Small Islands Big Picture

Disasters are a constant part of life on islands - but outsiders often just see the stats: storm categories, earthquake scales, eruption sizes. Behind those numbers are real people forced to live through harrowing experiences. In this episode, Matt and Emily ask: how do survivors make sense of the shock - and how do their stories help communities rebuild what was lost? 

In “Island Voices”, Darenthea Sweeney from Montserrat and Gregory Adams from the British Virgin Islands describe the lasting social effects of disasters. As a disaster management expert, Emily breaks it down for us in the 'Explainer'. Then, three academics – Adom Philogene Heron, Farah Nibbs and Gemma Sou – share how they work with communities affected by disasters to tell their own stories and push back against outside narratives. Finally, in “No Stupid Questions” Matt and Emily discuss whether anyone can ever truly prepare for a disaster on the scale faced by many small islands. 

Featuring: 

• Emily Wilkinson (host) | RESI Director and Principal Research Fellow at ODI 
• Matthew Bishop (host) | RESI Director and Senior Lecturer at the University of Sheffield 
• Darenthea Sweeney | Schoolteacher and Climate Justice Leader, Montserrat 
• Gregory Adams | Chief Planner, Government of the Virgin Islands 
• Adom Philogene Heron | Lecturer in Visual Anthropology, University of Bristol, UK 
• Farah Nibbs | Assistant Professor, Emergency and Disaster Health Systems, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, United States 
• Gemma Sou | Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, Monash University, Australia 

Resources: 

• Programme page | Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative (RESI) 
• Emily’s documentary | Climate Blueprint: Dominica 
• Adom’s university webpage | Dr Adom Philogene Heron 
• Farah’s university webpage | Dr Farah Nibbs 
• Adam and Farah’s project | Surviving Storms: Caribbean Cyclone Cartography 
• Gemma’s university webpage | Dr Gemma Sou 
• Gemma’s personal webpage | www.gemmasou.com 
• RESI research on loss and damage | The price of a changing climate | Calculating loss and damage from extreme weather events | The costs of inaction | Barriers to addressing climate-related loss and damage 

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• Mtima Solwazi - Trinidad’s Roots Foundation on guiding disenfranchised youths away from illicit activities.
• Adam Baird, a leading gang expert who has pioneered a “masculinities” approach to anti-violence interventions throughout Latin America and the Caribbean
• Rivke Jaffe, an Amsterdam-based academic who has written extensively about Jamaica’s “Dons”
• Dylan Kerrigan, who has spent two decades working on myriad community peacebuilding projects across the Port of Spain.

• Programme page | Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative (RESI)
• Mtima in the media | The impact of the USAID cuts on anti-crime programs
• Mtima’s videos and promos | Roots Foundation YouTube page
• Adam’s book | From South Central to Southside
• Adam's recent UNIDIR paper | Focusing on men to reduce global armed violence
• Adam on the Common Ground podcast | Chronic vulnerability and violence in Belize
• Rivke’s book | The Rule of Dons
• Rivke’s University of Amsterdam webpage | Professor Rivke Jaffe
• Dylan’s personal website with all of his writings | www.dylankerrigan.com
• Adam, Matt and Dylan’s papers | Breaking Bad: Gangs, Masculinities and Murder in Trinidad and How do gangs mediate ‘residual violence’ to sustain Trinidad’s homicide boom?

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President Trump’s return to the White House in 2025 signals an upheaval in global politics. ODI hosts, Emily and Matt, ask what this means for small island developing states, and how they might navigate these increasingly choppy waters. 

Guests:

• William Waqavakatoga
• Professor Joanne Wallis
• Professor Jack Corbett
• Professor W. Andy Knight
• Professor Xiaotong Zhang
• Ali Naseer Mohamed, Permanent Representative of Maldives to the United Nations

Resources:

• Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative (RESI)
• Sustaining Development in Small Islands: Climate Change, Geopolitical Security and the Permissive Liberal Order
• Geopolitical competition, bilateral aid, and the collective interests of Small Island Developing States
• Ordering the Islands? Pacific Responses to China's Strategic Narratives
• Power and Influence in the Pacific Islands Understanding Statecraftiness
• Small States, Mutual Respect and the Future of the Multilateral System
• Economic threats loom for Caribbean nations in Trump 2.0
• New Economic Statecraft: China, the US and EU
• China’s Modern Economic Statecraft: A Wealth-Power Dialectic
• Geopolitical Competition in the International System  

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In recent years, many Caribbean countries have experienced a staggering influx of sargassum, a type of nuisance seaweed emanating from the Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic Ocean. Beyond just its potent smell, sargassum seaweed is wreaking havoc on coastal ecosystems, fisheries and tourism infrastructure. In this episode, Emily and Matt ask where it has come from, why it has become such a problem and what this means for climate change. They also discuss exciting new technologies from small island nations which, in a bid for a more sustainable future, could see sargassum recycled and redeployed across the globe. 

Featuring:

• Emily Wilkinson (host) | RESI Director & Principal Research Fellow at ODI Global
• Matthew Bishop (host) | RESI Director & Senior Lecturer at the University of Sheffield
• Olivia Losbar | Journalist at Radio Caraïbe International (RCI) Guadeloupe
• Emma Tompkins | Professor of Environment, Geography and Development at the University of Southampton
• Legena Henry | Lecturer in Renewable Energy at the University of the West Indies and CEO of Rum and Sargassum Inc.

Resources:

• Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative (RESI)
• 2nd EU-Caribbean Gateway Conference on Sargassum
• How sargassum causes chaos in the Caribbean
• Professor Emma Tompkins
• Sustainable Sargassum Management
• Rum and Sargassum Inc.
• Sargassum as an alternative transportation fuel

Listen and subscribe to Small Islands Big Picture on: Acast, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts and Spotify

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Intellectuals and activists have long demanded reparations for the horrors of slavery and other colonial abuses. For Small Island Developing States, these demands appear particularly urgent as intensifying climate-related shocks compound existing injustices. In this episode, Emily and Matt ask whether questions of repair and recompense can no longer be avoided by powerful actors. If so, what could such a dialogue look like, how might it shape political and policy agendas, and can it be harnessed to support greater climate justice?

We hear from Gabrielle Hemmings, a Jamaican reparations activist in “Island Voices”. We then move on to an extended panel discussion in “The Big Picture” with three eminent experts: Verene Shepherd, Professor Emerita at the University of the West Indies and erstwhile Director of its Centre for Reparation Research, outgoing Chair (and current Vice Chair) of the UN Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and Vice-Chair of the CARICOM Reparations Commission; Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University and author of Reconsidering Reparations; and Emma Christopher, Associate Professor of History at the University of New South Wales, and author of Slave Ship Sailors and Their Cargoes and Many Middle Passages.

Resources:

• Programme page | Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative (RESI)
• CHOGM Samoa 2024 Communiqué | Leaders' Statement and Declarations on 'One Resilient Common Future'
• CARICOM Reparations Commission | Ten Point Plan
• Verene’s UWI Profile listing many of her books | Verene A. Shepherd
• Verene and Gabrielle’s recent book | Introduction to Reparation for Secondary Schools
• Verene’s recent UNESCO piece | The Caribbean Calls for Restorative Justice
• Verene’s 2019 Keynote Address | Capitalism and Slavery as a Handbook for Reparations
• Femi’s website with links to his writing | Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò
• A virtual public lecture by Femi | Reconsidering Reparations
• Emma’s UNSW profile with links to her writing | Emma Christopher
• Emma’s Documentary | They Are We

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In this episode, Emily and Matt try to find out why it has blazed such a successful trail, what reforms might ultimately result from it, and where SIDS fit into the process.

Featuring:

• Emily Wilkinson (host) | RESI Director and Principal Research Fellow at ODI Global
• Matthew Bishop (host) | RESI Director and Senior Lecturer at the University of Sheffield
• Alicia Nicholls | Trade Policy Expert from Barbados
• Michael Jacobs | Professor of Political Economy, University of Sheffield, and Visiting Senior Fellow, ODI Global
• Pep Bardouille | Director of the Bridgetown Initiative and Special Adviser on Climate Resilience, Barbados Prime Minister's Office

Resources:

• Programme page | Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative (RESI)
• Official website | The Bridgetown Initiative 3.0
• Michael’s recent ODI Piece | The New Development and Climate Finance Agenda
• Michael’s accompanying report|International development and climate finance: the new agenda
• Our forthcoming book | Sustaining Development in Small Islands
• Our report on loss and damage | The price of a changing climate: extreme weather and economic loss and damage in SIDS
• Our report on poverty | Islands at the Edge: How climate shocks shape poverty in SIDS
• Our Conversation Piece | Extreme weather has already cost vulnerable island nations US$141 billion—or about US$2,000 per person
• RESI Brochure | Towards a New Knowledge Architecture for SIDS
• Our T20 policy brief | Financing Resilient Prosperity in SIDS
• Another T20 policy brief by our friends in Barbados | An Inclusive Agenda for SIDS at the G20

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Since the Paris Agreement of 2015, legal action around climate change has grown. This takes many forms, from community groups and public bodies suing oil companies, to international litigation by states within multilateral courts. The most prominent initiative is the pursuit of an “Advisory Opinion” at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the “Obligations of States in respect of climate change” pursued tenaciously by a very small state, Vanuatu. In this episode, Emily and Matt make sense of this phenomenon by asking who is leading these initiatives, why they are gathering steam, and which hold out the greatest promise of success.

We hear from Rosie Macinnes, from the remote Scottish island of Raasay, in “Island Voices”. Anne-Sophie Vivier, a key figure in Vanuatu’s ICJ initiative, joins us for our “Explainer” to demystify the process. In “The Big Picture”, we hear from three legal experts – Zachary Phillips from the government of Antigua and Barbuda, Kate McKenzie of the Climate Change Legal Initiative (C2LI), and Francesco Sindico of the University of Strathclyde – who talk us through various dimensions of the climate litigation panorama. Finally, in “No Stupid Questions”, Matt and Emily ask whether we can really attribute responsibility for climate change to individual countries or firms.

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In May 2024, the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) took place in Antigua, where leaders agreed the next ten-year roadmap for Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the “Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS: A Renewed Agenda for Resilient Prosperity (ABAS)”.

In this episode, Emily and Matt review the conference, bringing to life the event’s atmosphere, discussing key highlights, and – crucially – asking “What now needs to happen for the ABAS to be successful over the next decade?”.

In “Island Voices”, Naya Sena provides a civil society perspective on SIDS4. In the “Explainer”, Margot St John-Sebastian talks through the negotiating process that produced the ABAS. In “The Big Picture”, Sai Navoti, Rebecca Fabrizi and Tumasie Blair reflect separately on their conference highlights.

Featuring:

• Emily Wilkinson (host) | RESI Director and Principal Research Fellow at ODI
• Matthew Bishop (host) | RESI Director and Senior Lecturer at the University of Sheffield
• Naya Sena | Researcher, Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo
• Margot St John-Sebastian | Lead Negotiator, AOSIS
• Sai Navoti | Chief of the SIDS Unit, UNDESA
• Rebecca Fabrizi | UK Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Envoy and Head of the Caribbean and SIDS Department at FCDO
• Tumasie Blair | Deputy Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the UN

Resources

• Programme page | Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative (RESI)
• SIDS4 Communiqué | The Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS) – A Renewed Declaration for Resilient Prosperity
• SIDS4 Policy brief | A global bargain for resilient prosperity in SIDS
• Future Forum Report | Shaping the Future of Small Island Developing States
• Global Voices piece | Why small islands need their own Marshall Plan
• RESI Debt Project | Breaking the Cycle of Debt in SIDS
• Conversation piece | Debt-disaster-debt: hurricane-damaged islands are being saddled with loans they cannot afford
• Guardian piece | Caribbean leaders call for ‘Marshall plan’ to help rebuild after Hurricane Beryl

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In recent years, the notion of the “Blue Economy” has gained traction in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) policy debates. Focusing on the often-enormous marine spaces encompassed in SIDS’ exclusive economic zones (EEZs) – rather than their diminutive terrestrial landmasses – implies SIDS are really “large ocean states” rather than “small island states”. For proponents, the “Blue Economy” represents an entirely new way of thinking that offers a host of novel economic opportunities. For critics, it is little more than a buzzword that potentially “bluewashes” familiar forms of resource enclosure and extraction.

In this episode of "Small Islands Big Picture", Emily and Matt try to chart a path between these two positions, asking “What is new – and blue – about the Blue Economy discourse? Why have some SIDS and international organisations embraced it so enthusiastically? Are there dangers in advocating for and pursuing it? And how it might be deployed to generate wealth through conservation, rather than exploitation of oceanic resources?”.

In “Island Voices” we hear from Karuna Rana of the Big Ocean States Initiative in Mauritius who advocates using blue innovation to support community development. For our “Explainer”, Liam Saddington of Cambridge University demystifies the Blue Economy concept and discusses some of his research in the Seychelles. The “Big Picture” welcomes Nicole Leotaud from the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) in Trinidad and Tobago to hear how civil society visions of socially and ecologically sound “blueing” are being advanced. Finally, in “No Stupid Questions”, Matt and Emily ask, “Is the Blue Economy really that novel, or just old wine in new bottles?”.

Featuring:

• Emily Wilkinson (host) | RESI Director and Principal Research Fellow at ODI
• Matthew Bishop (host) | RESI Director and Senior Lecturer at the University of Sheffield
• Karuna Rana | Director, Big Ocean States Initiative (BOSI)
• Liam Saddington | Teaching Associate, University of Cambridge
• Nicole Leotaud | Director, Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI)

Resources:

• Programme page | Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative (RESI)
• Karuna’s Future Forum Paper | Closing the blue funding gap: How can SIDS mobilise a blue innovation fund for community development?
• Liam’s Geoforum Paper | Geopolitical imaginaries in climate and ocean governance: Seychelles and the Blue Economy
• CANARI’s SIDS4 Report | The Caribbean we want: Civil Society recommendations for transformative pathways to Caribbean sustainable development

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Citizenship is traditionally granted by right – on the basis of birthplace or parentage – or acquired through naturalisation – on the basis of sustained residency and allegiance to the state. Yet, many small countries are increasingly “selling sovereignty” through Citizenship by Investment (CBI) or Residence by Investment (RBI) schemes. These “golden passports” and “golden visas” generate sizeable revenues for many small island developing states (SIDS), but they have also come under scrutiny from powerful states and international organisations, especially the European Union.

In this episode of Small Islands Big Picture, Emily and Matt explore the proliferation of these schemes, asking, ‘If all states – including the very wealthiest – have them, why do smaller states seem to be under the greatest surveillance?’. They discuss the long-term sustainability of these schemes, where the money they generate is going, examples of good practice, and how the international community can support SIDS to ensure they continue to profit from CBI/RBI schemes while also strengthening their governance.

In “Island Voices”, we hear from CEO of the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation, Tina Urso. In the “Explainer”, Matt and Emily discuss the different kinds of CBI/RBI schemes that exist around the world. Dr Dan Hammett and Dr Owen Parker join “The Big Picture” to discuss why the CBI and RBI industry is booming, and why Brussels is increasingly uneasy about it. Finally, in “No Stupid Questions”, Matt and Emily ask, “If CBI and RBI schemes are so problematic, why does the international community not simply ban them?”.

Featuring:

• Emily Wilkinson (host) | RESI Director and Senior Research Fellow at ODI
• Matthew Bishop (host) | RESI Director and Senior Lecturer at the University of Sheffield
• Tina Urso | CEO, The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation, Malta
• Dan Hammett | Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, University of Sheffield
• Owen Parker | Senior Lecturer in European Politics, University of Sheffield

Resources:

• Programme page | Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative (RESI)
• Investigative Journalism from Malta | The Daphne Project
• Dan and Owen's SIDS Future Forum paper | Sovereignty sales, economic revitalisation and inclusive development in Small Island Developing States (SIDS)
• Dan Presenting on CBI Schemes | Session 1 (Resilient Economies) at SIDS Future Forum

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