Disaster Risk Reduction and Sustainable Development for Small Island Developing States
Situated at sea level around the entire midsection of the globe, these States experience elevated risks for the occurrence of natural and anthropogenic disasters and their negative consequences. This heightened threat for extreme events relates to the geographic, geologic, and topographic features that distinguish island States from continental nations; and the physical remoteness that hampers access to humanitarian aid from outside sources when disaster strikes. Spatially isolated as they are, and separated from all other populations by expanses of ocean on all sides, these States have no choice but to be self-sustaining during the immediate aftermath of a disaster.