The
Development Planning Unit
Government of the British Virgin Islands

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FOR
SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES
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1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 What this Paper Represents

This paper sets out the position of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in respect of the United Nations Global Conference on Sustainable Development for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to be held in Barbados, April 25th - May 6th, 1994. This position paper presents to date the progress achieved and measures (planned and under taken) since we entered the process in 1990 leading up to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) 1992 otherwise known as the Rio Conference.

This Position Paper contains, in detailed fashion, background information on the salient macroeconomic activities, the national planning process, the management of the environment, the human resources development process and the strategies for our future development and internationally competitive entry in the global community. In this regard the Paper represents our articulation of the major development strategies, developmental direction and policies of the Government of the British Virgin Islands (GBVI). More specifically, the paper elaborates our concept of what constitutes environmentally sustainable development in the context of the BVI and how we have set out to achieve it.

I.2 What this paper Aims to Achieve

Drawing from a number of sectoral, national and international positions adopted by GBVI, this Position Paper, prepared by the Development Planning Unit, seeks to present the BVI to the international community. In so doing the paper aims to do the following:

1) articulate a national development strategy anchored around the concept of sustainable development as defined in the context of the realities and the aspirations of the BVI;

2) outline the component elements of the integrated strategy and their relationships';

3) describe the current status, problems and plans for the environment emphasizing positive measures, problems, constraints and obstacles;

4) describe the socio-economic development in sectoral terms identifying past performances, the current situations and a vision for the future together with measures associated with implementation; and

5) indicate the role that regional and international co-operation and collaboration can play in assisting the BVI in achieving its sustainable development objectives.

1.3 The Setting

The Global Conference on Sustainable Development for Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) presents the BVI with a unique opportunity to participate in deliberations with the international community on the integrated management of socio-economic development and preservation of the environment within the context of sustainable development. As a Non-Independent Caribbean Country (NICC) of the Caribbean Development and Corporation Committee (CDCC) and an Associate Member of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) that finds itself at a most critical stage in its development, where it is imperative that sustainable long-term development strategy measures impacting upon and impacting the environment must be adopted, the SIDS process provided an opportunity to review a number of international position related to Sustainable Development.

At the national level, substantial environmentally friendly measurers both legal and administrative have been implemented as part of our development strategy to ensure that marine and land based tourism, our major income earning industry, remains sustainable. However, the main thrust of our development plans are economic, infrastructure, particularly transport infrastructure such as roads, airports and seaports, which are expected/anticipated to embody real negative impact on our environment should strategic management not be undertaken to avoid them. In this regard, the opportunity to exchange experiences with the global community and to seek international assistance in such a distinguished forum is indeed in our fortune.

1.4 Fundamentals of Our Position on Sustainable Development

To achieve sustainable development in the context of the BVI there most be a clear definition of he roles and responsibilities of all actors in the community including the state, the regions, the communities, the individuals, the special interest groups and the international community.

The State, in being at the core as the facilitator and co-ordinator, fundamentally seeks to guarantee the full respect for human rights and freedoms, to provide a legal framework governing social relations and social protection and to mange the natural endowment in a manner that ensures its ability to provide for future generations. In maintaining a balance between difference the interest groups in accordance with the public interest, the state, within the principles of democracy is committed to the fundamental principles of goods government and good governance In this regard the state and its institutions are obligated to openness, fairness, transparency, responsibility, accountability an rule of law as the fundamentals of a good government. In terms of good governance, GBVI is committed to the use of national resources in the most efficient and appropriate manner to achieve the maximum results for the people of the BVI representing the terms and conditions of the mandate given.

Sustainable development requirements extend beyond the sustainability of natural resource use and into the realm of the sustainability of institutions, the production process and human capital. In this regard the concept of sustainable development encompasses the totality of the human existence covering economic, social and cultural aspects. This concept, as defined, includes, in addition to determining and adhering to the limits of the natural resources which are being utilised, a sustained growth process, affirmative action for the poor, empowerment of marginilized and disadvantaged groups, further and full empowerment of women, targeted employment generation, strategic human resources development, social security and continued and full democratisation (including consensus building and community participation).

In the context of the BVI sustainable development must be achieved under integrated framework and in this regard the scholarly work of ECLAC concerning productivity and the integrated approach is very relevant. Changing of Productivity Pattern with Social Equity stresses international competitiveness and productivity improvements compatible with conversation of the physical environment. GBVI subscribes to the notion that changes in productivity patterns must be compatible with the sustaining of the physical environment and the commitments to social equity such as enhancing the integration process. Sustainable development from a natural resources perspective must, as a prerequisite, be attempted in a situation where the management of environmental and geographico-spatial dimension must be fully incorporated into the development process.

The integrated approach to development which seeks to achieve all the objectives of the component strategies simultaneously rather than sequentially is the most compatible method with the BVI development profile. In the case of the BVI, human resource development, population, social and economic strategies being the major development strategy areas, management of natural resources, which are now being used in tourism services as the major sectoral generation of income, must be integrated to produce sustainable development at the national level.

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