Small Island Developing States Programme
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are islands of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. They are some of the most beautiful places on Earth, with atolls of white sand beaches, mountain ranges covered in cloud forest, historic ports and towns, and agricultural landscapes. They are relatively remote, vulnerable to environmental challenges, such as climate change, and generally small in size—Niue has a population of only 1,269, and Tuvalu a total land area of only 26km.
The UNESCO SIDS Programme develops World Heritage activities in these areas, providing support for new nominations to the World Heritage List, and sustainable conservation and management practices for sites already inscribed.
The SIDS were recognized as a distinct group of developing countries in June 1992, at the UN Conference on Environment and Development. The 29th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2005 adopted the World Heritage Programme for SIDS, and the SIDS have since become a point of focus for World Heritage identification and protection.
40
The number
of SIDS
32
The number of World Heritage Sites in the SIDS
1,269
The smallest population
in SIDS (Niue)
International Year of Small Island Developing States launched
2014 is dedicated to the United Nations’ International Year of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and Global Launch ceremony took place on Monday 24 February 2014 at UN Headquarters in New York. From 1 to 4 September 2014 in Apia, Samoa, the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States will be held, and to be preceded by activities related to the conference from 28 to 30 August 2014, also in Apia, Samoa. The SIDS Conference will focus the world's attention on a group of countries that remain a special case for sustainable development in view of their unique and particular vulnerabilities.
World Heritage Sites
- Aapravasi Ghat
- Aldabra Atoll
- Alejandro de Humboldt National Park
- Archaeological Landscape of the First Coffee Plantations in the South-East of Cuba
- Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System
- Bikini Atoll Nuclear Test Site
- Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park
- Central Suriname Nature Reserve
- Chief Roi Mata’s Domain
- Cidade Velha, Historic Centre of Ribeira Grande
- Colonial City of Santo Domingo
- Desembarco del Granma National Park
- East Rennell
- Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison
- Historic Centre of Camagüey
- Historic Inner City of Paramaribo
- Kuk Early Agricultural Site
- Le Morne Cultural Landscape
- Levuka Historical Port Town
- Morne Trois Pitons National Park
- National History Park – Citadel, Sans Souci, Ramiers
- Old Havana and its Fortification System
- Pearling, Testimony of an Island Economy
- Phoenix Islands Protected Area
- Pitons Management Area
- Qal’at al-Bahrain – Ancient Harbour and Capital of Dilmun
- Rock Islands Southern Lagoon
- San Pedro de la Roca Castle, Santiago de Cuba
- Trinidad and the Valley de los Ingenios
- Urban Historic Centre of Cienfuegos
- Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve
- Viñales Valley
List of SIDS
UNESCO SIDS Member States
Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Bahrain Barbados Belize Cabo Verde Comoros* Cook Islands Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic Fiji Grenada Guinea-Bissau* Guyana Haiti* Jamaica Kiribati* Maldives Marshall Islands Mauritius Federated States of Micronesia Nauru Niue Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa* São Tomé and Principe* Singapore St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines Seychelles Solomon Islands* Suriname Timor-Lesté* Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tuvalu* Vanuatu*UNESCO SIDS Associate Members
Anguilla Aruba British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Curuçao Sint Maarten Tokelau* Also LDCs
List of the UN Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States.
States parties (37)
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Barbados
- Belize
- Cabo Verde
- Comoros
- Cook Islands
- Cuba
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Fiji
- Grenada
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Jamaica
- Kiribati
- Maldives
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritius
- Micronesia (Federated States of)
- Niue
- Palau
- Papua New Guinea
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Samoa
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Seychelles
- Singapore
- Solomon Islands
- Suriname
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Vanuatu
World Heritage Sites (33)
- Aapravasi Ghat
- Aldabra Atoll
- Alejandro de Humboldt National Park
- Archaeological Landscape of the First Coffee Plantations in the South-East of Cuba
- Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System
- Bikini Atoll Nuclear Test Site
- Blue and John Crow Mountains
- Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park
- Central Suriname Nature Reserve
- Chief Roi Mata’s Domain
- Cidade Velha, Historic Centre of Ribeira Grande
- Colonial City of Santo Domingo
- Desembarco del Granma National Park
- East Rennell
- Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison
- Historic Centre of Camagüey
- Historic Inner City of Paramaribo
- Kuk Early Agricultural Site
- Le Morne Cultural Landscape
- Levuka Historical Port Town
- Morne Trois Pitons National Park
- National History Park – Citadel, Sans Souci, Ramiers
- Old Havana and its Fortification System
- Pearling, Testimony of an Island Economy
- Pitons Management Area
- Qal’at al-Bahrain – Ancient Harbour and Capital of Dilmun
- Rock Islands Southern Lagoon
- San Pedro de la Roca Castle, Santiago de Cuba
- Singapore Botanical Gardens
- Trinidad and the Valley de los Ingenios
- Urban Historic Centre of Cienfuegos
- Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve
- Viñales Valley
Website
Documents
- Rapport sur le Programme du patrimoine mondial pour les petits États insulaires en développement (PEID): WHC-09/33.COM/5B
- Recapitulation MIM '05: the Role of Culture in the Sustainable Development of SIDS
- Report on the World Heritage Programme for SIDS: WHC-09/33.COM/5B
- World Heritage papers 15: Caribbean Wooden Treasures
- World Heritage properties located in SIDS and in Overseas Territories (as at June 2013)