Source: budgettravel.com
Even as the small island developing states (SIDS) examined the issue of financing sustainable development for SIDS in Apia, Samoa, CARICOM secretary-general Irwin LaRocque has suggested the need for new and innovative alternatives.
Moderating a side event titled Financing for Sustainable Development in SIDS, during the four-day international conference on small island developing states, LaRocque said there may be a role for innovative public and private financial instruments such as counter-cyclical loans, which temporarily halt existing debt service payments when shocks strike.
He highlighted financing instruments such as the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) that provides cash flow support immediately following an insured catastrophe, as well as financing opportunities presented by the recent rise in south-south cooperation.
He stated: “Emerging donors have become increasingly important sources of both aid and loan finance for many small island developing states. This development — which looks set to continue — provides SIDS with important opportunities to secure new and additional sources of development finance, as well as opportunities to learn from other countries’ recent development experiences.”
“It is important to foster greater transparency in such flows, and to ensure that debt sustainability concerns are also kept in view,” the secretary-general cautioned however.
Continuing on the issue of resource mobilization, LaRocque acknowledged that improving domestic resource mobilization capacities was also important. He informed that several SIDS have established special funds or programs to channel more domestic resources to environmental and conservation programs but, despite progress, challenges remain, and for many SIDS, domestic investment will need to be supplemented by international funding given the high up-front costs of many investments.
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