November 2011: The Secretariat of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) has published submissions from the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS), Pacific Island Forum (PIF) member States and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), representing each group’s input to the UNCSD Compilation Document. The document currently is being assembled and will serve as the basis for the “zero draft” of the UNCSD Outcome Document.

The submission from PSIDS defines three critical elements required of the UNCSD Outcome, in order to ensure a successful Conference for PSIDS. These include, first, a strong outcome on the “blue economy,” including the equitable sharing of marine and ocean resources as an integral component of the green economy, expressed through: specific targets on sharing the benefits of using these resources; strategies to combat unsustainable and destructive fishing; and building the resilience of vulnerable marine ecosystems to the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification. The second critical element of a successful UNCSD Outcome for PSIDS is the sustainable development of small island developing States (SIDS) and, in this respect, this group indicates that the Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development (IFSD), one of the official themes of the Conference, must address the unique and particular vulnerabilities of SIDS. Third, the Outcome must include a recommitment of political will to respond to climate change.

The PIF submission includes the outcomes of the September 2011 PIF leaders’ meeting (PIF 42), which stresses the need for Rio+20 outcomes to include reference to the importance of oceans and fisheries, or the blue economy.

The CARICOM submission proposes that the Rio+20 outcome reaffirm that SIDS remain a special case for sustainable development and that they continue to face unique and increasing challenges, and agree to convene the Third Global Conference on SIDS (“Barbados+20”) in 2014 to review progress in implementing the Barbados Programme of Action (BPoA) and the Mauritius Strategy for Implementation (MSI). [UNCSD Website] [PSIDS Submission] [PIF Member Submission] [CARICOM Submission]