Editorial Klaus Töpfer, Executive Director, UNEP Into the mainstream The Hon. Paul Raymond Bérenger, Prime Minister of the Republic of Mauritius, calls on the international community to recognize the seriousness of the plight of small island developing states and take concrete action to promote their sustainable development Creation’s forgotten days His All Holiness Bartholomew of Constantinople, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome, and Ecumenical Patriarch, says that water is the binding force between heaven and earth and that pollution of the sea represents paradise lost Restoring a pearl Timothy E. Wirth, President of the United Nations Foundation and Better World Fund, describes the environmental devastation that has led to political turmoil in Haiti, and suggests how it can again become ‘the pearl of the Caribbean’ Stop my nation vanishing The Hon. Saufatu Sopoanga, Prime Minister of Tuvalu, describes how Tuvalu is increasingly threatened by the rising seas caused by global warming, and calls for urgent international action Energy release The Hon. Tom Roper, Project Director, Small Island States Energy Initiative, Climate Institute, describes how three West Indian nations are planning to reduce their dependence on imported fuel and exploit their own sustainable energy supplies Oceans need mountains Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher Jr, US Navy (Ret.), US Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, explains that the health of seas and islands depends on ecosystems from ocean depths to mountain peaks, and describes an initiative starting in the Caribbean that acknowledges this People An ocean corridor Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, Minister of Environment and Energy, Costa Rica, describes a pioneering international bid to conserve one of the world’s most important stretches of sea At a glance: Seas, oceans and small islands ‘La diva aux pieds nus’ Profile: Cesaria Evora

No island is an island Ronny Jumeau, Minister for Environment and Natural Resources, Seychelles, explains how the existence of some small island developing states depends on what happens at the very ends of the Earth Small islands, big potential Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, assesses the prospects for a new resurgence of the most vulnerable section of humanity at the Mauritius meeting Small is vulnerable Ambassador Jagdish Koonjul, Chairman of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), outlines the special challenges faced by small island developing states in their pursuit of sustainable development Natural resilience Albert Binger, Director of the University of the West Indies Centre for Environment and Development, and Visiting Professor at Saga University Institute of Ocean Energy, Japan, describes how the resilience of small island developing states in a difficult world depends on the proper management of their natural resources Books and products Keeping oil from troubled waters Paul Loeffelman, Director, Environmental Public Policy, American Electric Power, describes a bid to bring renewable energy to the Galapagos archipelago and reduce the risk of oil spills devastating its unique wildlife Redressing the balance The Rt Hon. Don McKinnon, Commonwealth Secretary-General, describes how the Commonwealth and SIDS strengthen each other Neighbours without borders Ellik Adler, Regional Seas Programme Coordinator, UNEP, describes how small island developing states and other countries unite to tackle common threats to the seas on which they depend Will Mother Nature wait? Jodi-Ann Johnson, student of psychology, University of the West Indies, Jamaica Extra web-only article: Pacific canaries Margie Cushing Falanruw, founding member of the Yap Institute of Natural Science, describes how Pacific islands – which may be seen as the miner’s canaries of civilization – can offer an alternative model of development to the world