What Is the Samoa Pathway? The UN Framework for Pacific Island Security and Development
The SAMOA Pathway — formally the Small Island Developing States Accelerated Modalities of Action — is the United Nations' multilateral framework for SIDS sustainable development, adopted at the Third International Conference on SIDS in Apia, Samoa in September 2014. It identifies fourteen priority areas for SIDS development including climate change, disaster risk reduction, oceans and seas, food security, water, energy, tourism, biodiversity, means of implementation, and sustainable development financing. It was succeeded in 2024 by the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS) as the primary governing framework.
Why the Samoa Pathway matters for island security policy
The Samoa Pathway establishes the multilateral standards against which island security investments are measured and reported. When ISPI cites the Samoa Pathway in its research, it is situating island-specific practitioner findings within the global multilateral framework that governments, donors, and international organizations use to evaluate SIDS security investments. Research that connects to Samoa Pathway provisions is more likely to inform government policy, attract grant funding, and achieve the institutional partnerships that advance ISPI's mission.
The Pathway's disaster risk reduction provisions establish that SIDS-specific emergency management frameworks are an international development priority — providing the multilateral authorization for the kind of island-specific policy reform ISPI documents in WP-03. Its maritime security provisions establish the framework within which Pacific drug trafficking suppression, patrol boat capacity building, and port security investment are internationally recognized as legitimate development investments rather than purely domestic law enforcement concerns.
The Samoa Pathway and ISPI's five research pillars
Disaster risk reduction. The Pathway identifies island-specific disaster risk reduction frameworks as a priority, directly supporting ISPI's WP-03 island emergency management research and the post-Lala framework reform recommendations ISPI has submitted to HIEMA.
Maritime security. The Pathway's ocean and maritime provisions support ISPI's supply chain singularity research, insider threat framework for Pacific port security, and the HR 9508 Pacific Islands Liaison Initiative recommendations ISPI published in July 2026.
Governance capacity. The Pathway's means of implementation provisions — explicitly acknowledging that SIDS require governance capacity investment to implement international frameworks — directly support ISPI's WP-10 democratic resilience research and the governance capacity framework ISPI applies to Pacific bilateral security agreements.
Climate resilience. The Pathway's climate change provisions support ISPI's HI-08 climate resilience research and connect ISPI's Hawaii-based research to the global SIDS climate adaptation framework.
Sustainable financing. The Pathway's financing provisions support ISPI's grant development framework — specifically the Hawaii Community Foundation Stronger Hawaiʻi Fund application and the SAM.gov registration that positions ISPI for government procurement contracts.
The transition to the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda
The Samoa Pathway's ten-year implementation period concluded with the Fourth International Conference on SIDS in Antigua and Barbuda in May 2024, which adopted the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS) as the successor framework. ABAS retains the Samoa Pathway's core priority areas while adding new focus on digital economy, health resilience, and the post-COVID recovery landscape. ISPI's research cites both frameworks because the Samoa Pathway remains the implementation reference for commitments made between 2014 and 2024, while ABAS governs new investments through 2034.
The Samoa Pathway was adopted in Samoa — a Pacific SIDS — and reflects Pacific island community input more directly than any previous SIDS multilateral framework. Its maritime security provisions were shaped by Pacific island governments' documented concerns about illegal fishing, drug trafficking, and climate-driven supply disruption. The Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS builds on this Pacific foundation while extending its reach to Caribbean and Indian Ocean SIDS communities. Both frameworks apply to all 39 SIDS nations regardless of ocean basin.