Mr President,
Distinguished Delegates,
Sweden welcomes this opportunity to participate in the review of the implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action, held in the context of continued international efforts to promote sustainable development.
Yesterday, we listened to the intervention by the Minister for Environment and Development Cooperation. .of Finland, talking on behalf of the European Union, a speech which Sweden, of course, fully supports.
For Small Island Developing States, the necessity to mainstream environmental concerns in all areas, into the overall political agenda, is clearly visible and the concept of sustainable development does present a concrete and practical challenge. We have learned during this process that the impact of environmental degradation on Small Island Developing States is very real and often carries immediate socio-economic effects.
I am well aware of these facts, being acredited to ten Carribean countries.
In this context, the Rio principle of "common but differentiated responsibility" of states deserves to be highlighted again – because development is not a static condition, but rather a process which involves changing roles and evolving relations within the international community.
Terefore, Sweden welcomes the determination demonstrated by Small Island Developing States participating at this Special Session to mobilise resources, to facilitate participation and partnerships and to promote sustainability in their development efforts.
Sweden has a strong commitment to continued international development coopera-tion and we are among those four countries that meet the agreed target of 0,7% of GDP for official development assistance. To us, therefore, the steady decline in the global volume of development assistance is alarming, particularly in the context of worsening living conditions for the poorest people in the Least Developed Countries – some of whom live in small island developing states.
Swedish development cooperation aims at "achieving a higher standard of living and fairer conditions for poor people, to ensure that their fundamental needs are met and that they are involved in political decisions which determine the way society develops". One of the specific objectives is to promote "the farsighted managemnt of natural resources and consideration for the environment". Therefore, environmental sustainability is an integral part of all Swedish development cooperation.
Sweden also contributes to the work of the Global Environment Facility, as one of its donors and in its Executive Board of Directors. GEF currently co-funds projects in more than 25 small island developing states, primarily focused on conserving and restoring bio-diversity and on issues related to climate change, including its root causes. For example, in the Republic of Cape Verde, the Energy and Water Sector Reform and Development project is promoting renewable energy technologies such as wind and solar energy, aiming to reduce the dependence on imported fossil fuels. In this project, co-funded by GEF, the private sector is involved in building local capacity for supplying, maintaining and installing wind power generation systems.
Mr President
As underlined by the representative of the European Union in her statement yesterday partnerhips like this, with the private sector as well as with NGO-s, can provide unexplored possibilities in efforts towards sustainable development. Sweden will continue to promote such partnerships in the various multilateral institutions through which Swedish development assistance is channelled towards the further implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action.
Sweden looks forward to continued international cooperation, and improved coor-dination, in supporting the political commitment expressed at this Special Session of the General Assembly.
Thank you, Mr President