Island communities are vulnerable to rapid changes in economy, climate, fuel prices, material supply, and tourism trends. The Island Renaissance (IR) program detects and maps crucial dependencies, identifies opportunities to strengthen the local economy, communities, ecosystems, and builds consensus to realize flourishing island societies.
The integrated approach of IR is based on the Symbiosis in Development (SiD) sustainability framework that enables resilient, sustainable, and beautiful island communities prepared for the future.
Resilient islands through self-sufficiency and diversity
Islands are ecosystems of people, nature, local economies that each have their own unique character. Their special position makes them vulnerable to changes in climate and the surrounding economy that strongly affect life on each island, for people and nature, and affect traditional ways of living in diverse ways. Economic stability, diversified employment, and securing crucial resources are key for a flourishing development of island states long into the future.
Most islands have strongly dependent economies, due to their size and reduced diversity of resources. As food and fuel prices rise, the cost of living increases. Changes in tourism, policy, and economy are often amplified on the island. Building towards a resilient and autonomous island community for the long term is critical to its future. But where to start and how to make sure the necessary investments benefit the community now, as well as in the future?
A Strategy for the Future
Island Renaissance answers these questions. In IR, building strong economies and lowering dependencies go hand in hand. New technologies that focus on localized economic cycles, ecosystem services, and smart urban innovations become attractive and beneficial for islands. They increase living quality on the island and create new opportunities for tourism.
Strategic benefits:
- An island map showing all major assets and most critical economic, ecological, and social dependencies.
- A realistic road map in time towards a resilient, sustainable, and beautiful island community.
- An overview of feasible solutions to climate change, global economic distress, and ecological issues.
- Vision on strategic Island development formed by a team of global experts on all relevant topics.
Economy & community results:
- Opportunity to disconnect from global economic fluctuations for primary resources such as oil and food
- Increased opportunities for attracting tourism
- Meaningful employment and job creation, adding economic diversity
- Valuable local industry and strong social communities
- Increased human capital and education capacities
- Opportunities to close local money flows, keeping value from being extracted from the island
- Increased capacity to attract investment
- Trendsetting programme among marine communities, inviting positive press and PR
- Strong and healthy island ecosystems
An integrated approach
In our two decades of work, we’ve found that it’s highly effective to find solutions that affect several areas at once. For instance, using energy generating technologies that support the local community, builds biodiversity, and functions as a tourist attraction. In order to find these multifaceted solutions for island communities, we developed Island Renaissance. Since 1999 we have worked to perfect our approach, built a team of worldwide experts, and gathered experience in a wide range of fields. this empowers island communities to benefit fully from an integrated approach.
Contact us to inquire about our services, or access our Online Consulting Service to get advice directly from one of our experts.
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