The Tribune

THE Bahamas will play a leading role in ensuring that the voices of small island developing states are given the prominence their collective voices deserve at the United Nations’ third international conference on Small Island Developing States that opened in Apia, Samoa yesterday, according to Environment and Housing Minister Kenred Dorsett. The conference ends on Thursday.

“This is a very important year for small island development states (SIDS), 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 Dorsett 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 Dorsett said the adverse effects of climate change – rising sea levels and ocean acidification for island nations such as the Bahamas – “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 metre.”

“And so I think this conference is going to be very important,” he added. The four-day conference will close on Thursday.

Another key area the Bahamas will address at the conference will be that of renewable energy. The delegation will talk with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) 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 Dorsett said the presence of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works 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 Dorsett said there is no doubt in his mind that there has been “tremendous movement” by the government on the challenging fronts facing small island developing states.

He said a number of bilateral discussions have also been scheduled “within the margins of the conference.”

Mr Dorsett and Mr Davis arrived in Samoa on Sunday.