Global Environmental Studies

Global Environmental Studies Editor-in-Chief: Ken-ichi Abe Series Editors: Takakazu Yumoto Makoto Taniguchi Daniel Niles For further volumes: http://www.springer.com/series/10124 The Pacific Region. Islands treated in the volume are highlighted. Godfrey Baldacchino • Daniel Niles Editors Island Futures Conservation and Development Across the Asia-Pacific Region Editors Godfrey Baldacchino, Ph.D. Daniel Niles, Ph.D. Professor Assistant Professor University of Prince Edward Island Research Institute for Humanity and Nature 550 University Avenue 457-4 Motoyama, Kamigamo Charlottetown, PE Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8047 Japan C1A 4P3 Canada ISBN 978-4-431-53988-9 e-ISBN 978-4-431-53989-6 DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-53989-6 Springer Tokyo Dordrecht Heidelberg London New York Library of Congress Control Number: 20119310862011 © Springer 2011 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) Global Environmental Studies: Foreword to the Series How should human beings and societies address contemporary environmental problems? Until recently, environmental research was largely undertaken within the separate disciplines of the natural sciences. Only recently has modern science begun to examine the whole: the fascinating forces and cycles that constitute the biophysical world, linking deep internal Earth phenomena with those of the surface and atmo- sphere. As environmental scientists, our current challenge is to describe how human action intersects with Earth processes at different spatial and temporal scales. Identifying solutions to environmental problems, however, will require a deeper level of analysis, one that explicates the cultural base of individual and collective practices that affect Earth processes, and that allows contemplation of what is, and what ought to be. It is with this very integrative and comprehensive intent that we at the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature have identified the need for global environmental studies. This volume introduces the Global Environmental Studies book series, which was created to publish works at or affiliated with the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN). Located in Kyoto, Japan, RIHN is a national research institute, one of six that comprise the National Institutes for the Humanities. RIHN takes a broad view of environmental studies, and the books published within this series will indi- cate the full breadth of its research. It is particularly appropriate that this first volume in the series address islands, for they are microcosms both fascinatingly specific and yet strikingly illustrative of the dilemmas confronting people in all places. RIHN takes great benefit from, and pride in, collaboration with many institutes and scholars around the world. UNESCO has particular influence in this volume, and I have the special privilege to write this Foreword to the Series in my capacity as Director-General of RIHN as well as Chair of the Social and Human Science v vi Global Environmental Studies: Foreword to the Series Sector of the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO. As my colleague Miguel Clüsner-Godt notes in his Preface, UNESCO has made substantial steps in both conceptualizing and implementing the frameworks that protect islands. We must support such works, and seek to improve them, for in doing so we can improve ecological integrity and human well-being in our home places, our nations and regions, and finally, on this great island we know as the Earth. Kyoto, Japan Narifumi Tachimoto 23 March 2011 Foreword It is my distinct pleasure to contribute the foreword to this important volume discussing the futurability of islands, which emerges from the joint efforts of the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN) and the Japan National Commission for UNESCO. UNESCO is a specialized agency of the United Nations, and seeks to dedicate its resources towards the building of peace, the alleviation of poverty, sustainable development, and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication, and information. Within this broad mandate, islands around the world find themselves as targets of various initiatives. This is not just because islands and their populations deserve as much attention as mainlands and continental spaces in the challenges that face humankind. Indeed, a quick scan will confirm that islands occupy a relatively privileged position since they tend to attract greater attention from international agencies, including UNESCO. This is so because, in the words of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, islands remain frontline sites, the miner’s canary for many of humankind’s challenges: look at islands and find out how sustainable development strategies could, or could not, work. This focus is especially pertinent to initiatives that seek to protect, conserve, or preserve not only sensitive wildlife habitats, fauna, or flora, but also specific cultural practices. Given their separation from mainlands over long periods of time, island geographies are natural platforms for the experimental antics of nature and culture; they have a dis- proportionate amount of endemic species, as well as indigenous languages, compared to their surface area. Differentiation runs riot on islands, and UNESCO is privileged to contribute to this rich and diverse legacy. An evident case in point is UNESCO’s intergovernmental Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Program, which seeks to develop a sound and proven scientific rationale for the improvement of people–environment relationships, doing so by systematically using knowledge (both scientific and traditional), information, data, and expertise as its main tools. The biosphere reserve concept, designed as a field tool for interdisci- plinary MAB work, focuses on three functions: conservation (of ecosystems, species, and genes), development for a sustainable future, and scientific research. vii viii Foreword There were, as of 2010, 562 biosphere reserves in 109 countries, 8 of which are trans-boundary. A significant number of these reserves are found on islands and in coastal zones; sometimes they are whole, or almost whole, islands. Each of these reserves is a precious learning site for sustainable development. Island biosphere reserves are especially unique in their cultural, social, and environmental context. They require a special integration and synthesis of scientific models with local cultural values and traditional knowledge and practices in biodiversity conservation programs. The experiences derived from coastal and island biosphere reserves stress the vital importance of involving local communities in such biodiversity conservation programs. Within the MAB program, biodiversity protection and sustainable development are the key words for action. Biosphere reserves as learning sites for sustainable development are those areas in given ecosystems, which have been specifically chosen by UNESCO member states, to implement and showcase these concepts. The program is particularly focused on such ecosystems as agricultural/rural lands, dry and sub-humid zones, forests, rivers, lakes, wetlands, coastal zones and oceans, mountains, and urban areas. Islands are an additional and separate focus, but many of the other ecosystems under study can be found on islands, making them doubly special. The MAB program is currently implementing the multi-year Madrid Action Plan (MAP), endorsed in 2008. As encouraged by this plan, MAB’s research programs also seek to build important links to and with other international initiatives, developing vital synergies. These include: (1) the UN Decade for Education for Sustainable Development, (2) intersectoral platforms, particularly concerning Africa and the education sector of UNESCO, and (3) other intergovernmental scientific initiatives of UNESCO, such as the International Hydrological Program, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the International Basic Science Program, and UNESCO’s well-known World Heritage Program. There are also various other examples of cooperation, this time between UNESCO national commissions and MAB national committees. Some initiatives worth noting include the Canadian government’s support for the Canadian Network of Biosphere Reserves; the German National Commission’s work with the National Commissions of Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Namibia, and Rwanda; the German Biosphere Reserves have created a partnership with Volvic Waters to support research on nature and water; the Vietnam and Australia MAB National Committees have devel- oped a “learning laboratory” model; Brazil’s MAB National Committee and São Paulo’s Green Belt Biosphere Reserve are reviewing their own plans in the light of the MAP; and the Spanish government is providing UNESCO’s Division of Ecological and Earth Sciences with funding to support cooperation with biosphere reserves in Latin America and Africa. With respect to island biosphere reserves, aspects of their conservation manage-

Load more