FAO statement at 2022 HLPF – Small Island Developing States: Building back better in vulnerable countries

High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2022

Small Island Developing States - Building back better in vulnerable situations

Statement by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Delivered by

Mr. Stefanos Fotiou, Director of the FAO Office of Sustainable Development Goals
 

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) face a unique set of risks and vulnerabilities that hampers their ability to achieve sustainable development. Due to their structural characteristics, what were once one-off events with contained impacts are now having significant systemic implications across many sectors with lasting macro-economic impacts, making the countries less resilient. 

This devastating trajectory is set to continue as climate change is expected to increase frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, worsening their impacts, representing a major threat for the main two economic sectors, tourism and agriculture. 

While Small Island Developing States have weathered many storms, the impacts of climate change and of the COVID-19 pandemic still threaten their food security and nutrition, livelihoods, health and economic resilience. It also adds to their challenge of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022, launched last week here at the HLPF, reports that world hunger continued to rise in 2021. Globally, up to 828 million people were chronically undernourished last year, 150 million more than at the start of the pandemic. 

Small Island Developing States are not immune. Levels of undernourishment, food insecurity and malnutrition, including overweight and obesity, in SIDS are significantly higher than the global average, and of the averages of most regions. 

Despite a dip in May, international food prices also remain at historically high levels. This places an additional burden on food importing countries, including SIDS. SIDS heavily rely on imports for their food security, with half of the countries importing more than 80 percent of their food needs, and nearly all SIDS import 60 percent or more of their food requirements.

In this context, the current increase in international food commodity prices could have large adverse impacts on SIDS’ agrifood systems, their economies and could undermine their food security. Already prior to the war in Ukraine, world food prices had reached an all-time high, mostly due to market conditions, as well as higher energy and fertilizer prices.

Even with high levels of food insecurity and malnutrition and a high food import bill, agriculture is still key for the economy, jobs and livelihoods of many SIDS. Stepping up support to agrifood systems, including the sustainable management of ocean and fisheries resources, is, therefore, crucial to bridge productivity gaps in the local production of nutritious foods, enable income generation to improve the affordability of healthy diets, and to promote local development when linked to other sectors such as the tourism industry. 

To achieve this, we need to strengthen enabling environments for food security and nutrition at the national and regional levels, build capacity, improve the resilience and nutrition sensitivity of food systems, engage local communities, strengthen partnerships and increase development assistance.

The follow-up to the Food Systems Summit provides a strong impetus to push this agenda forward and harness the potential of transforming agrifood systems to accelerate progress towards delivering on the SAMOA Pathway and the entire 2030 Agenda. 

FAO is working along these lines, supporting SIDS governments in their efforts to build back better and achieve better production, better nutrition, better environment and a better life, which are the basis of FAO’s new strategic framework to ensure MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems that leave no one behind.

These efforts include the development of different initiatives and programmes that support SIDS, such as the Hand-in-Hand initiative, digital agriculture, and Blue Transformation.

It also includes the biannual SIDS Global Solution Forum, dialogues and platform, launched in 2021. Together, they provide a space to discuss how to accelerate action to transform agrifood systems in SIDS and a platform to showcase, scale up and replicate innovative ideas and practices to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs. 

I also want to highlight the importance of ocean resources for SIDS. The combined ocean area of SIDS is 20.7 times that of their land territory with tremendous potential to harness the ocean economy. But with limited capacity to fight the effects of climate change and environmental degradation, from the depletion of fish stocks to coastal erosion, ocean plastic pollution or coral reef degradation, SIDS are facing mounting difficulties in practicing good stewardship over their most precious assets. 

Blue Transformation is a contribution address this challenge. And, in this context, FAO applauds AOSIS on the Declaration for the enhancement of marine scientific knowledge, research capacity and transfer of marine technology to SIDS, delivered at the recently concluded UN Oceans Conference. The Declaration calls for, among other things, genuine, durable, equitable, sustainable and responsive partnerships to support SIDS in their sustainable ocean management and conservation efforts.

To end, let me add that FAO agrees that it is important to help SIDS identify and measure structural vulnerabilities for building resilience and accelerating progress towards the SDGs. Thus, we will continue to support the development of the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index and looks forward to its finalization. 

Thank you for your attention.