The Agenda for SIDS: Regional Governments Advised to 'Leverage UN System Support' to Make ABAS a Reality

The United Nations is mobilising support for Caribbean priorities to deliver on the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States (ABAS) - a plan of action to ensure the survival of SIDS. 

This was the main message from Heads of UN Agencies during a UN System-led panel discussion at the 30th session of the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee (CDCC), hosted in Port of Spain from September 9 - 11. 

The Committee, established in 1975 through a resolution of the Economic Commission of Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), promotes and strengthens economic and social cooperation among Caribbean countries and between the Caribbean and Latin America.

Moderated by UN Resident Coordinator for Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten, Joanna Kazana, the panel featured UNDP Resident Representative for Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten, Ugo Blanco; WFP Caribbean Country Director, Brian Bogart; UNFPA Sub-regional Office for the Caribbean Director, Elizabeth Talbert; and University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus Programme Director at the Office of the Deputy Principal, Travis Sinckler.

Discussions focused on four regional priorities for sustainable development: digitalisation, data, climate change and food systems. 

While these areas already feature prominently in the collaboration between the UN and Caribbean countries under the Multi-Country Cooperation Framework for the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean (2022-2026), Ms. Kazana highlighted that ABAS opens up a new chapter of cooperation opportunities.

As the CDCC considered next steps to roll out ABAS, Ms. Kazana underscored that member states can leverage the broad, multidisciplinary resources of the UN.

“You can draw on the experience, the knowledge, the technical capacities of every UN agency that will have a stake in part of this agenda,” she said.

Mr. Blanco noted that digital transformation is an accelerator of sustainable development. He said Caribbean governments are embracing this movement, but coordination and synergy are paramount. 

“The question is not if we are working on digitalisation,” he told the audience at the Hilton Trinidad. “The question is, are we being efficient? Are we talking the same language? Are we going in the same direction? In the Caribbean, given our economies of scale, our limited capacities, the need to come together is very evident.”

He recalled that the Small Island Digital States 2.0 Conference hosted by the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Trinidad and Tobago, in conjunction with UNDP Trinidad and Toabgo, aimed to create a collaborative, holistic framework for digital integration and innovation across the Caribbean. 

Mr. Blanco underscored that an effective strategy for digital transformation will be inclusive and equitable, putting people at the centre.

“Digitalisation advances at the speed of trust that communities have in these initiatives,” he said. “We are seeing across the region that people are asking for participation, they want to be part of these processes.”

Climate change adaptation remains a topline priority for Caribbean SIDS, and Mr. Blanco noted that the upcoming COP 29 and COP 30 meetings in Azerbaijan and Brazil respectively will bring issues critical for SIDS to the forefront. Chief among them is access to financing to mitigate against the effects of climate change.

“The most important change COP will bring to the table since 2009, the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), will be discussed in Azerbaijan and be implemented after COP 30 in Brazil. It’s something specific that will benefit SIDS with grants, concessional funding and investment flows that can manage more inclusive climate financing for adaptation,” he said.

At COP 29 in November 2024, governments must establish a new climate finance goal that reflects the scale and urgency of the climate challenge. Then, at COP 30 in November 2025, countries must come prepared with new nationally-determined contributions that take the whole economy into account, cover all greenhouse gasses and fully align with the 1.5°C temperature limit.

“You will hear about the ‘beginning of the end,’” Mr. Blanco explained. “Decarbonisation and net zero pathways. There will be the operationalisation of the loss and damage fund, and an update on the global stock take.”

On data, Ms. Talbert said the UN System is already supporting data-driven decision-making to shape effective humanitarian responses in the wake of natural hazards.

“After Hurricane Beryl earlier this year, governments needed data on the sizes of the communities affected,” she noted. “This kind of data can inform the scope of humanitarian assistance. The UN is working to improve national statistical systems, build capacity and leverage innovation.”

She said that it is sometimes said there is a paucity of data in the Caribbean, but the real struggle may be that the data is not disaggregated enough to ensure those who may be left behind can be reached.

“Data incorporates human rights and gender equality. It ensures that we leave no one behind, especially marginalised groups, women, girls and Persons with Disabilities,” Ms. Talbert stated.

Mr. Bogart picked up this point, noting that the seventh round of the CARICOM/WFP Caribbean Food Security and Livelihoods Survey conducted in April 2024 found that 43% of the population in the region was food insecure. 

“Using data systems to identify the most vulnerable populations, to assist governments with targeting programmes so they can meet the needs of populations that are impoverished or at risk of climate impacts, is key,” he noted.

Mr. Bogart pointed out that the concept of resilient food systems is mainstreamed throughout the ABAS, an indication of its high priority status for a climate-vulnerable region like the Caribbean.

Closing out the panelists’ contributions, Mr. Sinckler appealed for concerted advocacy efforts to make the SIDS agenda a mainstay in the global sustainable development conversation.

“ABAS needs the policy space to ensure it is given pride of place. Yes, it is underpinned by Agenda 2030, but the specificity of SIDS remains important for us,” he said.

At the start of the 30th Session of the CDCC, Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Planning and Development, Pennelope Beckles, assumed chairmanship of the regional body for the next two years. Over the course of the three-day meeting, Caribbean ministers of government, ambassadors and development specialists discussed solutions to pressing development challenges. 

With just five years left to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Executive Secretary of ECLAC, Jose Manuel Salazar, indicated that the Caribbean has only 20% of its SDG targets on track for achievement. Another 33% of the targets are moving in the right direction - albeit too slowly to meet the 2030 deadline. Nearly half of the targets - 47% - are moving in the wrong direction.

Minister Beckles-Robinson urged country delegations, “Let this session ignite a renewed commitment among us to stand shoulder to shoulder with our fellow small island developing states, not just within our region, but across the globe. Together, we must confront the challenges before us and forge a path toward lasting, resilient prosperity.”