The Chief Secretary Phillip Kabua led an RMI delegation to an Inter-regional Preparatory Meeting of the Alliance of the Small Island States (AOSIS) that took place from 7-11 January 2002 in Singapore. This was one of the three inter-regional meetings AOSIS has convened so far as part of its ongoing preparation for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), which is scheduled to be convened on August 24 to September 4, 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The last two AOSIS meetings were held in Samoa, 5-7 September 2001, and in Cuba, 28-29 June 2001.

The WSSD is a follow-up to the Earth Summit on the Environment and Development that took place 10 years ago (in 1992) in Rio de Janeiro. Similarly, the WSSD will be a gathering of thousands of participants including heads of states and leaders of governments, the non-governmental organizations (NGOs), business leaders, and many others who will discuss ways to improve the quality of life for the world’s increasing population without over-using the world’s natural resources beyond their capacity. Here, the world leaders will review the progress since the Rio Summit and devise a new global vision for world sustainable development.

According to a recent report released on December 20, 2001 by the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, he reported that the achievements of the development goals established at the Rio Summit have not been satisfactory, and in some cases, the conditions of the earth’s environment and the quality of life for a large segment of the world population are even worst today, than they were 10 years ago. But Mr. Annan added that with strong political will, practical steps and strong partnerships, hurdles can be overcome.

The objective of the Singapore meeting was to reach a consensus or declaration, among the AOSIS member countries where RMI is a member, on the pressing issues and priority needs of AOSIS that need to be submitted to the WSSD. Therefore, the meeting brought various experts on sustainable development from all the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Caribbean, the Indian as well as the Pacific oceans, to help in the consensus building process.

The issues most common to the SIDS like capacity building (education, training and human resources development), the role of the civil society (the NGOs and the private sector), climate change, sea-level rise and adaptation, renewable energy, land degradation, food security, vulnerability, ocean resources and financing for sustainable development were all reiterated and debated during this meeting.

On the last day of the meeting, the Singapore Declaration of the AOSIS for the WSSD was adopted reaffirming the objectives and commitments of the 1992 Rio Summit through Agenda 21, the Bridgetown Declaration, the 1994 Barbados Program of Action (BPoA) for sustainable development of the SIDS and the outcome of the 22nd Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly.