
News
World Heritage Programme for Small Island Developing States (SIDS)
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 (Decision 29 COM 5B), and the SIDS have since become a point of focus for World Heritage identification and protection.