Gearing up for Barbados

By lan Williams

ON the run up to the Small Islands Summit in Barbados next month, the centre of gravity of the Alliance of Small Islands States has shifted from the Pacific to the Caribbean. Vanuatu’s Robert Van Lierop relinquished the chair of the organisation when he was removed from his UN ambassadorship by Prime Min ister Maxime Carlot Korman. After several weeks of consultations, on Janu ary 19, AOSIS accepted the CARICOM nominee, the appropriately named Annette des Isles as its new chairperson.

CARICOM the organisation of Commonwealth Caribbean countries, has, along with SPREP, been one of the twin pillars of the organisation.

Van Lierop praised his successor.

“She’s very very good. A very experi enced diplomat, who certainly has the appropriate background. I think AOSIS will do even better under her leadership you know, I happen to think that I’m not such a good administrator,” he

confessed modestly.

Equally modest, Ambassador des Isles told PIM that “We are full of talent in AOSIS so there were many potential candidates but I’m pleased to say that there was no opposition.” After school in Trinidad she studied at St Andrews University in Scotland and Columbia University in New York before joining the Trinidadian foreign service. For the decade of the 1970 s she served at the United Nations. In 1992 she returned as

permanent representative enabling her

to take up her present position.

Did the shift from the Pacific to the Caribbean betoken any change of em phasis? “Not at all” she says, “I would like to maintain the same priority areas that it has before in fact you could say, to continue the work begun by Ambassa dor Van Lierop. So climate change will be major item, as will negotiating the Global Environment Fund. In fact the plan of action for AOSIS was formulated

following regional meetings in Vanuatu,

and Trinidad, so there is a precedent for the shift.” She adds, “And of course, we are now engaged in the run up to Barbados conference, so there is plenty of work to be done.”

Trinidad and Tobago is of course a major oil-exporter, and in general the oil producing countries had many reser vations about limiting the carbon dioxide omissions, which, after all, came mostly from their product. Did this cause any problems for her country with AOSIS?

She replies, diplomatically of course, “No, we are a signatory to the climate change convention, so the formulation arrived at was obviously acceptable.”

She added particularly that “The recognition that AOSIS has gained is largely due to Van Lierop’s chairman ship and leadership. I’d like to pay a very special tribute to his work in getting the voice of the small islands heard and

recognised.”

She said New York, the place with representation from the largest number of small islands states, was the best place for them to exercise what leverage they

This conference and its outcome will be one of the first practical demonstrations of commitment or not as the case may be.

However, it is unlikely to be totally unsuccessful

had on the world community. Her experience should be invaluable in ensur ing AOSIS continues to be heard.

Meanwhile, the arrangements for the Small Islands Summit continue. There is nothing small about the name the UN has given it the United Nations Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing State. Even when shortened to its initials, the resulting acronym is cumbersome even by UN standards

Ungcsdsids.

During January the preparatory com mittee for the conference met in King ston, Jamaica, and developed several practical and useful ideas. Barbados’

Environment Minister Harcourt Lewis announced plans for four “tools” for the islands. The first was a Regional Disaster Emergency Fund to assist with problems in rebuilding economic assets after disas ter strikes. As PIM readers will be aware disaster, in the shape of hurricanes, is striking more and more frequently, and the world’s reinsurance companies are becoming less and less eager to quote insurance rates for the islands.

The second suggestion is for SIDSNET, a telecommunication net

work specifically controlled and run by the Small Island Developing States with four nodes for the Mediterranean/Atlan tic regions, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, and of course the Pacific. The network would also carry a data base of information useful for the participants.

In parallel, would be centres to exchange technical assistance of expertise between islands, and for “regional sustainable development centres” in each of the four

regions.

The plans are ambitious, but some concern has been expressed at the commitment of governments to the concepts. Dr Mark Griffith, technical coordinator of the conference warned that Caribbean governments may not be ready to go beyond lip service. He stresses the need for the involvement of civic societies and civic groups which would erode the power base of poli ticians, as one of the reasons for their reticence to go into action, and why, he accused, the Caribbean governments were so parochial in their approach at the last regional technical meeting in the summer.

On another front, it is the Pacific that is lacking, Lelei Lelaulu, outreach coor dinator for the conference (who pleads not guilty to the length of its name) told PIM “Organisers of the Sustainable Technology Exhibition SUSTECH ’94, are concerned that while Caribbean companies are well represented among the almost 200 exhibits booked so far, up to now, Pacific companies have been slow to join in. Since the Pacific has pioneered so many technologies appro priate for small islands, this represents a big loss, both to the Pacific and to

potential purchasers.” Non-

Governmental Organisations or com panies interested can call Lelei in New York at 2129637074, or fax 2129635935, or the organisers of SUSTECH 94, the Barbados Manufacturers Association, on 8094264474 or by fax 8094365182.

For once, the Small Islands are ahead of the rest of world, since the conference and its outcome will be watched by many as a test of just how serious the industrialised world was with all the hot air released at the Rio Global Environ ment Summit in 1992. This conference and its outcome will be one of the first practical demonstrations of commitment or not as the case may be.

However, it is unlikely to be totally unsuccessful. AOSIS has the backing of the Group 77 developing countries at the UN, and between them all, they still exercise some diplomatic clout even in the New World Order. □