Abstract
The very ‘insularity’ of islands makes them excellent focal points for sustainability studies that systematically analyze the interactions between human activities and the environment. In this chapter, we seek to explore the factors that cause island societies to prosper and sustain themselves and those that lead to collapse. A number of historical cases of collapse have occurred on the island we investigate (Samothraki, Greece) in the sense of a breakdown of social complexity and rapid population decline. At present, there is a fragile situation of slow population decline and ecological challenges that might be brought to a ‘tipping point’ by the impacts of the Greek economic and governance crisis and by climate change. The island community has decided to make an effort to turn the whole island into a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO standards. Building upon a sociometabolic understanding of socioecological systems and using systems thinking (and, to a certain degree, modeling), we attempt to identify environmental and social ‘tipping points’ for Samothraki. Moreover, in line with the Long-Term Socioecological Research (LTSER) tradition, we argue that analyzing society-environment relations for different phases of the island’s history and gaining insights from past collapses can help to identify threats and possible ailments. Finally, this chapter will reflect not only on the outcome but also on the process of performing transdisciplinary research, that is, research that aims to achieve a practical outcome.
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Notes
- 1.
Following a feasibility study and comprehensive consultations with stakeholders from 2008 to 2011 (see Fischer-Kowalski et al. 2011), an application to UNESCO was unanimously supported by the municipal council and signed by the island’s Mayor. The application was submitted by the Greek National Man and the Biosphere (MAB) committee to UNESCO and is currently under review. UNESCO’s Seville Strategy aims to make Biosphere Reserves the principal internationally designated areas dedicated to sustainable development in the 21st century (UNESCO 1996).
- 2.
‘Natura 2000’ is an EU-wide network of nature protection areas, established under the 1992 Habitats Directive, and is the centerpiece of the EU nature & biodiversity policy (See: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/index_en.htm).
- 3.
There is also a return flow of taxes from the island, but here we assume there is a net balance of public monetary flows to the island.
- 4.
A recent study (PLANISTAT 2002) identified a population of 4000−5000 people as a key threshold for the provision of an important part of services locally. This still does not include ‘superior services’ (e.g., hospitals, tertiary education, cinemas); for those, one must travel to a larger urban center (Spilanis et al. 2012).
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Acknowledgements
We are indebted to Lazaros Xenidis for his preparatory research from 2007 to 2009, to Peter Fleissner for advice on modeling strategies, to Sheba Schilk for inquiring into the possibilities of realizing these strategies with archaeological and historical data and to all the students who contributed to the focus group data analysis. We are at least as indebted to the mayors of Samothraki, Petroudas and Chanos for their continuous political support and to the non-governmental organization (NGO) ‘Samothraki in Action’ and its active female members for their initiative, local information and persevering networking. Last but not least, we would like to gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Austrian Academy of Sciences as well as support and encouragement from the Austrian UNESCO-MAB Committee.
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Petridis, P., Fischer-Kowalski, M. (2016). Island Sustainability: The Case of Samothraki. In: Haberl, H., Fischer-Kowalski, M., Krausmann, F., Winiwarter, V. (eds) Social Ecology. Human-Environment Interactions, vol 5. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33326-7_28
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