A meeting of delegates from 40 small island nations to look at sustainable development held on Monday on Mauritius in the Indian Ocean was dominated by topics of the devastating earthquake and tsunami. 

Topping the list of urgent measures was coordinating efforts to raise disaster preparedness and securing international help to build an early warning system.

The disaster, which swept across the Indian Ocean, left a trail of destruction, and killed over 150,000 and left millions homeless.

Mauritian Prime Minister Paul Raymond Berenger, who chaired the one-day meeting, told the opening session of the UN International Meeting to Review Implementation of the Program of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States that there are "lessons to be learnt from the tragedy that resulted from the tsunami.

"Many lives could have been saved had there been an appropriate early warning system in the Indian Ocean."

Anwarul Chowdhury, meeting secretary-general, and also the UN high representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, told a press briefing the meeting aimed to coordinate a global warning system, and "take it to Kobe," where a UN World Conference on Disaster Reduction is soon to be held, and thrash out the details of a global warning system called for at last week's Jakarta summit.

"Between Mauritius and Kobe, we can establish a network of all existing early warning systems," said Chowdhury.

As for the meeting proper, delegates "seriously reflected on the concrete recommendations regarding the setting up of early warning systems and methods of operating them," added Berenger.

He also called for international help in establishing such a system, saying small islands, hit by a string of natural disasters throughout 2004, will take years to recover.

Small island states which cannot afford the technology and do not have the necessary expertise to establish a sophisticated network are calling on the UN and the donor community to help.

"The UN family must spare no effort in addressing the immediate task of setting up such an early warning system," said Berenger.

In addition to an early warning system, the nations still have a lot to do regarding disaster preparedness.

Pynee Chellapermal, the coordinator of the meeting's civil society forum, said the tsunami was an "eye opener" for all, but urged the international society should not only focus on the humanitarian aids.

He said nations needed to change their mindset, and even the way they "build roads and houses," especially in those countries bordering the Indian Ocean to help reduce losses caused by natural disasters such as tsunamis.

The question is if there is another tsunami, "how can we ensure there's not so much damage."

As for how to implement these initiatives, Chowdhury called for South-South cooperation, both in disaster preparedness and in a broader context, saying it would be a "cost effective" approach to the islands problems.

"The small island countries have a lot to learn from each other," he said, noting if they do so, much could be done without excessive spending on expensive technology from the developed world.

"For example, the Caribbean region learnt many things during a period of cyclones last year."

Waiting for donor communities to move can be excruciatingly slow. In the Barbados meeting, small islands and donor nations had agreed to tackle partnership challenges. But months on, the Barbados Program of Action has only partially been implemented, in part due to a reduction in foreign aid.

In 1990 outside aid represented 2.6 percent of the gross national income of small islands, a figure that has gradually diminished and in 2002 stood at just 1 percent.

At the same time, small islands failed to attract the level of foreign private capital and foreign direct investments they anticipated, mainly because they lacked market size, skilled labor and indigenous technological development to compete with larger developing countries, according to the UN.

"Despite the efforts made by small island developing states, the expectations for international support and cooperation for the Barbados Program have not materialized," Chowdhury told the opening session. Against such a backdrop, South-South cooperation could be an alternative.

In addition to the earthquake and tsunami disaster, the meeting has much to address. Although the tsunami has taken center stage, there are other priorities that should not be forgotten, such as trade and AIDS.

According to the set agenda, the meeting was to deal with the future of small island nations faced with challenges ranging from hurricanes and climate change, to trade losses and the threat posed by HIV/AIDS. Small island nations counted on the meeting to present their case to the international community, to seek partnerships and innovative ways to improve their situation.

(China Daily January 12, 2005)