Is Small Island Reliance on Developed Nations That Bad?

The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) is an intergovernmental organization comprised of small island countries with the purpose of providing a voice to Small Island Developing States (SIDS), as well as tackling the issue of global warming. The main concern that AOSIS is addressing at the moment is the sustainable development of SIDS after disasters, which includes aspects such as the reliance of SIDS on developed nations.

The committee believes that the members of AOSIS should become independent of developing nations due to concerns such as overreliance, unification, education, etc. However, I disagree heavily with this notion. The key reasons for the reliance of SIDS on developed nations are the lack specific resources based on their socioeconomic status or location, their population size in relation to their geographic spacing, and the minimal outside support given to them.

The conjunction of all these factors makes the independence of SIDS on developing nations an unimaginable idea. Many delegates within committee agreed that these small islands must work in unison in order to eliminate such reliance, but that too is an impossible task. How can a small island aid a fellow AOSIS member after a disaster if they themselves can barely sustain their own citizens and infrastructure?

Delegates have proposed ideas, such as the gradual separation from developed states, that will allow for SIDS to learn to manage a disaster once it has happened, and will create opportunities for new technological developments. Furthermore, they believe that these new technological developments will bring about new job opportunities that were once not available. While this looks like a well constructed idea, the committee failed to realize that they did not account for natural resources that they cannot construct, such as food, water, or even energy resources.

No matter how many times or how many different ways AOSIS attempts to cut off the reliance of SIDS on developed nations, it will always end with the same conclusion; reliance on developed nations is needed. Without this reliance, these small developing islands will begin to plummet and soon cease to exist.