By Bevan Springer

ÆRØ, Denmark (September 17, 1999) – After attending an impressively successful first-ever global conference on renewable energy, delegates have sounded a call for the host nation to establish a permanent secretariat to 
coordinate island activities as they hasten to develop sources of renewable energy.

More than 100 representatives from 34 islands and 22 national, regional and international organisations met on the Danish island of Ærø for two days where they agreed on the critical need to pursue symbiotic smart partnerships with donor nations in addition to promoting south-south cooperation and dialogue.

"We have so much to offer each other," said long-time career UN diplomat, Lelei LeLaulu of Western Samoa, now vice president of the Washington, DC-based private development agency Counterpart International. (Counterpart 
teamed with Danish NGO, the Forum for Energy, and the Alliance of Small Island States to stage this landmark conference). LeLaulu, editor of UN Secretariat News, served as co-chair of the conference and said that he was 
encouraged by the Danes’ efforts to understand the complex needs of islanders and their willingness to take concrete steps to address them. "This kind of sensitivity is rare. It’s good to know that someone has been listening to our appeals (voiced five years ago in Barbados at the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States)."  The Danes have expressed an interest in taking the lead to establish a renewable energy secretariat, perhaps in conjunction with the European Commission.

At the conference, delegates also resolved to work to heighten public awareness, especially among public servants, of the desperate need for reusable energy. Christopher Corbin, a science and technology officer in St. Lucia's Ministry of Finance and Planning, said that the cross-fertilisation of ideas across regions will benefit his country. "I think this type of 
networking between small island states will allow us at the technical level to provide better guidance to policymakers as they implement renewable energy efforts."

Recognizing that the extensive dissemination of information across all levels will be essential to implementing the goals of the conference, delegates suggested that the secretariat prepare a strategic communications plan, incorporating SIDSnet, to inform political leaders, educators and the public of the merits of renewable energy and to keep sustainable development issues at the forefront of international political and public agendas.

Conference attendees also shared their experiences of the economic advantages of alternative, recyclable fuel supplies.  Wind, solar and biomass, reduce island nations' dependence on expensive fossil fuels and preserve scarce foreign exchange reserves.  Devorath Elcock, an energy development program specialist in the United States Virgin Islands, noted that the Caribbean’s solar heating industry has created numerous jobs and greatly enhanced the region’s quality of living.  J. Gururaja, inter-regional advisor with the UN's Division for Sustainable Development (Department of Economic and Social Affairs) suggested that renewable energy programs should be required to include income generation and economic feasibility components. "It is quite conceivable to use renewable energy for productive purposes," he said, referring to projects in Asia where rural communities use renewable energy to weave baskets, sew garments and dry grains.

Island nations received another boost this week as three new member nations were installed at this week's convening of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.  This expands the UN membership to 188 countries and 
strengthens the work and position of AOSIS. "This must be viewed as a victory for islands since the more we are represented, the more stories we can share with the world of our special needs and vulnerability," said AOSIS 
chair Tuiloma Neroni Slade, Samoa's Ambassador to the United Nations.  The newest UN member states are from the Pacific region - Nauru, the Kingdom of Tonga, and Kiribati.

Francis Ngalu, acting permanent secretary in the Ministry of Works and Energy of the Republic of Kiribati is pleased to be a member of the world community. Armed with useful information and new networking sources, he returns to his country encouraged to share powerful ideas with public leaders and nationals alike. The Kingdom of Tonga's Taniela Tukia, head of the Energy Planning Unit was similarly pleased.  Tonga is moving beyond solar energy to consider the possibility of harnessing wind and wave energy for use as a power source. A representative from Nauru also attended the conference.

Recommendations and proposals from the conference will be presented to the international community at the UN General Assembly Special Session on Islands, the UN Commission for Sustainable Development (at its ninth session 
in 2001), and the Brussels Symposium on Small Islands in November 1999, as well as to policy and decision-makers in energy departments and agencies throughout the world.

The final day at Ærø focused on national, regional and international cooperation, as well as on funding possibilities.  Delegates from Samoa, Samsoe (Denmark), Cuba, Fiji, France, St. Lucia, Brussels, Ottawa, New York 
and New Jersey addressed the final session.

The Governor of American Samoa, the Honorable Tauese Sunia, has offered to host the next annual session of this conference.
 

END