My first conference: Making a big difference for small islands

Last week I attended my first-ever international conference! My excitement and nerves were off the charts. Sure, I’ve been to conferences before, but this one felt different. The stakes were high; decisions made here would shape the next 10 years for my home region – a string of beautiful but vulnerable islands in the Caribbean. 

For anyone who doubts that climate change is real, a trip to Antigua and Barbuda for the 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) would have been a wake-up call. The relentless heat during the four-day event was a constant reminder of the climate-related challenges we face. Hurricanes are now just the tip of the iceberg – heat waves and droughts are a constant threat for small islands like my country, Barbados. 

It's frustrating, to say the least. Small island states contribute the least to climate change, yet we are often the first to feel its wrath. The lack of funding for adaptation and mitigation measures makes things even harder. Yet despite the challenges, there are glimmers of hope.  

Solidarity at SIDS 

I bumped into some old high-school friends at the conference. We were all there for the same reason – a burning desire to create a better future for our islands. We spent hours discussing what a world exceeding 1.5°C of warming might look like for our homelands, and strategizing ways to secure a sustainable future. 

But this conference wasn't just about policy and decisions; it was also about solidarity. It was a powerful reminder that despite the challenges, there are so many of us dedicated to making a difference. We are working together, pushing for a brighter tomorrow for SIDS and beyond. 

As the hurricane season officially started on 1 June, the climate forecasts we heard at the conference of rising sea levels, more intense storms and droughts were stark reminders of what’s at stake. Various data initiatives were discussed that will allow for tailored communication on early warning and risks to empower communities. This includes the SIDS Global Data Hub, which will be a repository for SIDS data but also help with risk identification and mapping for preparation and real-time monitoring in a response.  

These initiatives give us a chance to be more prepared and better target our efforts. By building strong partnerships, we can ensure our responses effectively help the people who need it most.  

Here's to a season of preparation, collaboration and, most importantly, hope! 

Plans, goals, ideas 

The conference concluded with the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS  – an action plan designed to achieve ‘resilient prosperity’ for SIDS in the coming decade. It includes commitments on building resilient SIDS economies; scaling up climate action, such as advocacy on climate justice and investments in climate-proof infrastructure; data and digitalization; and strengthening social services and efforts to reduce disaster risk, including through expanded ex-ante financing. The goal is to increase resilience and mitigate the impact of climate shocks, but the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events that require humanitarian response was a major theme of the conference and its outcome. 

During the conference, OCHA hosted a well-attended side event: ‘Addressing Humanitarian Financing in the Context of Climate Change at the 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States.’ It was held in collaboration with Ireland, Latvia, Timor Leste, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.  

CDEMA indicated that "disaster risk reduction is the first step in tackling climate change, and every sector in the Caribbean is climate sensitive.”   

UNDRR said that agency should be put in the hands of households by giving them access to direct financial assistance, such as cash transfers. 

Participants raised concerns about the conventional quantification of loss and damage, which often focuses only on structural costs. They emphasized the need to focus on a far greater loss, namely their traditions, culture and way of life, as island communities face an existential threat due to climate change.  

The side event showcased the critical need for innovative, proactive and inclusive humanitarian financing solutions that can address the diverse impacts of climate change on SIDS. Participants also called for investment in communities ahead of a sudden-onset event that would require humanitarian action. Such investments will build local capacity for resilient, locally designed responses. 

Other discussions and ideas took the form of “calls to action”, such as reducing bureaucratic hurdles for local organizations that work directly with communities to access climate funds. 

Now that the conference is over, our team at the OCHA Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean is buzzing with ideas! There's so much potential for organizations like OCHA to expand their work with SIDS, particularly when it comes to anticipatory action and Regional Humanitarian Funds. These funds could be a game-changer in helping to build stronger partnerships, prepare communities, and secure the resources we need across the Caribbean and the Pacific to enable a timely and localized response. 

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This story was first published by UN OCHA.