Small island nations face big issues at Barbados conference.

• Position: Planning for UN Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, Apr 25-May 6, 1994

Once known for their untouched story-book charm, small islands today face deforestation, soil erosion, sea-level rise and other problems that have left them grappling for happy endings.

To tackle these issues and formulate strategies promoting environmentally-friendly development, delegates from around the world are to meet at the Global conference on the sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States from 25 April to 6 May in Bridgetown, Barbados.

The Conference is another offspring of the UN Conference on Environment and Development, held in June 1992 in Rio de Janeiro. At that "Earth Summit", small islands were designated as a vulnerable group, warranting special international attention. Paragraph 17 of "Agenda 21"--the comprehensive action plan adopted in Rio to promote sustainable development--calls on small island States to develop and strengthen inter-island regional and interregional cooperation and information exchange.

Key areas

The Barbados Conference has the task of recommending action in a number of key areas: climate change and sea-level rise; human resource development; waste management; coastal and marine resources; natural disasters; freshwater resources; energy; tourism development; biodiversity; transport and communication; and land use.

Due to scarce land resources, increasing development has placed heavy demands on island countries. Deforestation and erosion are widespread, and growing population pressures have depleted freshwater supplies. Valuable species inhabiting small islands and their seas are endangered. Education, training and other human resources development efforts are needed to ensure effective use of limited resources.

Small islands are also extremely vulnerable to natural disasters, making preparedness essential (see page 6 5). Tropical storms, for instance, have wiped out entire crops; recovering from such disasters can retard development by years.

External forces threaten small islands too. Sea-level rise, resulting from global warming caused mostly by emissions of greenhouse gases in industrialized countries, poses a...