Committees

UK Small Island Developing States Strategy

Inquiry

The International Development Committee has launched an inquiry on the UK Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Strategy 2022–2026.

The UN grouping of Small Island Developing States spans different geographies, cultures, and income levels. However, these states face a common set of challenges – notably, vulnerability to the impacts of climate change, small populations, and economic issues that include over-reliance on single industries and, as proponents of the Bridgetown Agenda have argued, difficulties in accessing finance. In combination, these vulnerabilities mean that shocks can have a catastrophic impact and are more difficult to recover from.

In January 2023, the UK Government launched its Small Island Developing States Strategy. It acknowledges these points of vulnerability in outlining six areas of focus for the UK’s future work on SIDS: climate change and natural disasters, ocean and biodiversity, economic diversification and prosperity, debt, inclusive governance and shared values, and multilateral modernisation.

This inquiry will analyse the challenges faced by Small Island Developing States, the ways in which the UK can support their development, and the effectiveness of the Government’s SIDS Strategy. SIDS’s ability to anticipate, resist and recover from climate-related shocks is likely to impact all other areas of their development. Climate adaptation and resilience will therefore form a core, though not exclusive, focus of this inquiry.

Terms of Reference: UK Small Island Developing States Strategy

This inquiry is no longer accepting evidence

The deadline for submissions was Tuesday 5 December 2023.

Upcoming events

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No upcoming events scheduled

Past events

Tuesday 24 October 2023
2:30pm Public
UK Small Island Developing States Strategy - Oral evidence 24 October 2023
2:30pm
  • Cletus Springer (Chair at Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI))
  • UnaMay Gordon (Former Principal Director at Climate Change, Government of Jamaica)
The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Tuesday 5 September 2023
3:30pm Public
UK Small Island Developing States Strategy - Oral evidence 5 September 2023
3:30pm
  • Christopher Pearce (Principal Marine Geoscientist at National Oceanography Centre)
  • Martin Chong (Programme Coordinator at Pacific-European Union Marine Partnership (PEUMP) Programme, Pacific Community-SPC)
2:30pm
  • Kristal Ambrose (Founder and Director at Bahamas Plastic Movement (BPM))
  • Vinzealhar Nen (Co-founder, PNG Climate Change Tribe and the Sustainable Ocean Alliance PNG Hub, and PNG Coordinator at 350.org)
  • Alisi Rabukawaqa (Project Liaison Officer at International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN))
  • Jeremy Raguain (Former Communications and Outreach Coordinator at Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF) and AOSIS Fellow)
The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Tuesday 18 July 2023
2:30pm Public
UK Small Island Developing States Strategy - Oral evidence 18 July 2023
2:30pm
  • Jean-Paul Adam (Director for Policy and Advocacy at Office of the Special Adviser on Africa to the UN Secretary General)
  • Emily Wilkinson (Senior Research Fellow and Director, Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative at ODI)
Room 6, Palace of Westminster

Contact us

  • Email: indcom@parliament.uk
  • Phone: 020 7219 1223/3260 (general enquiries) | 020 7219 4984 (media enquiries)
  • Address: International Development Committee, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA