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Introduction: The Metabolism of Islands

Author

Listed:
  • Simron Jit. Singh

    (School of Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED), University of Waterloo Environment, Waterloo, ON N2L3G1, Canada)

  • Marina Fischer-Kowalski

    (Institute of Social Ecology (SEC), University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), 1190 Vienna, Austria)

  • Marian Chertow

    (Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA)

Abstract

This editorial introduces the Special Issue “Metabolism of Islands”. It makes a case why we should care about islands and their sustainability. Islands are hotspots of biocultural diversity, and home to 600 million people that depend on one-sixth of the earth’s total area, including the surrounding oceans, for their subsistence. Today, they are on the frontlines of climate change and face an existential crisis. Islands are, however, potential “hubs of innovation” and are uniquely positioned to be leaders in sustainability and climate action. We argue that a full-fledged program on “island industrial ecology” is urgently needed with the aim to offer policy-relevant insights and strategies to sustain small islands in an era of global environmental change. We introduce key industrial ecology concepts, and the state-of-the-art in applying them to islands. Nine contributions in this Special Issue are briefly reviewed to highlight the metabolic risks inherent in the island cases. The contributors explore how reconfiguring patterns of resource use will allow island governments to build resilience and adapt to the challenges of climate change.

Suggested Citation

  • Simron Jit. Singh & Marina Fischer-Kowalski & Marian Chertow, 2020. "Introduction: The Metabolism of Islands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-8, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:22:p:9516-:d:445564
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Helmut Haberl & Dominik Wiedenhofer & Stefan Pauliuk & Fridolin Krausmann & Daniel B. Müller & Marina Fischer-Kowalski, 2019. "Contributions of sociometabolic research to sustainability science," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 2(3), pages 173-184, March.
    2. Kalim U. Shah & Keron Niles & Saleem H. Ali & Dinesh Surroop & Doorgeshwaree Jaggeshar, 2019. "Plastics Waste Metabolism in a Petro-Island State: Towards Solving a “Wicked Problem” in Trinidad and Tobago," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-19, November.
    3. Simon Merschroth & Alessio Miatto & Steffi Weyand & Hiroki Tanikawa & Liselotte Schebek, 2020. "Lost Material Stock in Buildings due to Sea Level Rise from Global Warming: The Case of Fiji Islands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-19, January.
    4. Marianne Faith G. Martinico-Perez & Tomer Fishman & Keijiro Okuoka & Hiroki Tanikawa, 2017. "Material Flow Accounts and Driving Factors of Economic Growth in the Philippines," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 21(5), pages 1226-1236, October.
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    8. Jan Petzold & Alexandre K. Magnan, 2019. "Climate change: thinking small islands beyond Small Island Developing States (SIDS)," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 152(1), pages 145-165, January.
    9. Johnella Bradshaw & Simron Jit Singh & Su-Yin Tan & Tomer Fishman & Kristen Pott, 2020. "GIS-Based Material Stock Analysis (MSA) of Climate Vulnerabilities to the Tourism Industry in Antigua and Barbuda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-22, September.
    10. Marian R. Chertow & Thomas E. Graedel & Koichi S. Kanaoka & Jooyoung Park, 2020. "The Hawaiian Islands: Conceptualizing an Industrial Ecology Holarchic System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-17, April.
    11. Hiroki Tanikawa & Tomer Fishman & Keijiro Okuoka & Kenji Sugimoto, 2015. "The Weight of Society Over Time and Space: A Comprehensive Account of the Construction Material Stock of Japan, 1945–2010," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 19(5), pages 778-791, October.
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    13. Marina Fischer-Kowalski & Markus Löw & Dominik Noll & Panos Petridis & Nikolaos Skoulikidis, 2020. "Samothraki in Transition: A Report on a Real-World Lab to Promote the Sustainability of a Greek Island," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-23, March.
    14. P. J. Deschenes & Marian Chertow, 2004. "An island approach to industrial ecology: towards sustainability in the island context," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(2), pages 201-217.
    15. Hiroki Tanikawa & Shunsuke Managi & Cherry Myo Lwin, 2014. "Estimates of Lost Material Stock of Buildings and Roads Due to the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 18(3), pages 421-431, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Francisco Martin del Campo & Simron Jit Singh & Tomer Fishman & Adelle Thomas & Dominik Noll & Michael Drescher, 2023. "Can a small island nation build resilience? The significance of resource‐use patterns and socio‐metabolic risks in The Bahamas," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 27(2), pages 491-507, April.
    2. Dominik Noll & Christian Lauk & Willi Haas & Simron Jit Singh & Panos Petridis & Dominik Wiedenhofer, 2022. "The sociometabolic transition of a small Greek island: Assessing stock dynamics, resource flows, and material circularity from 1929 to 2019," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 26(2), pages 577-591, April.
    3. Grabher, Harald F. & Erb, Karlheinz & Singh, Simron & Haberl, Helmut, 2024. "Household energy systems based on biomass: Tracing material flows from source to service in rural Ethiopia," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 217(C).
    4. Shupa Rahman & Simron Singh & Cameron McCordic, 2022. "Can the Caribbean localize its food system?: Evidence from biomass flow accounting," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 26(3), pages 1025-1039, June.

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