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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
 APIA, Samoa - The Commonwealth of The Bahamas will play a leading role in ensuring that the voices of small island developing states (SIDS) are given the prominence that their collective voices deserve at the United Nations’ Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States Conference which opened Monday (Samoa time) Minister of the Environment and Housing the Hon. Kenred Dorsette said.
The four-day conference will close on Thursday.
“This is a very important year for small island development states, this being the International Year of Small Island Developing States and so our attendance here at the SIDS Conference is critical simply because we find that when we talk about climate change, the impacts for climate change is different for countries throughout the world,” Mr. Dorsette said.
“For small-island developing states, we have found that for a very long time our voices have not been given the prominence that they ought to have gotten in our international meetings and so we were certainly pleased that the United Nations determined that 2013 would be observed as the International Year of SIDS where we would focus on issues relative to small island development states because ours are different from the rest of the world.”
Mr. Dorsette said the adverse effects of climate change -- rising sea levels and ocean acidification for island nations such as The Bahamas -- and “will not only affect our way of life, it will affect lives in The Bahamas when one understands what potential impacts exist for sea level rise of just one meter.”
“And so I think this conference is going to be very important,” Mr. Dorsette said.
Another key area The Bahamas will address at the Conference will be that of Renewable Energy. The delegation will dialogue with IRENA – the International Renewable Energy Agency – while in Apia.
“We ascended to IRENA earlier this year and so there will be continued and focused discussion on that. The Prime Minister, in his 2013 statement reflected that he had committed the country to a minimum of 30 per cent generation capacity by way of renewables by the year 2030 and so we will continue to move with those targets in mind.
“On the issue of climate change, we will be discussing matters relative to adaptation for climate change while we are here; we are going to be talking about sustainable development that will include matters relative to agriculture, fisheries, tourism and even having regard to the creation of BAMSI, food security is even an issue that is up for discussion during the four days of deliberations.”
Mr. Dorsette said the presence of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works and infrastructure, the Hon. Philip “Brave” Davis at the Conference will prove to be beneficial for The Bahamas.
“It shows the Government’s focused attention on these major issues by having the DPM here and I think that we should have some fruitful discussions over the four days.”
Mr. Dorsette said there is no doubt in his mind that there has been “tremendous movement” by the Government of The Bahamas on the challenging fronts facing small island developing states.
“We have a delegation here representing tourism, foreign affairs as well as the Ministry of Environment and Housing and so I think we are well poised to first and foremost ensure that The Bahamas is well represented in all of the discussions, and so we will be making representations through the CARICOM body here and through AOSIS which is the Alliance of Small Island States of which we are a vocal member.”
Mr. Dorsette said a number of bilateral discussions have also been scheduled “within the margins of the conference.”
“I think as the Government of The Bahamas pushes its agenda to remove ourselves from our heavy reliance on fossil fuels, it gives us a wonderful opportunity to continue that dialogue and find solutions to our country’s challenges,” Mr. Dorsette added.
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