4th SIDS Solutions Dialogue: A joint initiative of the FAO Liaison Offices in Geneva, Brussels and New York and the FAO Office of SIDS, LDCs and LLDCs

Tuesday, 18 April | 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM (EDT)

Register here or follow the live webcast

Concept note and Agenda

Located in different regions around the globe, Small Island Developing States (SIDS) share similar sustainable development challenges, which include limited land mass and arable land, fragile natural environments, heavy reliance on food imports, high vulnerability to climate change, geographic isolation, and distance from global markets. This makes them uniquely vulnerable to food insecurity.

At the same time, agriculture is the most affected sector by climate change. According to FAO, agriculture, including crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, absorbed 26 percent of the overall impact caused by medium- to large-scale disasters in low- and lower-middle-income countries. During the 2008-18 period, the Caribbean SIDS lost USD 8.7 billion in crop and livestock production. The total estimated loss for the Pacific SIDS across Oceania is lower in absolute terms at USD 108 million for the same period. However, low levels of loss in absolute terms translate to a large burden on the local agricultural sector, given that the levels of loss represent a hefty share of overall potential production both in Caribbean and Pacific SIDS.

At the last United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 27^th Conference of the Parties (COP27), held in November 2022, agriculture and food security challenges associated with the impacts of climate change were considered a high priority, with particular importance for SIDS and the global community in general, in the new decision entitled Sharm el-Sheikh joint work on implementation of climate action on agriculture and food security.

In this context, FAO reaffirms its commitment to climate action on agriculture and food security, with a focus on the transformation of agrifood systems. As part of its wider SIDS Solutions Dialogue series, this event will:

• Introduce the Sharm El Sheik joint work on the implementation of climate action on agriculture and food security, the loss and damage agreement and relevant climate change initiatives in relation to agrifood systems;
• Discuss how the Sharm El Sheik joint work and the loss and damage agreement can support the development of more efficient, inclusive, and sustainable agrifood systems in SIDS; and
• Get the SIDS perspective on these mechanisms and on how FAO could support their efforts to improve agrifood systems and food security and nutrition in the context of climate change.

About the SIDS Solutions Dialogue series

During the 2021 SIDS Solutions Forum, co-hosted by the Government of Fiji and the Food and Agriculture Organization, in partnership with the International Telecommunication Union, the SIDS Solutions Platform was launched. The SIDS Solutions Platform is a process that encompasses the Forum, a dedicated online platform and technical assistance to SIDS. Among other things, it seeks to encourage innovative intra- and interregional knowledge exchange to incubate, promote, scale up and replicate locally grown ideas to accelerate the achievement of agriculture, food, nutrition, environment and health related SDGs in SIDS. In 2022, the SIDS Solutions Dialogue series, jointly organized by the FAO Liaison Offices in Brussels, Geneva and New York and the FAO Office of SIDS, LDCs and LLDCs was incorporated into the Platform.

The previous three SIDS Solutions Dialogues have (i) showcased the outcomes of the 2021 SIDS Solutions Forum, (ii) focused on Disaster Risk Reduction and the implications of the current global situation of food prices for the SIDS food security, and (iii) highlighted fisheries and aquaculture in SIDS, in line with the United Nations International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture.

In 2023, the SIDS Solutions Dialogue series will also contribute to the global conversations on how to support SIDS efforts to achieve sustainable development, in the context of the Fourth International Conference on SIDS in 2024.