Earth Today | Civil society launches 10-year action plan at SIDS4 conference

CIVIL SOCIETY representatives globally have joined forces in developing a joint SIDS Civil Society Action Plan and Roadmap (2024-2034), launched as a special event at the fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) in Antigua and Barbuda.

The conference was hosted between May 27 and 30.

The Action Plan and Roadmap outlines key sustainable development priorities that civil society will address in the new 10-year sustainable development agenda for SIDS, called the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS.

Civil society from across the three SIDS regions – Atlantic, Indian Ocean and South China Sea (AIS), Caribbean, and Pacific – collaborated to develop the Action Plan and Roadmap, which highlights the diverse roles civil society play in delivering sustainable development.

These include research, policy development, awareness raising, capacity-building, advocating for and amplifying the voices of vulnerable or marginalised people, and developing and delivering innovative practical solutions on the ground.

The Action Plan and Roadmap also recommends actionable priorities to strengthen enabling institutional frameworks, practices and partnerships to better support civil society in SIDS to play meaningful and effective roles in delivering sustainable development.

The Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) played a convening and facilitating role in developing the joint Action Plan and Roadmap, working with colleagues from across the Caribbean, as well as leading civil society organisations from the AIS and Pacific regions.

“New and deeper partnerships between governments and development partners with civil society can be a game changer for sustainable development in SIDS. This will leverage the expertise that civil society brings to the table, transforming our approach to addressing climate change, achieving inclusive and environmentally sustainable economic development, and delivering a human-rights approach to development,” noted CANARI’s Executive Director, Nicole Leotaud.

The SIDS Civil Society Action Plan and Roadmap also provides a framework and concrete recommendations for action by civil society in SIDS, as well as action by SIDS governments and development partners to better enable and support civil society and deliver a participatory, multisectoral and ‘whole of society’ approach to sustainable development in SIDS.

In addition to launching the Action Plan and Roadmap, civil society had a strong presence at the SIDS4 conference, engaging with national governments, regional agencies and development partners, and calling for real transformation towards inclusive, resilient and sustainable development in SIDS.

This included a pre-event, the Caribbean Civil Society Summit, from May 23-24, that targeted more than 40 civil society organisations from 14 Caribbean states and territories, co-hosted by CANARI and the Environmental Awareness Group in Antigua and Barbuda.

A number of side events were hosted by civil society at SIDS4 on topics ranging from just and inclusive climate finance to protecting our biodiversity and the right to a healthy and safe environment, and promoting blue tourism and community-based development.