This year, 2014, was chosen as the International Year of Small Island Developing States in recognition of the need to see the escalating environmental crises facing these countries as a global challenge. How small island developing states (SIDS) respond to threats such as sea level rise, freshwater scarcity and biodiversity loss, and the degree of support they receive, is indicative of how we, collectively, will adapt to a host of climate change impacts in the coming decades.