DSD WEBSITE CHANGES FOR SIDS UNIT LEFT NAVIGATION SIDEBAR Rename Work Program to Projects a Create a main Projects page (to open when Projects link is clicked and summarize NSDS, Capacity Development, and Film Series) b Remove Capacity Development subheading and move content into main Projects page Capacity Development through Education for Sustainable Development & Knowledge Management for SIDS On August 2009, a new $2.8 million project that will bring cutting-edge technology to small island States was signed into action by the Government of Spain and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) Entitled “Capacity Development through Education for Sustainable Development and Knowledge Management for Small Island Developing States”, the project will allow a remote and vulnerable group of countries to create a pool of local and international expertise that can be tapped to address a wide range of development challenges The project will revitalize the Small Island Developing States Network (SIDSNet), creating a much-needed central knowledge management system and information clearing house It will also develop a virtual curriculum, web-based tools and e-resources to deliver education for sustainable development for islands in the Caribbean, Pacific and African sub-regions through the University Consortium of Small Island States National Sustainable Development Strategies (NSDS) in Pacific Island Developing States In response to the inter-governmental decisions and in order to assist countries in achieving their NSDS goals and priorities, in 2005 UNDESA formulated a three-year project funded by the Government of Italy The Project aims at assisting the Pacific SIDSs with capacity building and institutional strengthening, and by specifically supporting the development of national sustainable development strategies Documentary Film Series DSD, in collaboration with DPI, UN-TV and AOSIS, is pursuing the production of a series of short documentaries aimed at motivating urgent action to address the unique challenges and vulnerabilities of SIDS being exacerbated by the impacts of climate change University Consortium of Small Island States The University Consortium of Small Island States (UCSIS) was officially launched in 2005 at the Mauritius International Meeting to Review of Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of SIDS There are five universities currently participating in the UCSIS, these are: the University of Malta; the University of Mauritius; the University of South Pacific; the University of Virgin Islands; the University of West Indies Mission The mission of the Consortium is to enhance the capacity of graduate education institutions in small island states by facilitating the development of the institutional and systemic capacity needed to implement the Barbados Programme of Action Virtual Training and Education for Sustainable Development The SIDS Unit, in collaboration with the UCSIS Secretariat and the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is currently undertaking a project to establish a common Information and Communication Technology (ICT) platform to run a pilot virtual training programme in sustainable development This endeavor is one of two components of the project “Capacity Development through Education for Sustainable Development and Knowledge Management for Small Island Developing States (SIDS),” a follow-up project of the 2005 Mauritius International Meeting on further implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of SIDS, with Funds in Trust from the Government of the Kingdom of Spain Together with the second component - the revitalization of SIDSnet, the project aims to establish solid foundations for capacity development for the sustainable development of SIDS through enhanced institutional, human resource, and technological capacities in the areas of knowledge management and education for sustainable development The inception workshop for the UCSIS virtual training component will be held at the University of the West Indies in Mona, Jamaica on – 12 December, 2009 Documentary Film Series Aim DSD, in collaboration with DPI, UN-TV and AOSIS, is pursuing the production of a series of short documentaries aimed at motivating urgent action to address the unique challenges and vulnerabilities of SIDS being exacerbated by the impacts of climate change Climate Change: Multiplier of Existing Vulnerabilities Within the context of broader regional overviews, the stories of three countries have been chosen to convey key messages that resonate throughout the Caribbean, Pacific and AIMS regions Grenada will be the focus country for highlighting the vulnerability of SIDS to natural disasters, such as hurricane Ivan, which devastated over 85% of the small island nation in 2004 The issue of food security will be explored through the experince of Vanuatu, where climate changeinduced constant rainfall and flooding have severely damaged agricultural production The Maldives, as one of the lowest-lying nations on the planet, will serve as the setting for underscoring the problem of sea-level rise In this light, climate change will be presented not as a stand-alone factor, but as a ‘multiplier of existing vulnerabilities.’ MAURITIUS +5 PAGE Under Milestones/Major Meetings > MSI+5, we need to the following: Create a right sidebar “box” with links to read: Preparatory Meetings Caribbean Pacific AIMS Prep Com And create individual pages for the four meetings On the individual meeting pages, create a right sidebar “box” with links to the other meetings and the main process page 3 Change the main MSI+5 section text to read: MSI +5 High-level Review New York, Sep 2010 Member States will undertake a 5-year review of the Mauritius Strategy for the Implementation of the Barbados Plan of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island States in September 2010 National Assessment Reports In preparation for this High-Level event, SIDS Member States have been requested to submit national assessment reports based on specific guidelines These reports, complemented by information received from UN agencies, regional organizations and NGOs, will form the basis for three regional review meetings that will be held in the Caribbean, Pacific and AIMS regions in early 2010 Regional Review Meetings Three regional meetings (for the AIMS, Caribbean and Pacific regions) will be held in preparation for the two-day high-level review of the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of SIDS, to be conducted at the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly pursuant to resolution A/RES/63/213 These meetings will address progress made and the continuing challenges encountered in the implementation of the Mauritius Strategy, with special focus on the vulnerabilities of small island developing States The regional meetings will provide an opportunity for both national and regional assessment of actions taken in support of the Mauritius Strategy These national and regional assessments will then be consolidated at the SIDS Day of the eighteenth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-18), which will serve as a preparatory committee for the high-level review Pacific Regional Meeting (link) 8-10 February, 2010 Vanuatu Caribbean Regional Meeting (link) 3-4 March, 2010 Grenada (to be confirmed) AIMS Regional Meeting (link) 9-12 March, 2010 Maldives Inter-regional Review Meeting Immediately before CSD-18 (to be confirmed) New York Preparatory Committee Meeting (link) 10 May 2010 New York SIDS Day during CSD-18 will serve as the Preparatory Committee Meeting for the High-Level Review The Prep-Com will receive the outcomes of the regional review meetings, and will determine the structure and conduct of the HighLevel Review to be held in the following session of the General Assembly MAURITIUS +5 PACIFIC REGIONAL MEETING PAGE MSI +5 Pacific Regional Meeting Vanuatu, – 10 February 2010 The purpose of the meeting is to provide a forum for the SIDS of the Pacific region to evaluate continuing national and regional challenges in implementing the Mauritius Strategy as outlined in the respective national assessment reports, to assess ongoing monitoring and evaluation activities, to discuss common priorities for action, and to prepare a regional synthesis report for consideration by CSD-18 acting as the preparatory committee for the high-level review of the Mauritius Strategy in September 2010 The meeting will be organized by the SIDS Unit in collaboration with ESCAP/EPOC, UNEP, UNDP, PIFS, and the South Pacific Forum Agenda (link) Participants (link) National Assessment Reports Cook Islands Papua New Guinea Fiji Samoa Kiribati Solomon Islands Marshall Islands Timor-Leste Micronesia – Federated States of Tonga Nauru Tuvalu Niue Vanuatu Palau Meeting Report (link) Regional Synthesis Report (link) MAURITIUS +5 CARIBBEAN REGIONAL MEETING PAGE MSI +5 Caribbean Regional Meeting Grenada, – March 2010 The purpose of the meeting is to provide a forum for the SIDS of the Caribbean region to evaluate continuing national and regional challenges in implementing the Mauritius Strategy as outlined in the respective national assessment reports, to assess ongoing monitoring and evaluation activities, to discuss common priorities for action, and to prepare a regional synthesis report for consideration by CSD-18 acting as the preparatory committee for the high-level review of the Mauritius Strategy in September 2010 The meeting will be organized by the SIDS Unit in collaboration with ECLAC, UNDP, CARICOM, and OECS Agenda (link) Participants (link) National Assessment Reports Antigua and Barbuda Guyana Bahamas Haiti Barbados Jamaica Belize St Kitts & Nevis Cuba St Lucia Dominica St Vincent & the Grenadines Dominican Republic Suriname Grenada Trinidad & Tobago Meeting Report (link) Regional Synthesis Report (link) MAURITIUS +5 CARIBBEAN REGIONAL MEETING PAGE MSI +5 AIMS Regional Meeting Maldives, – 12 March 2010 The purpose of the meeting is to provide a forum for the SIDS of the AIMS region to evaluate continuing national and regional challenges in implementing the Mauritius Strategy as outlined in the respective national assessment reports, to assess ongoing monitoring and evaluation activities, to discuss common priorities for action, and to prepare a regional synthesis report for consideration by CSD-18 acting as the preparatory committee for the high-level review of the Mauritius Strategy in September 2010 The meeting will be organized by the SIDS Unit in collaboration with the Indian Ocean Commission and UNDP Agenda (link) Participants (link) National Assessment Reports Cape Verde Mauritius Comoros Sao Tome and Principe Guinea-Bissau Seychelles Maldives Singapore Meeting Report (link) Regional Synthesis Report (link) UPDATING LINKS In Multi-lateral Environmental Agreements: a The link for Biological Diversity should be http://www.cbd.int/convention/ b The link for Biosafety should be http://www.cbd.int/biosafety/ c The link for Climate Change should be http://unfccc.int d The link for Migratory Species should be http://www.cms.int/ In UN System and Regional Partners > UN Focal Points: a The link for AOSIS should be http://www.sidsnet.org/aosis b The link for SIDSnet should be http://www.sidsnet.org c UNHORRLS should be UN-OHRLLS and the link should be http://www.unohrlls.org/ The description should state: UN-OHRLLS (LDCs, LLDCs, and SIDS) d The link for UNDP should be http://www.undp.org/capacity2015/sids/index.html e The first link for UNESCO should be http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.phpURL_ID=11735&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html and the description should state: UNESCO implementing Mauritius Strategy f Add a third link for UNESCO to http://www.climatefrontlines.org/ with the description: UNESCO On the Frontlines of Climate Change g UNFIP should be UN Office for Partnerships and the link should be http://www.un.org/partnerships/ The description should state: United Nations Office for Partnerships h The link for WMO should be http://www.wmo.int i The link for World Bank should be http://www.worldbank.org/smallstates In UN System and Regional Partners > Regional Agencies & Partners: a The link for APEC should be http://www.apec.org b The link for COMESA should be http://www.comesa.int/ c The link for IOC should be http://www.coi-ioc.org d The description for SOPAC should read: Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission e The link for SPREP should be http://www.sprep.org/ In UN System and Regional Partners > Sectoral Affiliates: a The link for Climate Institute should be http://www.climate.org/ b The link for Global Environment Information Center should be http://geic.hq.unu.edu/index.cfm c The link for Global International Waters Assessment should be http://www.unep.org/dewa/giwa/ d The link for Global Sustainable Energy Islands Initiative (update title) should be http://www.gseii.org/ ... link for Migratory Species should be http://www.cms.int/ In UN System and Regional Partners > UN Focal Points: a The link for AOSIS should be http://www.sidsnet.org/aosis b The link for SIDSnet... in preparation for the two-day high-level review of the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of SIDS, to be conducted... http://www.un.org/partnerships/ The description should state: United Nations Office for Partnerships h The link for WMO should be http://www.wmo.int i The link for World Bank should be http://www.worldbank.org/smallstates