text: and exploitation of the exclusive economic zones of member States; the management and protection of the Caribbean environment; control of drug abuse and trafficking; tourism development; development financing and expanding intraregional and extraregional trade opportunities; .and disaster planning, prevention and relief. He also expressed his concern about the inadequacy of the GNP as a yardstick for economic performance of the IDCs because it did not take into account other factors which related to the particular vulnerability and quality of life in IDCs; nor did the GNP criterion take into account the higher administrative and other unit costs which IDCs incurred. 33. The representative of the Department of International Economic and Social Affairs (DIESA) said that the remote and small IDCs faced particular problems related to high transport costs. Furthermore, those IDCs had to keep large inventories of required imports because of infrequent and irregular shipping services. He said that those IDCs also faced the problem of openness and that they were especially prone to external shocks such as demand and foreign A/CONF.147/5 TD/B/AC.46/4 page 13 exchange shocks. He noted that some of the solutions to their problem was to promote joint ventures in the transport sector and to reorientate their trade towards regional markets. He added that one of the priorities in overcoming the development problems of IDCs should be to upgrade the technical capabilities of their cadres through expanded training programmes in the regional context. He emphasized the role of external assistance in that area. He noted that small island countries relied on exports for growth but that studies had shown that the retained value of their export earnings tended to be small because of the heavy involvement of TNCs in their export sector and the fact that their exports were very highly import-intensive. He also 
analysis: The text discusses various aspects of development and challenges faced by IDCs (small island developing countries), including economic performance, trade, transport, and environmental concerns. It highlights the limitations of using GNP as a yardstick for economic performance and the specific problems faced by IDCs, such as high transport costs, infrequent shipping services, and vulnerability to external shocks. The text also touches on the importance of external assistance, technical training, and regional trade to overcome these challenges.