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Shaping the Future of Small Islands: Roadmap for Sustainable Development 1st ed. Edition John Laing Roberts full chapter instant download
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Edited by
John Laing Roberts · Shyam Nath
Satya Paul · Yeti Nisha Madhoo
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer
Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
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Foreword
Small island developing states (SIDS) are not in the spotlight of develop-
ment studies, even though the social and economic development con-
straints that these countries face are among the most difficult in the world.
These are sovereign small island states, isolated geographically, which fall
largely in middle-income categories. Nevertheless, they are often without
a strong physical or institutional infrastructure, and most are vulnerable to
external economic fluctuations and natural disasters as well as disease bur-
dens. This book of original essays goes a long way towards providing a
better understanding of these challenges and the policy answers that are
now in play in these countries.
The major impediments to development in small islands have to do
with their isolation and their vulnerability. International climate meetings
have remained ineffective on global environmental issues that have severe
consequences for the very existence of these small island states. Matters
are made worse because the development of their economic base—often
sea-fishing, international tourism and plantations—poses formidable chal-
lenges and is often at odds with their environmental management efforts.
Arguably, the biggest challenge of all is on the near-term horizon. SIDS
are on track to become the early sufferers from global warming and sea
level rise, and already are confronting a steady increase in the frequency
and severity of natural disasters, including cyclones and floods.
The chapters in this book take on some specific problems of individual
small island countries and link them back to the basic theme of vulnerabil-
ity to environmental degradation and to weakening economies. These
include the mounting threat of climate change, heatwaves, overcutting of
v
vi FOREWORD
natural forests, and the stress on the population that comes from attempt-
ing to overcome such issues through policy experiments. The solutions
offered in these essays vary from tailoring the traditional approaches to
better fit the case of SIDS (e.g., establishing better resilience measures and
better merging natural resource policy and economic development policy)
to avoiding over-tourism and embracing “blue and circular economies”
which focuses on reusing all waste.
This set of 21 original essays offers a new look at how small island
economies might balance their economic and environmental goals in a
context of extreme vulnerability. Not surprisingly the chapter authors are
drawn from several disciplines including economists, government practi-
tioners, ocean governance commissions, and environmentalists. The book
is a sequel to the volume Saving Small Island Developing States:
Environmental and Natural Resource Challenges edited by Shyam Nath,
John Laing Roberts and Yeti Nisha Madhoo (2010), published by
Commonwealth Secretariat, UK.
I would like to take this opportunity to record our sincere thanks to every-
one who contributed to the development of this edited volume over sev-
eral phases. During my visit to Mauritius in 2013 to attend a workshop on
youth and sustainable development organised by Indian Ocean Commission
(IOC), Raj Mohabeer, Chargé de mission of IOC, shared this idea with
me and John Laing Roberts. Discussions with John Laing Roberts who
has long-time expertise with SIDS while working with Commonwealth
Secretariat, London, and IOC in Mauritius went a long way in getting
ahead the idea of a sequel of an earlier volume with an interesting new
title. This idea however remained latent until a team of economists headed
by Simon Feeney of RMIT University, Australia, visited Amrita University
to forge a collaboration in mainstream economics and supported this idea.
Our efforts got fresh stimulus when Satya Paul from the Western Sydney
University and the University of the South Pacific, Fiji (now with Australian
National University), joined the stream with his new ideas.
At this stage in 2017, a tremendous ray of support from the Chancellor
of Amrita University, Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, World Renowned
Spiritual Saint, speeded up the momentum and encouraged the idea
through the creation of Amrita Center for Economics & Governance.
Migration of Yeti Nisha Madhoo from the University of Mauritius to India
to join the Center with her expertise on the economics and ecology of
islands provided further impetus to this endeavour.
Subsequently, we contacted the experts working in the contemporary
issues of small islands. We are thankful to the experts not only for accept-
ing our invitations but also for writing chapters well on time despite their
vii
viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
hectic schedules. In this process, our task was facilitated with the great
help of Augustin K Fosu of United Nations University, Helsinki, Finland,
Oliver Morrissey of Nottingham University, UK, and Larry D Schroeder
of Syracuse University, USA.
We also place our thanks to Raj Mohabeer and IOC Headquarter in
Mauritius for initiating and supporting the idea of a roadmap for sustain-
able development of small islands.
Finally, we acknowledge the support of Palgrave, particularly Sandeep
Kaur and Arun Prasath for processing and monitoring the publication of
this volume.
ix
x Contents
Index417
Notes on Contributors
xiii
xiv NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS