Surrounded by ocean, SIDS are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters of both hydro-meteorological and geological origin. Global climate change is expected to exacerbate natural disasters of hydro-meteorological origin, such as hurricanes, floods and drought. Rainfall within a 100 km radius of the eye of a cyclone, for example, is projected to increase globally by about 20%.

In addition to climate change, population growth and urban development are increasing the vulnerability of SIDS to natural disasters, particularly in urban and coastal areas. While geological hazards are unrelated to climate change and less frequent than hurricanes, floods or droughts, they nonetheless exact a terrible toll. Hundreds of thousands of people died in the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in 2004 and in the earthquake which devastated Haiti in 2010.

• Full summary in Islands of the Future – Building resilience in a changing world (pdf)

In the three years since the 2010 Haiti earthquake, UNESCO has trained more than 350 masons in earthquake-resistant housing, reconstructed and equipped secondary schools and vocational colleges, provided psycho-social support for secondary schools and helped establish community radio stations. The Haitian coastal hazard warning services were also rapidly made operational again. UNESCO also contributes to risk education and raising awareness on what to do in the event of an earthquake.

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Floods, storms, tsunamis and other natural disasters often perturb the supply of drinking water to affected populations. The studies conducted since the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean have identified specific aquifer systems that cannot be contaminated by either natural or human-induced disasters and can thus be used in an emergency. Launched in 2010, the programme Quo Vadis Aquifers? (Where are you going, aquifers?) involves UNESCO and the United Nations University. It addresses the links between groundwater degradation and human security.

The UNESCO-led Climate Frontlines initiative seeks to strengthen the voices of small islanders, indigenous peoples and local communities in global debates on climate change. It places a special emphasis on SIDS. It highlights not only their great vulnerability but also the need to take the sophisticated local knowledge into account in decision-making related to climate change.

Following the strongest tsunami in living memory in the Indian Ocean in 2004, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO took the lead in coordinating the establishment of tsunami warning systems in oceans around the world. It organizes regular tsunami early warning exercises every two years or so in the Caribbean, Indian Ocean and the Pacific to test the efficacy of their early warning systems.

IOC-UNESCO also helps Member States to develop National Tsunami Response Plans and standard operating procedures for key agencies, using a common format and structure to streamline such plans across the region, and develops educational material.

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