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Gatekeepers of island communities: exploring the pillars of sustainable development

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Abstract

Sustainable development (SD) is generally recognised as having three dimensions, ecological, economic and social. Yet, its implementation is burdened with resistance and conflict rooted in the short-term ‘business as usual’ development model, opposed to the long-term sustainable benefit of local communities. Hence, the development of strategies to implement SD projects may require further differentiation of these dimensions in relation to the contextual situation in which the project resides. In two studies of SD projects on the Croatian islands, we identify five interlocking spheres of importance, Spiritual, Political, Economic, Educational and Health, in addition to Ecological. Each of these spheres is accessible through gate-keepers, individuals or a group of people who have the authority over the sector and as such, significantly influence public opinion. We suggest that in this particular island context the sustainability of these projects may lie with those gate-keepers. Hence, initiating and maintaining SD projects in these contexts requires a structured and targeted lobbying of these gate-keepers.

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Notes

  1. Excluding Antarctica and Australia, islands occupy just 1.9% of the Earth’s surface area. However, 13.1% of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites are islands or located on islands.

  2. Islands Act and amendments (Official Gazette: NN34 (1999); NN149 (1999); NN32 (2002); NN94 (2002); NN33 (2006).

  3. Spending in 2006 was estimated to be €178 M (www.mmtpr.hr, Accessed on 10.7.2007).

  4. The WWF Mediterranean Gap Analysis Programme identified the Croatian Coast as one of 13 priority marine areas (www.panda.org). The Strategic Action Programme for the Conservation of Marine Biodiversity in the Mediterranean Region (UNEP/MAP) identified the Dalmatian Coast as one of the three priorities areas for conservation. The UNDP/GEF COAST project has focused on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity in the Dalmatian Coast.

  5. Seventh Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP-7) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Malaysia (2003).

  6. ‘Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature’ (Principle One of the Rio Declaration).

  7. Initiated by the World Bank (WB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) in partnership with the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

  8. The definition ‘Reserve’ comes from the Croatian designation type rather than the proposed management technique. The Reserve is proposed as a managed multiple-use area rather than a no-take reserve, as implied by its title.

  9. ‘Mjesni Odbori’ are elected local committees that are a hang-over from the socialist period which are designed to enable the direct participation of citizens in decision making concerns of issues of everyday importance.

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Acknowledgments

We are very grateful to many colleagues and participants in the SD projects analysed in this paper, too numerous to mention individually. We would also like to thank the two anonymous referees for valuable comments on an earlier draft of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Blue World Institute of Marine Research and Conservation, Veli Lošinj, Croatia

    P. C. Mackelworth

  2. Institute For Tourism, Zagreb, Croatia

    H. Carić

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  1. P. C. Mackelworth
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  2. H. Carić
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Correspondence to P. C. Mackelworth.

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Mackelworth, P.C., Carić, H. Gatekeepers of island communities: exploring the pillars of sustainable development. Environ Dev Sustain 12, 463–480 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-009-9205-4

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