And certainly many of these islands are among the world's most beautiful places. The world's small island developing States are front-line zones where, in concentrated form, many of the main problems of environment and development are unfolding. As such, they are among the big tests for the commitments made at the Earth Summit in 1992. Small island developing States are fragile and vulnerable, both ecologically and economically. First are the built-in constraints.
Most small islands have only limited resources, whether land, human and financial.
Many lie in the path of hurricanes and cyclones. A third set of challenges are those linked to globalization. Tourism is both a blessing and a bane, bringing jobs but putting strains on water supplies and ecosystems. Trade brings much-needed goods, but liberalization and an end to special trade preferences will make it harder for some of the products of small islands to compete. The Barbados Programme of Action was a response to these challenges.