Island Issues
We all tend to dream of living on an island, best a tropical one where we also happen to have all amenities of modern civilization readily at hand. Some may succeed to visit such places during an annual holiday or on a honeymoon. Time spent on our island usually translates into a long-time or even lifelong cherished memory, the relaxation and enjoyment remaining a timeless impression of an environment most of us do not well understand. After the lavish dinner evenings, party nights, action filled excursions and other exotic pleasures, we say so long to Jamaica, Hawaii or Cuba, Bali, Mauritius or Canary Islands. Little may we have learned about the environmental issues featuring high on the agenda of the islands' natural resource managers. Unaware about the narrow opportunities of many island economies, we revel on just how "unbelievably cheap" things were and how generously we tipped the hotel staff.
Oblivious to the negative effects of mass tourism on many small islands, the average package traveler cares little about issues of sustainability, at home or on holiday. Of course, Suite101 readers are unlikely to fall into this category of world travelers, after all the Suite is here to help you discover the broader pictures. With regard to islands, a whole lot of splendid work and information is maintained and shared through the Small Island Developing States Network (SIDSnet). Initiated in 1997 as a follow up to the Barbados Programme of Action of 1994, SIDSnet recognises that all islands share common issues. SIDSnet was initiated by UNDP Whereas few of us proclaim to have the ambition to gain expert knowledge on issues affecting development on small islands, a simple listing of the core issues may suffice to draw raise some awareness about the fact that the geographic confines of small islands can easily result into environmental management problems of considerable scale. Such core issues will include:
o Domestic Waste
o Fisheries
o Forest cover
o Land Use and Land Tenure
o Soil Loss
o Water Shortage
o Solid Waste Disposal
o Toxic Chemicals
o Endangered Species
o Human Habitat. Those readers who wish to deepen their understanding of these issues and the impact on island environments, as well as professionally interested readers will certainly appreciate the online SMALL ISLAND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COURSE AND TRAINING PROGRAMME
( http://www.unep.ch/islands/siem.htm ). The UNEP Island Directory is a prime source for basic environmental and geographic information on the significant islands of the world. It " assembles information on the significant islands of the world. It is intended to help those living on islands or involved in island development and conservation to understand the environmental problems of islands, to identify islands with special problems or under particular threat, and to compare and classify islands globally to show which islands may share common problems and be able to cooperate in solving those problems" and can be found at: http://www.unep.ch/islands/isldir.htm
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