The New York Times

Tuesday, September 28, 1999

Conference on Small Islands Opens

By The Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Small islands from the Caribbean to the Pacific are demanding richer nations make good on commitments to help protect them from disasters, both natural and manmade, while also promoting ecologically-friendly development.

Leaders from island nations and the donor community are meeting in New York to assess progress since a 1994 summit in Barbados that resulted in pledges to help island nations combat threats as varied as hurricanes, trade disputes and toxic waste shipments.

Speeches by regional leaders, heading into a second day today, have struck a common theme: The small nations have done admirable work with their limited resources to enact the plans from the Barbados summit. The richer nations, meanwhile, haven't done nearly enough and have even cut back on development assistance.

``We have been disappointed that there have been attempts to back away from the financial commitments,'' said Hiroshi Yamamura, interior minister for the Marshall Islands, speaking at the special session of the General Assembly.

Norway pledged $580,000 to the United Nations on Monday to help coordinate the U.N. response to the problems of small islands. The money will go toward hiring a special policy adviser.

Norway's state secretary for international development and human rights, Leiv Lunde, who announced the grant, cited the threat of global warming to small islands, whose lands are being submerged as ice caps melt and sea levels rise.

``Small island developing states are practically non-contributors to climate gas emissions and sea-level rise,'' Lunde told the General Assembly. ``Yet they are likely to suffer the most as a result of climate change.''

In addition to the environment, the small islands are concerned that trade liberalization will further hurt their economies by restricting their export capabilities.

Another issue topping the agenda was the shipment of nuclear and other toxic waste through island waters.

Fearing accidents, small islands maintain the right to deny any transshipment of such waste through their waters. But in negotiating a final declaration to be adopted today, the island leaders ran into opposition from larger powers such as Japan and France, which want freer rein in shipping.

Caribbean leaders have been most adamant that nuclear and other toxic waste not pass through their waters, fearing even a single accident could threaten the sea that provides their livelihoods through tourism and fishing.

``We put up and live with all kinds of natural disasters,'' said the deputy prime minister of Barbados, Billie Miller. ``We do not in the Caribbean Sea need manmade disasters added to it.''