SIDS Bulletin 59

Issue 59 | 23 June 2022

As the international community just welcomed the long-awaited WTO agreement to curb harmful fisheries subsidies, next week marks the kick-off of the United Nations 2022 Ocean Conference, entitled ‘’Scaling up ocean action based on science and innovation for the implementation of Goal 14: stocktaking, partnerships and solutions”. This year’s Ocean Conference is co-hosted by the Governments of Kenya and Portugal and will take place from 27 June to 1 July, 2022. 

The conference aims to mobilize global action through scientifically based innovative solutions to lead the way to a new global ocean action. It comes at a pivotal time for the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) as the world is seeking to address many of the critical problems and major challenges that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic and which will require massive structural transformations and common shared solutions that are rooted in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The development of research capacity and the transfer of marine technology is particularly important to improve ocean health and to enhance the contribution of marine biodiversity to the development of SIDS and this objective is specifically recognized in target 14.1 of the SDGs. However, SIDS often suffer from a narrow fiscal space, and over-reliance on few economic sectors. And while most of them are not eligible for concessional financing, one of the challenges to overcome for SIDS would be unlocking additional investments in the SDG14, as it remains the least funded of all 17 SDGs. This is in line with the newly launched UNDP Ocean Promise - a vision and framework to guide UNDP’s work as the oceans face a multi-dimensional crisis driven by overfishing, pollution, habitat loss, invasive species and climate change.

In this bulletin, and in line with the 2022 UN Ocean Conference, we focus on the ocean and how SIDS are working on adopting innovative solutions to protect the marine environment, ocean’s health, and sustainability of fisheries, while shedding light on the importance of ocean finance and sustainable ocean-based investments that tackle climate change and grow diversified economies.

Read the rest of the 59th SIDS Bulletin here