely than the rest of the world.

Average near-surface global temperatures have risen by 1.2°C degrees Celsius since the pre-industrial era, pushing small islands to the very brink of what they can sustain. If the world passes 1.5°C in warming, cyclones and hurricanes, which have already become more severe, will increase in intensity, making island life too dangerous and expensive for many. Sea level rise will accelerate further in tandem, relegating some of the island spaces and places we love to the history books — to be read about but never again experienced by humanity.

For this reason, SIDS advocated for inclusion of the 1.5°C threshold in the Paris Agreement at COP21 in 2015. The central aim of this international treaty is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping global temperature rise this century well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5°C.

Under current national climate plans, global average temperatures are projected to rise by 2.5-2.9°C by the end of this century, failing to meet either threshold, and transforming idyllic island life into a never ending nightmare. At that stage, it would be too late to correct course.

The SIDS debt crisis

Over 40% of SIDS are now on the edge of or are already grappling with unsustainable levels of debt. Going back decades, small island economies have had higher debt than other developing countries, driving a vicious cycle of fiscal stress and climate vulnerability. By 2019, external debt accounted for 62% of SIDS' national income.

One reason has to do with SIDS' low economic diversification. Many also endure a vicious cycle of loss and damage caused by extreme weather events, occurring more frequently and striking more ferociously, as the climate crisis worsens.

For this reason, island governments dedicate a huge amount of public money to debt repayment, instead of developing infrastructure and public services island people need.

Moreover, the world views many SIDS as middle income countries based on GDP and other established criteria. This means SIDS are not always eligible to access the concessionary finance they need. To ease this burden, SIDS have been calling for a new economic measurement model to be adopted that would factor in their unique vulnerabilities.

Currently, the United Nations is working with SIDS on the development – and implementation – of a Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) that will seek to address their unique situation.

Climate Justice for SIDS

Despite contributing less than one per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, SIDS are among the first and hardest hit by climate change. 

Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, and Nate turned the 2017 tropical cyclone season into one of the deadliest and most devastating of all time, destroying communications, energy and transport infrastructure, homes, health facilities, and schools. Slow onset events like sea level rise are causing permanent loss of land, increased flooding, saltwater contamination of freshwater resources, and the destruction of vital ecosystems. Much of this loss and damage in SIDS is being fuelled by the carbon emissions of others; yet, SIDS are often left to pick up the tab.

As United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres told the UNGA in 2022, “Polluters must pay.” He urged countries to impose windfall taxes on fossil fuel companies and divert the money to vulnerable nations suffering worsening losses from the climate crisis. For SIDS, this means providing them with access to the necessary finance for implementing adaptation measures and recovering climate-driven loss and damage.

The vast marine spaces of SIDS also play a crucial role in absorbing carbon and mitigating climate change, making an investment in climate justice for SIDS an investment for all of humanity.

A looming crisis of displacement

Around 65 million people live in SIDS, begging the question: What will happen if the world fails to correct course on climate change?

Some SIDS, may be at risk of going under. But even those that won't disappear still stand to lose varying amounts of landmass due to coastal erosion. The issue is that in many islands, people tend to live around the coastline. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), small island communities, especially those dependent on coral reefs, may face unmanageable climate impacts before 2100, even under low greenhouse gas emission scenarios.

Take the Maldives in the North-central Indian Ocean as an example. With over 80% of its land less than one meter above sea level, the Maldives is particularly vulnerable to this fate. Rising sea levels and increased storm surges threaten isladers' homes and could even jeopardise the island country's existence.

SIDS stand united

Individually, SIDS can struggle to be heard in international negotiations. But together, this collective can and does speak with a powerful voice! Whether in the Caribbean, the Pacific, or the African, Indian Ocean, and South China Sea (AIS) regions, SIDS have been working together to advance their priorities. in 1990, the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) was created to strategically advocate for the interests of SIDS and low-lying coastal developing States as a unified bloc. 

Their impact has been felt most strongly in climate policy. AOSIS played a crucial role in pushing for the Paris Agreement, ensuring that the 1.5 degrees celsius threshold — a threshold vital for their member States's survival — would be included.

Changing the SIDS Story

The upcoming Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) presents an opportunity to solve some of the biggest challenges faced by SIDS. SIDS4will be held 27-30 May, 2024 in Antigua and Barbuda. This once in a decade Conference will bring together international stakeholders to review SIDS’ sustainable development progress and propose a new decade of partnerships and solutions to supercharge their path to resilient prosperity.

The Conference will culminate in the adoption of a new ten year plan that will focus on practical and impactful solutions to support the SIDS in building resilience and attaining their sustainable development objectives. The anticipated outcome document highlights the needs of SIDS, outlines avenues for achieving targets, and suggests UN system reform in support of these countries.

SIDS4 is an opportunity for the world correct course before it's too late. Let us Imagine a world without islands now to sound the alarm and ensure it never happens.