Managing Natural Resources for a Sustainable Future
Island nations have a lot in common. They are endowed with both land-based and ocean resources and, thanks to their isolation, host biodiversity that tends to be both endemic and unique. They also face environmental challenges. Low-lying atolls in the Pacific are particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise, for instance, and Caribbean islands are experiencing more frequent hurricanes. Most island nations are experiencing increasingly erratic rainfall, even as their populations are growing.
How can island nations best manage their natural resources in order to sustain life and livelihoods? Making the right decision requires good governance. Good governance springs from rational management practices which in turn rely on sound knowledge of the state of natural resources and the ability to predict future trends. UNESCO is helping SIDS to assess their natural resources, manage them sustainably and put good governance practices in place. It is also encouraging SIDS to cooperate with one another. As they often face similar environmental challenges, it makes sense for them to share solutions.
- Full summary in Islands of the Future – Building resilience in a changing world (pdf)
Managing natural resources through biosphere reserves
© UNESCO/M. Clüsener-Godt
The flagship achievement of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme over the past four decades has been the constitution of a vast network of 621 biosphere reserves in 117 countries. Of these, 15 are situated in nine SIDS in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans and in the Caribbean.
Each biosphere reserve counts core zones reserved strictly for conservation, surrounded by larger buffer zones and transition areas where local inhabitants are encouraged to experiment with different approaches to sustainable development, such as ecotourism, sustainable agriculture and aquaculture or renewable energy. In addition to fostering conservation and development, each biosphere reserve provides the local population with logistic support through training, education and scientific research.
Transmitting island ecological knowledge
A sub-regional network of traditional healers was formed in the Seychelles in February 2013, at a meeting organized by UNESCO and attended by NGOs and researchers from the region. Practitioners from Comores, La Reunión (France), Madagascar, the Maldives, Mauritius and the Seychelles plan to develop ethical codes and exchange best practices concerning the sustainable use of medicinal plant resources. They will also dialogue with policy-makers and scientists and develop appropriate education programmes. Special emphasis will be placed on traditional women’s knowledge and knowledge for women.
Assessing the quality and quantity of groundwater
© Patrick L. Colin
Ngemelis mosaic (Rock Islands Southern Lagoon) Palau
In many SIDS, the quality and quantity of groundwater are now threatened by population growth, urbanization and climate change. Groundwater is already suffering from saltwater intrusion as a corollary of rising sea levels. Rainfall is also becoming increasingly erratic, raising the spectre of periodic drought.
There are other solutions, however. UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme (IHP) began compiling information on the aquifers of 43 SIDS in 2013. Information and data are being collected for a wide set of hydrogeological and socio-economic indicators, via questionnaires submitted to national experts and governments in each of the participating SIDS. The data will then be integrated into indices to facilitate priority-setting within water management strategies.
The aim is to provide an estimation of how the quantity and quality of water in these underground systems may change over the next 15−20 years. A parallel goal is to shine a spotlight on aquifers of particular concern, in order to catalyse international support for remedial measures. UNESCO is implementing this two-year project (component on the aquifers of SIDS) within the wider Transboundary Waters Assessment Programme financed by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF).
