Small island developing states face many challenges. High on the list is economic growth and development. For without growth livelihoods stagnate, deflating any hope of better times ahead. What we seek – the whole point of economic development – is some level of prosperity.
Photo: chinablue71
But the notion of prosperity requires a closer analysis, because it can mean different things to different people. Depending upon your socio-economic status, where you live, your cultural influences, each of these can influence your relationship with prosperity and what you strive for. Read More
If anyone can make the case for sustainability, islanders can. Basically, an islander understands that if they exhaust their natural resources, they could die. Because there is nowhere else to go.
Photo: Man’s pic
Obviously, this is over dramatized. Most islanders today are not solely dependent upon their island’s natural resources for survival. Water can be desalinized. Food can be imported. Livelihoods have evolved beyond subsistence. Read More
Sustainable, sustainability, sustainable development – these are terms that have become so overused that, for many, they have lost their impact. The words have become clichés, rather than touchstones. And yet, for our purposes, a definition is important. Read More
The Small Island States Foundation is pleased to announce their redesigned website and new blog.
Photo: Ross Cooke
Earlier this year Owen Bethel, SISF’s founder, and I met in New York to discuss how we might revitalize this website and, indeed, the work of the Foundation. We concluded that since a central tenet of the Small Island States Foundation is to promote sustainable solutions for island development, then one of our core functions should be to write about these issues and regularly publish articles, interviews, and profiles on these pages. Read More
Small Island States Foundation