Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

1. Introduction

CAPACITY 2015 is a global partnership mechanism assisting countries to develop the capacity of their professionals, institutions, and systems to formulate and implement strategies for sustainable development to achieve local, national and international development goals. It will work with developing and transitional countries to build and develop their capacity for sustainable development based on proven successes 1.

Sustainable Development Challenges in Small Island Developing States
This component of Capacity 2015 relates to the special needs of Small Island Developing States (SIDS). A particular orientation will be required to ensure that the strategy addresses not only the MDGs but also the Barbados Program of Action (BPOA) for the sustainable development and vulnerability of SIDS. Vulnerability is an aggregate measure of exposure to risk or hazards brought about by economic strife, environmental processes such as climate change, government policies or internal events and forces resulting from a combination of factors. For SIDS, the definition of vulnerability emphasizes and accounts for the lack of capacity in these nations to respond to the risks or hazards thereby making the resilience of SIDS comparatively lower than other developing countries.

The unique human resources situation in SIDS, characterized by issues such as the out migration of professionals, makes these countries the most vulnerable in the broader context of vulnerability. SIDS are small, their human resources are limited, and their environments have limited capacity to absorb shocks. The fundamental principles for national vulnerability reduction in SIDS are to:
1. minimize the risks from external shocks; and
2. maximize environmental, economic, and social resilience.

Capacity 2015 SIDS will seek to steer SIDS in those directions.

2. The Strategic Framework for Capacity 2015 SIDS

The strategic framework is premised on the following principles: a) the need to understand the range and relative influence of the various factors that determine the vulnerability of SIDS; b) the need to understand the unique human resource, economic, social, environmental and physical situation of each SIDS; c) a relationship with the pre-eminent regional organizations of SIDS and with existing regional and inter-regional consultative mechanisms is essential for high- level political support for the implementation of Capacity 2015, which should engender ownership of the program in SIDS.

Capacity 2015 SIDS will help SIDS respond to capacity limitations in addressing vulnerability and sustainable development to plan and implement initiatives that respond at local, national and regional levels within and across SIDS. The program will address vulnerability reduction and resilience building in five critical areas:

• Natural Resource Management (focused on water, land, marine and coastal resources)
• Energy
• Health
• Agriculture – Food Security, and
• Natural Disasters

In addition, the program will have three cross-cutting components: human resources development; support for local level capacity building; and institutional strengthening.

Partnerships with UNDESA and other agencies with interest in SIDS issues will be pursued. It is anticipated SIDSnet will be the vehicle to facilitate the movement of information and expertise within and across SIDS. There are also opportunities for partnerships with the UNDP/GEF Capacity Development Initiative, related to capacity development for implementation of environmental conventions.

The Programme Components
The goal of the Capacity 2015 SIDS initiative is to contribute to sustainable development in the region through strengthening of the requisite capacities for transforming SIDS to enable them to implement the BPOA and to achieve the MDGs, and to reduce their vulnerability through minimizing the risks from external shocks and maximizing environmental, economic, and social resilience.

Human resource development
The most important resources in SIDS are the people with their skills and creative imagination. The development of their capabilities is an essential prerequisite for SIDS to become internationally competitive in high value-added services. Education must receive the highest priority in the SIDS strategy. Traditional curricula must be modified to expose students to new challenges. All academic levels, from primary to post-graduate studies, should sensitize citizens to SIDS’ vulnerabilities.

Interactive Communications Technologies (ICT) are standard for business, government and civil society groups in developed countries, however SIDS are only starting to incorporate these technologies into their operating systems. ICT has great potential to positively transform the way SIDS address persistent economic, social and environmental problems. The opportunities offered by ICT could help close the wide quality of life gaps for SIDS citizens.

With small administrations, many SIDS find it increasingly difficult to fully engage in important international processes. In particular, the World Trade Organization is one of the most costly, complicated and time-consuming international processes, and many SIDS have simply walked away (out of 43 AOSIS Members, there are 20 full WTO Members, but only a few participate on a regular basis). SIDS are missing an opportunity because of capacity shortages or weaknesses. Capacity development for negotiations is as essential to SIDS as are its economics, science, or medicine.

Capacity 2015 SIDS will; strengthen programmes for individual human resource development; focus on requirements to work on sustainable development challenges; implement strategies to overcome the digital divide; and develop skills for international negotiations. SIDS resilience will be strengthened through the development of individual skills for the benefit of the greater community.

Support for local level capacity development
Concentration of resources to local level NGOs and CBOs, is a fundamental aspect of Capacity 2015. Individual participation, particularly at the community level is an important means for achieving sustainable development and formulating capacity development goals. Support for local level capacity building initiatives is intended to encourage and empower people to take ownership of the processes that affect their lives and to make decisions in the face of growing vulnerability.

The growth in the number of active NGOs and Community Based Organizations (CBOs), increased financial and technical support from international aid agencies, and enabling legislation, have allowed many SIDS Governments, to divest or share management responsibilities with grassroots groups. However, CBOs are often ill-equipped to truly participate in environmental decision-making due to lack of financial resources, time constraints, distrust of policy-makers, lack of access to information, or a lack of knowledge about available options and strategies.

NGO’s contributions to national development are manifested in their projects. Their approach to project development and implementation often determines the success of initiatives aimed at assisting vulnerable groups. It is therefore imperative that NGOs have a clear and concise approach to identifying projects. The challenge is to bring the most creative organisational development products and tools, to provide information on how to improve management, operations, communications and resources.

NGOs must improve their technical personnel skills as their public visibility increases and they interact with government or take on consulting for foreign agencies. Other capacity challenges include lack of adequate funding, inappropriate scale and scope of initiatives and policy frameworks, scarcity of technical expertise, and poor infrastructure. Developing capacity locally requires carefully designed processes for each country, using the proven principles from Capacity 21 of participation, information and integration as a guide.

Institutional strengthening
Sustainable development continues to be a difficult concept for SIDS to build national economic development policy around. The public sector is organized and managed by sector. Economic issues are divorced from environmental considerations, and there is weak capacity for social planning. Another obstacle to creating sustainable development policy is the lack of quantitative tools that allow for effective monitoring and corrective actions.

The capacity challenges faced by most national institutions in SIDS — such as lack of funding, inappropriate scale and scope, scarcity of technical expertise, and poor infrastructure — have forced states to turn to regional institutions for help in specialized assistance. In addition, international donor agencies also find it more cost effective to fund projects through regional institutions. Pacific SIDS have developed a well-organized structure of regional intergovernmental organizations , coordinated through the Council of Regional Organizations in the Pacific (CROP).

There is also an important role for SIDS regional and national universities in Capacity 2015 SIDS. These institutions are the “incubators” of professional capacity, but are often underdeveloped in terms of programmes offered, numbers of students accommodated, and research and consulting capacity.

The strategy will therefore build on existing linkages between SIDS educational institutions and develop new modalities for cooperation. Support will be given to the development of national and regional sustainable development strategies that contain human resource development components for individuals and institutions. Guidelines for appropriate national sustainable development authority structures will be developed. Cooperative arrangements for the development of appropriate training tools will also be established. Resilience in SIDS will be strengthened through greater reliability of institutional support.

3. Programme Implementation

Partnerships
The program components will be implemented in cooperation with key regional organizations and relevant national institutions. For the Pacific SIDS this will include partnerships with the Council of Regional Organizations in the Pacific and the Pacific Islands Association of NGOs. For the Caribbean relevant organizations include CARICOM, OECS and UWI.

Partnership with UNDESA and other agencies with interest in SIDS issues will be pursued. For example, it is anticipated SIDSNet will be the vehicle that facilitates the movement of information and some expertise within and across SIDS. There are also opportunities for partnership with the UNDP/GEF CDI, related to capacity building for implementation of the environmental conventions.

Country and regional support
Support will be offered to countries primarily through their existing regional mechanisms. Where these do not exist, consideration should be given to their establishment. For example, there is an ongoing discussion between the African and Indian Ocean SIDS on some form of cooperative arrangement for sustainable development.

Programme timeframe
Phase 1 (2003-2004) will be devoted to intense discussions to ensure comprehensive national and regional dialogues on priorities and fostering ownership, consolidating and rephrasing existing Capacity 21 programmes, and initiating programme implementation. To ensure a correct start for the program, key regional organizations will be consulted for substantive content, country ownership, institutional and management arrangements. This phase will contribute to partnership building, resource mobilization, and putting in place a participatory monitoring and evaluation system. Phase 2 (2005-2010) will focus on implementation. Phase 3 (2011-2015) will carry on with the implementation but also develop applied research, to build on lessons learned, and setting in place an appropriate and more permanent mechanism.

Monitoring and evaluation
The Steering committee at the national or regional level will be responsible for assisting the national or regional office with project evaluation and approval as well as monitoring and evaluation of implementation. The composition of the Steering Committee should include: UNDP, other multi-lateral and bi-lateral agencies, government, civil society and private sector, media, and academia.

4. Institutional Arrangements

A core steering committee established by UNDP, in partnership with government, civil society, and funding organizations, will be responsible for project review, monitoring, and evaluation funded either from the Capacity 2015 SIDS, or through partnerships. Each capacity building project will have an oversight group comprised of members of the Steering Committee and Partner representatives to advise the Steering Committee on project progress.

5. Resource Mobilization

Based on estimates derived from UNDP’s capacity development experience, an annual budget of US$4 million per year, for the first five years, is in order. It is estimated that in-kind contribution from Government, and resources mobilized will provide for 50 percent of programme cost. The remainder would be mobilized through the Trust Fund. Consistent with the finding and recommendations of the Capacity 21 programme, the project cycle period can be up to five years.

Elements of the resource mobilization strategy include:

• Core resources used as seed money to leverage non-core resources at the national level
• Cost-Sharing with bilateral donors for programme interventions
• Partnership with foundations and the private sector
• Cost sharing with the UNDP Thematic trust funds

Footnotes
1 Capacity 2015 builds on the lessons learned through UNDP's extensive capacity development experience including Capacity 21, Local Initiative Facility for the Urban Environment, Public Private Partnerships for the Urban Environment and the Global Environment Facility's Small Grants Programme. For further background on these programmes please consult www.undp.org