Investing in SIDS and LLDCs is a strategic necessity

Two conferences that receive far less attention than they deserve are happening midyear - and four development issues need to feature prominently at both events to ensure sustainable growth for some of the world's most vulnerable populations and ecosystems.

The Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States and the Third U.N. Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries are critical opportunities to shine a spotlight on the challenges faced by small island developing states, or SIDS, and landlocked developing countries, or LLDCs, on their different development pathways.

These events do not get the global attention or coverage that the G20 or Davos meetings do, and the challenges that they seek to address are often overshadowed by crises, conflicts, and issues in developed parts of the world. Yet both conferences offer the opportunity to agree on comprehensive programmes of action for SIDS and LLDCs, and to chart a path for sustainable development for their communities and the world.

Together, the 39 SIDS and 32 LLDCs - 16 of which are in Africa - represent some of the most vulnerable and marginalized populations on the planet.

Despite the fact that for some SIDS tourism represents half of national income and that they hold nearly 20 percent of the world's offshore exclusive economic zones, implying a potential future as prosperous "large" ocean states with vibrant blue economies - these countries grapple with serious issues, including climate change and debt.

SIDS have suffered over 335 major environmental disasters since 2000, resulting in an estimated US$22.7 billion in direct damages. Over 40 percent of SIDS are now grappling with unsustainable levels of debt-to-gross domestic product ratios, and the climate finance for SIDS is "shockingly small ". According to the newly released Asia and the Pacific SDG Progress Report, SIDS have made much slower progress toward the SDGs and this gap is increasing over time.

Meanwhile, about 60 percent of the population in LLDCs is located in dryland areas, making them more vulnerable to global warming, desertification, and land degradation. Many LLDCs are mountainous countries, suffering from melting glaciers, water shortages, frequent landslides, and reduced biodiversity, among other things. With lack of territorial access to the sea and high transit costs, LLDCs need trade facilitation, regional integration, and connectivity, as well as climate finance, and financial resources for a clean energy transition.

The COVID-19 pandemic showed constraints to rolling out telemedicine, remote learning, and e-governance, and how difficult it was for SIDS and LLDCs to recover from crises, in the absence of fiscal stimulus capacity. That is why investing in SIDS and LLDCs isn't just a moral imperative - it is a strategic necessity, if we are to leave no one behind.

Here are four development areas common to SIDS and LLDCs that need to feature prominently at the two upcoming U.N. conferences and in the programmes of action for SIDS and LLDCs.

1. Nature and climate at the heart of measuring development

We need to go beyond gross domestic product and put nature and climate at the heart of the way countries' development is measured.

GDP does not consider the depletion of natural resources or the effects of worsening climate change. Scarce natural resources can exacerbate existing vulnerabilities, including food and water insecurity, social tensions, and mass migration. GDP measurement ignores that economic prosperity has come at the cost of people and our planet.

The U.N. Common Agenda urges member states to implement the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting, or SEEA, the international statistical standard for natural capital accounting. As SIDS and LLDCs update their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, it is a chance to develop actions to protect, manage, and restore the ecosystems that underpin long-term prosperity.