6 February 2012: The 18th session of the Forum of Environment Ministers (FME 18) of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) adopted a Decision addressing small island developing States (SIDS). The Decision draws attention to: the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Medium-Term Strategy (MTS) 2010-2013, the theme of institutional framework for sustainable development (IFSD) to be considered at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), and a relevant decision of FME 17.
FME 18 took place from 31 January-3 February 2012, in Quito, Ecuador. Ministers adopted the Quito Declaration and 10 Decisions, including the SIDS decision.
The FME 18 Decision notes that, since commencement of the UNEP Medium-Term Strategy for 2010-2013, there has been no specific focus on SIDS. It calls for the establishment of a SIDS-specific sub-programme within the current MTS as well as future MTS, and urges timely action for effective implementation of, and follow-up to, the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation (MSI) of the Barbados Programme of Action (BPoA) for the Sustainable Development of SIDS.
The Decision calls for any agreement on IFSD at Rio+20 to provide a clear institutional mechanism to address, in a concrete and focused manner, the sustainable development of SIDS and least developed countries (LDCs) at the global and regional levels.
Finally, the Ministers’ Decision on SIDS calls for the urgent and full implementation of FME 17 Decision 9. The latter had called for UNEP support for, inter alia: green economy efforts in Caribbean SIDS; the environmental component of the Caribbean Community’s (CARICOM) Single Market and Economy (CSME); and the CARICOM Climate Change Centre (CCCCC), while allocating dedicated technical and financial resources to its technical program for SIDS in the LAC region.
FME 17 Decision 9 also called for the members of the FME’s Inter-Agency Technical Committee, such as the World Bank, UN Development Programme (UNDP) and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), to provide more technical and financial support of the BPoA and MSI. [IISD RS Coverage of FME 18] [Quito Declaration]