Transcript presentation

Barbados+10
Mauritius ‘05
http://portal.unesco.org/islandsBplus10
UNESCO’s contributions to MIM
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Plenary Panel on Culture
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Youth Visioning special event
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Small Islands Voice side event
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Ocean and Coastal Management partnership event
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Civil Society Forum support
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‘Lest We Forget’ exhibition
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Media coverage
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Information materials
Plenary Panel:‘Role of Culture in the Sustainable
Development of SIDS’
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To examine broad, holistic definition of culture embraced by UNESCO &
review its importance for sustainable development of SIDS
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Strong support for recognition of culture as essential and all-pervading
dimension of human living and development
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Culture identified as fourth pillar of sustainable (island) development
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Areas for priority action include:
- Involving communities in policy-making and safe guarding cultural heritage
- Improving management of natural and cultural heritage sites
- Invest in cultural industries to generate new and indigenous forms of employment and
exports
- Teach and transmit traditional community values and associated local and indigenous
knowledge in basic education
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Youth Visioning for Island Living
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96 young people from 31 SIDS and six island
territories with other affiliations
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Discussing their perceptions and aspirations for the
future of their islands
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Supported by various host country, regional and
international partners, besides UNESCO
video on CD & web
Youth commitments for follow-up work
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Life and Love in Islands – island lifestyles and cultures (17 projects)
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My Island Home – safeguarding island environments (15 projects)
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Money in my pocket – economic and employment opportunities (11
projects)
Small Islands Voice (SIV) Side Events
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Island memories - Preserving and promoting island cultures
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Connecting islands via the internet
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Eco-friendly practices for sustainable living in small islands
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Community visioning in small islands
Outcomes of Mauritius Meeting
Mauritius Declaration & Mauritius Strategy (MS) - reaffirm Barbados
Programme of Action (BPOA) remains ‘blue print’, and call for action in:

Original priority areas of
BPOA
- Climate change and sea-level rise
- Natural & environmental disasters
- Management of wastes
- Coastal & marine resources
- Freshwater, Land, Energy res.
- Tourism, Biodiversity resources
- Transport & communication
- Science & technology

New & Emerging Issues
- Sust. capacity dev. & ESD
- Sust. production & consumption
- Health (HIV/AIDS)
- Culture
- Trade: globalization & liberalization
- National and regional enabling env.
- Knowledge management &
information for decision making
UN-NY follow-up
Resolution on the MIM to be adopted by UN Gen. Assembly, Sept.’2005
Main elements include:
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Articulate plan for implementing MS by relevant UN bodies, specialised
agencies, regional commissions and other UN system organisations
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Support regional SIDS meetings in 2005-06 with relevant regional
organisations and stakeholders for follow-up MS implementation
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Encourage Member States to contribute to SIDS Trust Fund
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Strengthen SIDS Unit in Dept. Economic & Social Affairs (DESA)
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Relevant UN agencies to further mainstream the MS in their
programmes and establish SIDS focal point
UNESCO FOLLOW-UP
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Intersectoral Information meeting for Perm. Delegations (16
March) - with Group of SIDS Ambassadors led by Mauritius
Ambassador
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Preliminary indications on proposed follow-up by
Programme Sectors and through Youth Visioning process
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Six-part approach with Mauritius Strategy as essential
reference
UNESCO follow-up
1. Generating relevant inputs from Natural Sciences Sector
2. Generating Inputs from other Programme Sectors
3. Taking into account Participation Programme activities in SIDS
4. Dedicated Web Section on UNESCO response to the MS
5. Elaboration of new activities as specific responses to the MS:
- SIV planning meeting
- Documenting Pacific Island responses to SD challenges & UNESCO role
in furthering SD in Pacific Islands
- Input UN operationalization plan, e.g. Culture, Youth Visioning
6. House-wide follow-up via SIDS Working Group
Work ongoing with respect to above items
UNESCO follow-up
Selected activity areas in the Mauritius Strategy
Climate Change & Sea-level rise
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Ocean Carbon Programme: monitoring and assessing ocean’s role as
carbon sink
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Global ocean observations to monitor climate variability and change
(IOC/GOOS)
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Impact of climate change on rainfall, snowfall and glaciers (IHP/WCP)
Knowledge Management and Information for Decision Making
150 media development projects since the 1980s through International Programme for
Development of Communications (IPDC)
In 2004-05, 19 new media projects approved for SIDS, totalling US$497,000.
Some examples:
Tonga: Contributing to alleviation of poverty through media for outlying islands
Fiji: Community broadcasting development project
Fiji: Women speaking to women in Fiji
Solomon Islands: Media training for peace and reconciliation
Mauritius: Post-production and professional training centre in East Africa
Cape Verde: Media law reform
Bahamas: Building community media capacity environmental stewardship
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Enhancing broadcast and production capacity at NBC
radio
Freshwater resources
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World Water Assessment Programme
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Freshwater management issues in small islands addressed in the second
interagency World Water Development Report
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Hydrology for the Environment, Life and Policy (HELP) programme of the
International Hydrological Programme (IHP) established in the Pacific
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Regional training programme for hydrology scientists and technicians and
regional hydrology networking in the Pacific
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Trinidad & Tobago. Assessing the human watershed aquifer through the
establishment of an experimental catchment
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Discussion on SIVglobal forum: conservation and sustainable management of
water
UN wide: 2005-2015: International Decade 'Water for Life'
Health
Focusing Resources on Effective School Health (FRESH) initiative - UNESCO &
other strategic partners
Areas: School health policies; Water, sanitation & the environment; Skills-based
health education; School health services; HIV/AIDS; Food and nutrition;
hygiene; Malaria;Violence;Drugs, alcohol & tobacco
Projects (Caribbean):
- assessment of implications of HIV/AIDS for early childhood schooling
- developing methodology for estimating and projecting the prevalence of HIV/AIDS
within the national educational sector
- reinforcing cultural and communication dimensions in combating HIV/AIDS
- handbook for use by health workers
In the framework of Youth Visioning:
Cape Verde: Youth & children against HIV/AIDS
St. Lucia: Raising awareness through youth and for youth about HIV/AIDS
UNAIDS - joint UN programme on HIV/AIDS
Coastal and Marine Resources
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Development of ‘Global Ocean Observation System’ in SIDS regions
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Coastal zone management workshop, Barbados April ‘05
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Support to Global Forum on Oceans, Coasts & Islands
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Coral Reef Monitoring, Research & Capacity Building
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Training course for young specialists – ‘Coastal, island and wetland biosphere
reserves’: Comoros, Mauritius, Seychelles, Zanzibar
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Capacity building for mitigating coastal erosion in Cuba
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Sandwatch activities in many SIDS
Natural and Environmental disasters
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Scientific study and mitigation of natural hazards: earthquakes,
floods, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, landslides and drought
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Launching of Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and
Mitigation System (June 2005)
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Inventory and assessment of biosphere reserves
damaged or destroyed during the earthquake disaster
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Groundwater for Emergency Situations project
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Conservation and sustainable rehabilitation of coastal
ecosystems following the tsunami of Dec.’04
Culture
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Intangible Heritage: SIDS to ratify the 2003 Convention (of 12 Member States
that ratified sofar, 2 are SIDS)
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Convention on the Protection of the Diversity of Cultural Contents and Artistic
Expressions, to be submitted to General Conference Oct.’05
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Cultural industries (cinema, music, publishing, etc.) through the Global Alliance
for Cultural Diversity, e.g. poverty reduction project planned in Fiji and Trinidad &
Tobago, related projects in Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica.
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Assistance to develop cultural policies in SIDS: Comoros, Solomon Islands,
Tuvalu, Tokelau
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Establishment of cultural diversity observatory for Indian Ocean region based in
Mauritius.
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‘Biodiversity - Cultural Diversity, Tourism and Local Population’ seminar in
Solomon Islands
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Museum partnerships in Indian Ocean SIDS
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Support to national World Heritage (WH) strategy workshops in SIDS regions
Sustainable Capacity Development & Education for
Sustainable Development
UNESCO in ESD
1. Lead agency in the promotion of the Decade on Education for Sustainable
Development (2005-2014)
2. Implementer of ESD - accelerating education reforms and coordinating activities of
multiple stakeholders to implement ESD at international, regional, and country levels
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Developing public understanding and awareness of sustainability: inter-regional
internet forum with more than 20,000 individuals connected in SIDS
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Re-orientating existing education at all levels to address sustainable development::
Sandwatch
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Incorporating local and indigenous knowledge into ESD through formal and informal
education system, e.g. LINKS activities in Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Palau
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‘learning by doing’, SIV support for sustainable development activities
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Support cooperation between small island national and regional universities for
combined inter-regional training courses – SIDS University Consortium start-up
through UNITWIN
UNESCO will:
 Continue to mainstream the special needs of SIDS in the Organization’s
programmes
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Continue holistic, integrated approaches to sustainable living and
development in SIDS
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Through nurturing intersectoral cooperation, with intergenerational
dimension, at interregional level via proven platform approach and internet
forums
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Continue interagency cooperation and partnerships with IGOs and NGOs in
the island regions
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