Plenary and group discussions at the SIDS Future Forum were organised around the five themes of the ABAS, which are also the chapters of the State of SIDS Report 2026 (to be published later in the year). Lead authors presented the main findings from their chapters, as a starting point for joint reflection and analysis.
Resilient economies
The upcoming State of SIDS Report sets out an agenda for SIDS economies to shift from short‑term survival to long‑term resilience and prosperity. SIDS face structural challenges – such as high trade costs, narrow economic bases, and vulnerability to external shocks – but also see emerging opportunities in ocean‑based sectors, sustainable tourism, aquaculture, agriculture, digital services and the creative economy.
Resilience will not be built through isolated innovations or projects; it requires coherent systems that connect initiatives into a durable economic architecture. Participants pointed to tools such as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)’s Productive Capacities Index as a method of understanding the depth and breadth of SIDS’ options, but cautioned that any framework must fully reflect SIDS’ realities.
SIDS should use their constraints as a design brief, developing economic models that work with smallness, remoteness and environmental limits, instead of trying to mimic large economies. This could mean focusing on high‑value niches, regional value chains, digital platforms and knowledge‑intensive sectors, supported by strong education systems and local innovation ecosystems.
Breakout discussions focused on what SIDS should aim for, with a focus on promoting greater economic self-sufficiency, gradually reducing the reliance on aid through partnerships, regional integration and SIDS-SIDS collaboration – focusing on what SIDS can do amongst themselves to promote their own goals. The development of comprehensive and shared regulatory and planning frameworks in key areas (including potentially a shared ocean strategy), was identified as an important enabling step.
The group identified some incremental and transformative changes needed to build resilient SIDS economies:
- The importance of regional integration as a tool to overcome some structural constraints, particularly in economies of scale, by pooling markets, regulatory capacity and infrastructure.
- Use inter-regional information sharing and institutional development to create an enabling environment for investment in SIDS.
- The significant potential of digital and technology powered growth in SIDS, as an avenue to overcome some structural challenges, and leapfrog development.
- The importance of building strong, context‑appropriate education systems and non‑traditional learning pathways to support local innovation ecosystems.
- The centrality of the ocean as a shared asset and source of future economic opportunity, requiring coherent regional and inter-regional strategies and governance.
Overall, discussion emphasised that SIDS should not treat digital technologies as add‑ons, but build economic models with technology at the centre, including strategies for digital skills, data governance and platform development.
Safe, healthy and prosperous societies
Chapter 2 of the upcoming State of SIDS Report analyses social development in SIDS, including health, education, inequality, social protection and governance, all framed through a gender lens, and acknowledging the colonial legacies that have perpetuated specific inequalities. The chapter’s strong opening and focus on persistent challenges was welcomed and called for further analysis of the political will, institutional capacities and broader governance environment in which social policies are advanced. Resilience and agency was also recognised, noting that SIDS societies remain vibrant, with communities caring for elders, raising children and sustaining cultural life, despite adversity.
Participants also questioned the ability of state institutions to effectively maintain governance, and drew attention to demographic dynamics, including ageing populations, youth out‑migration, small domestic labour markets and the complex role of diaspora communities. These trends have major implications for social protection systems, health services, education planning and economic viability, yet are often poorly measured or discussed.
The breakout group on Chapter 2 emphasised the importance of centering social issues in development conversations within SIDS, which can often have a narrow focus on economic factors and climate change. The importance of enhancing SIDS self-sufficiency was also discussed: breaking the geographical and colonial barriers to become inter- and intra-regionally integrated.
There is a high level of heterogeneity on social issues across SIDS, with some facing aging populations, while others have youthful populations and growing concerns about high youth unemployment levels. This diversity in experience adds complexity to discussions around achieving safe and healthy societies and makes lesson-learning across SIDS more difficult. Nonetheless, some common social issues were identified as being in need of increased attention across all SIDS:
- The cost and design of social protection systems in small, ageing societies where many people migrate for work and return later in life.
- New approaches to gender‑based violence and criminal violence that are culturally sensitive and community‑driven, including public health approaches (adopted in parts of the Caribbean).
- The burden of non‑communicable diseases, brain drain among medical professionals, and emerging infectious disease threats.
- The situation of persons with disabilities, including genetic factors in small populations and the role of cultural attitudes.
- Growing SIDS job markets and increasing the number of attractive jobs for young people, as an avenue to both decrease brain drain and youth unemployment.
More purposeful data collection and analysis on these topics was called for, as discussion still heavily relies on anecdotal evidence.
Social welfare and support systems are particularly complex in SIDS due to cultural expectations around caring for oneself and community care structures. SIDS governments struggle to allocate funds to social protection systems, and regional or SIDS‑wide social welfare and insurance schemes could help achieve scale and risk‑sharing that individual states cannot achieve alone.
Overall, the group felt that many of the social challenges raised in the State of SIDS Report are well-known, but not always recognised or prioritised. Imaginative solutions and SIDS collaboration is needed to build advocacy and concrete action.
A secure future
The State of SIDS Report adopts a systems approach to security in energy, water, transport and critical infrastructure, seeing these as interconnected domains where risks and failures can cascade. Infrastructure in SIDS is largely concentrated along vulnerable coasts. Limited fiscal space means SIDS remain locked‑in to expensive and fossil‑fuel‑dependent systems, with little room for experimentation.
The chapter on infrastructure positions energy as a cornerstone of security and self-sufficiency, noting that while many SIDS are investing in renewable generation, challenges remain around storage, grid planning and reliability, and the cost and availability of technology. Examples such as the Maldives – heavily reliant on imported diesel, yet exploring floating solar due to land scarcity – illustrate how geography, land constraints and legacy systems shape the pace and pathways of transition.
The importance of avoiding a narrow, siloed approach that treats each sector separately was stressed. SIDS need to cement planning and investment in health, emergency response, transportation, water, food and digital infrastructure systems. They also emphasised the need for legislative and regulatory reform to modernise outdated frameworks, and for better communication with citizens about the costs and benefits of energy and other transitions that may take years to materialise.
The breakout group emphasised the importance of focusing on forward-thinking solutions, based on information sharing, knowledge building, and innovation to leapfrog solutions for SIDS. However, there are difficulties in making development choices in SIDS – smaller economies make trade-offs and risks more significant. While less data, and heterogenous societies limit fully informed decision-making.
A number of opportunities were highlighted:
- The potential of private sector investment in sustainable development projects
- The importance of involving youth in decision making, knowledge sharing, and sustainable development
- Information sharing across SIDS, as well as with other nations in the Global South
- Developing SIDS-owned, inter-regional tools and institutions, including revitalising the SIDS university consortium to enable a re-imagining of SIDS futures
Overall, concerns were raised that current smaller-scale, gradual changes in energy systems and infrastructure are seeing SIDS falling behind. The need for substantial and transformative change to leap forward in sustainable development was emphasised.
Environmental protection and planetary sustainability
The State of SIDS Report frames SIDS as both acutely vulnerable to climate and biodiversity crises and as leaders in global environmental governance. It highlights SIDS’ role in driving climate justice narratives, championing the establishment of a loss and damage fund, pushing for stronger language on common but differentiated responsibilities, and advancing legal strategies through the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinion on state responsibility for climate change.
The chapter on environmental protection and planetary sustainability explores ocean governance and the blue economy, noting global governance gaps and market failures around overfishing, plastic pollution and emerging activities such as deep‑sea mining. SIDS have called for precautionary moratoria on deep‑sea mining, global caps on plastic production, and a carbon levy in international shipping to fund a just transition, underscoring their role as custodians of large ocean areas.
Plenary discussions centred around the heterogeneity within the SIDS group, including the particular challenges of atoll states, and the complexity and capacity demands of innovative finance instruments such as blue bonds, debt swaps and biodiversity credits. SIDS emphasised a stronger focus on nature‑based solutions, the integration of indigenous and local knowledge, and procedural justice – ensuring that rights‑holders are meaningfully involved in decisions that affect their lands and seas.
The breakout group discussed the importance of nuancing and balancing conversations around SIDS, ensuring they are not defined by vulnerability but there is a clear case for heightened support. SIDS were cast as major drivers of environmental solutions, whose stewardship benefits the entire planet. SIDS provide both moral guidance and policy innovation in international environmental and sustainability dialogues, but they cannot be solely responsible for solving global crises they did not cause.
There was strong interest in a range of action agendas:
- Further development of innovative financial mechanisms that work for SIDS including through SIDS cooperation and information sharing so they can learn from each other’s’ experiences.
- Properly recognising and reflecting SIDS special circumstances, and using the recent ICJ Advisory Opinion to improve access to finance for resilience.
- Strengthening data systems and digital tools for environmental monitoring.
- Expanding nature-based solutions as a tool to address multiple issues facing SIDS, by supporting disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and mitigation.
- Building SIDS capacity to reduce reliance on external advisers, integrating local and indigenous knowledge, and involving local civil society actors in developing solutions.
Overall, it was agreed that there is a growing number and diversity of examples of progress in sustainability and environment from across SIDS. New institutions or spaces may be needed to ensure that important conversations happen, and lessons can be taken from these examples.