UN / SMALL ISLANDS WRAP
Download
There is no media available to download.
Share
STORY: UN / SMALL ISLANDS WRAP
TRT: 2.16
SOURCE: UNTV / UNEP / SIDS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 24 FEBRUARY 2014, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior UN building
24 FEBRUARY 2014, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, dais
3. Med shot, audience
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General:
“This new observance reflects an increasing understanding that we must collectively address the special needs of Small Island Developing States. And it shows a growing appreciation of their progress so far. From Cuba to Jamaica to Timor-Leste, I have seen the power of Small Island Developing States to usher in a more sustainable future.”
5. Med shot, audience
6. SOUNDBITE (English) John Ashe, General Assembly President:
“Challenges with respect to increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters, migration, health, job creation, trade imbalances and an inability for small enterprises to compete in the global markets, have made it very difficult for SIDS to effectively manage in the current economic climate.”
7. Pan left, audience applause
8. Med shot, musical performance from Kiribati
FILE - SIDS – UNDATED, VARIOUS LOCATIONS
9. Various shots, aerial views of islands
10. Various shots, underwater views of island ecosystems
UNEP - 26 JANUARY 2014, BAGHDAD, IRAQ
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Achim Steiner: UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director:
“For many SIDS, the marine and terrestrial biodiversity are fundamental to their economies, food, water, fisheries, tourism, energy, yet their vulnerabilities are growing exponentially with developments over which they have no influence, and which have essentially become victims of decisions taken in very distance parts; an extraordinary prospect for a nation, for a culture, for a people to be confronted by this prospect, when really they have had no contribution to the problem in the first place.”
FILE - SIDS – UNDATED, VARIOUS LOCATIONS
12. Various shots, island extreme weather conditions
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today (24 Feb) said that the observance of the International Year of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which kicked off today at the United Nations, “reflects an increasing understanding that we must collectively address” small island’s special needs
Ban said it also shows “a growing appreciation of their progress so far” in combating environmental degradation, and added that “from Cuba to Jamaica to Timor-Leste I have seen the power of Small Island Developing States to usher in a more sustainable future.”
UN General Assembly President, John Ashe, during a ceremony that included singing, dancing and story-telling, said “challenges with respect to increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters, migration, health, job creation, trade imbalances and an inability for small enterprises to compete in the global markets, have made it very difficult for SIDS to effectively manage in the current economic climate.”
Today’s launch at UN Headquarters in New York coincides with a preparatory meeting for the Third International Conference on SIDS, which will be held in Apia, Samoa in September.
The Conference will take place during the same month that the General Assembly will devote its annual high-level segment to deliberations on the sustainable development agenda beyond 2015, the deadline for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
In a message for the Day, the Executive Director of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) said that “for many SIDS, the marine and terrestrial biodiversity are fundamental to their economies, food, water, fisheries, tourism, energy, yet their vulnerabilities are growing exponentially with developments over which they have no influence, and which have essentially become victims of decisions taken in very distance parts; an extraordinary prospect for a nation, for a culture, for a people to be confronted by this prospect, when really they have had no contribution to the problem in the first place.”
UN Member States agreed two years ago to support the 51 highly vulnerable small island developing States (SIDS) – a group that was politically recognized at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, underscored at a major international conference in Barbados in 1994 and again at a follow-up meeting in Mauritius in 2005.
The group of States share similar sustainable development challenges, including small but growing populations, limited resources, remoteness, susceptibility to natural disasters, vulnerability to external shocks, excessive dependence on international trade, and fragile environments.