Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
island jurisdictions are making an opposite move, from the ecologic to the economic
logic, promoting some industrialisation especially to stave off massive regional
depopulation. The job opportunities, but environmental cost, associated with build-
ing an aluminum smelter in Eastern Iceland has divided that island's public (e.g.
Hollingham 2007 ). Similarly, the Government of Dominica - said to be the only
island that navigator Christopher Columbus would recognize were he to revisit the
Caribbean today - has decided to accept an offer from its Venezuelan counterpart
to build an oil refinery, sparking keen debates on how this decision would compro-
mise the country's 'sustainable development' and its credentials as the 'nature
island' of the Caribbean (e.g. TheDominican.net 2007 ; Shillingford 2007 ).
Carving Out Islands for Ecological Sustainability
It is much easier for sub-national, island territories and jurisdictions to adopt and
maintain an ecological approach to their development than an independent state.
This is because they can be zoned for such a purpose, while other economic
development related activities can take place elsewhere, presumably in the metro-
pole. Islands, especially smaller ones, can become beacons, or what Turner
( 2007 ) calls “geographies of hope”. Turner is keen to present us with a scattering
of islands that are making impressive advances in energy sustainability, and serve
as beacons of optimism in otherwise dark and gloomy times. The trouble is that
Turner uses the word 'island' as metaphor; only two of the examples from his
'archipelago' of cases are real physical islands. Nevertheless, these two islands -
Samsø (a 100% renewable energy site) and Aerø - both in Denmark, are clear
examples of islands boasting energy sustainability. Other 'real island' examples
can be added, for good measure: Iceland, with its hydrogen powered bus fleet and
the commitment to be (except for its air planes) fossil free by 2050; Islands like
Mackinac (USA); Hiddensee (Germany); Sark (Channel Islands), Cheung Chau
and Lama (Hong Kong, China) remain today without automobiles. The only two
vehicles on Heligoland (Germany) are the fire truck and - since 2007 - a police
car. Bermuda, which for some time banned the motorcar, has a strict 'one car per
household' policy plus no rentable vehicles. On La Digue, the third largest island
in The Seychelles, the local authority restricts the issuing of licenses for trucks,
cars/taxis and buses. On Mosquito Island, British Virgin Islands, recently pur-
chased by Sir Richard Branson, everything is designed to reduce, or eliminate
dependence on fossil fuels.
There are three general ways in which islands have been thus carved out and
enclaved.
The first is via the crafting of parks or nature / culture reserves . Park status
prevents finite, prized but public resources from falling victim to the 'tragedy of the
commons'. The world's largest protected marine area, until recently, has been
Australia's Great Barrier Reef (which includes many islands). Since 2006, the
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