Island ecosystem services: insights from a literature review on case-study island ecosystem services and future prospects

Abstract

Small islands are of special interest for sustainable development because of their unique characteristics and vulnerabilities. They are ecologically fragile, have limited resources, are susceptible to natural disasters and climate change. This study reviews the literature on island ecosystems, their contribution in the delivery of five key Island Ecosystem Services (IES) and acting pressures and trade-offs associated with IES management. From a set of 1630 potential relevant papers, 273 were selected for analysis. Most of the selected papers focused on cultural IES, in the form of recreation, eco-tourism and gene pool protection. However, provisioning and regulating IES were also well represented in the literature. Most of the studies discussed different management strategies and pressures arising from human use of IES. A small subset investigated the links between island biodiversity and IES, and the contribution of IES to human well-being. This review highlights knowledge gaps in the literature and identifies the need to develop approaches for IES assessments that are informed by local knowledge and which make use of empirical and spatial data for management that maximises the potential of island ecosystems to deliver IES whilst reducing trade-offs.

Lessons From the Pacific Islands – Adapting to Climate Change by Supporting Social and Ecological Resilience

“…Overpopulation, pollution and overuse of natural resources (e.g., overfishing and intensive land and water use), and unsustainable development and mining are also degrading island ecosystems (Burke et al, 2011;Hills et al, 2013;Balzan et al, 2018). While the Pacific Islands are often described as highly vulnerable to climate change and lacking adaptation options (Pelling and Uitto, 2001), such descriptions disregard the ways in which Pacific Islanders are leading climate action and combining their own systems of knowledge with western science to implement locally relevant climate solutions (Barnett and Campbell, 2010;Mcleod et al, 2018).…”

Development of a comprehensive assessment model for coral reef island carrying capacity(CORE-CC)

“… The ecosystem services dimension refers to the ability of ecosystems within a certain time and space to provide services such as ecological regulation, ecological support, and ecological culture 69 . Coral reef islands have the characteristics of land-sea transition patches, and their ecosystem service capacity should be considered from both terrestrial ecosystem and marine ecosystem 70 , 71 . Among them, the marine is dominated by coral reef ecosystem services, which is also a unique feature of the CORE-CC.…”

Ecosystem Services Assessment Tools for Regenerative Urban Design in Oceania

“…This may in part be because nature-based solutions are thought to potentially offer more culturally appropriate approaches to climate change adaptation [26]. EbA projects could greatly benefit from tools that model ecosystem services, as illustrated by a recent project in Port Vila, Vanuatu [20], and supported by research highlighting the need to develop approaches for ecosystem services assessment that make use of empirical and spatial data for island ecosystem management [27]. In the Port Vila project, funded by the Pacific Ecosystem-Based Adaptation to Climate Change (PEBACC) programme and implemented by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), researchers devised a methodology for developing urban EbA projects in a small island developing nation (SIDS) context that included the use of an ecosystem assessment tool.…”