Summer School: Environmental Management on Islands. Challenges and Sustainability

The information below will be updated as soon as possible.

Islands are special cases for Sustainable Development. Methodologically and scientifically, islands are ideal ‘laboratories’ for sustainable landscape stewardship. Islands are unique in both attractiveness and climate vulnerability, they are relatively isolated and ‘on their own’ compared to mainland areas, yet they are also more dependent and need to be well-connected to other areas more than mainland areas. The summer school is aimed at combining all these different perspectives.

The summer school focuses on the Mediterranean island of Lesvos which is home to what is known as Aristotle’s lagoon and has also been described as the birthplace of the science of biology; an island well-known for its unique biodiversity, a petrified forest and many scenic landscapes reflecting in its UNESCO Geopark status. The island is also the birthplace of great literary figures and has a very rich cultural history. It has also long been a popular tourism (and eco-tourism) destination. More recently it has been at the centre of global media attention as the crossing land of refugees’ flight to safety and key gateway to Europe.

Overall the central question of the summer school is: How to come to sustainable development amidst starkly different island dynamics? Students in this summer school are challenged to blend perspectives towards sustainability: to understand the current situation and to research possible sustainable futures building via a multi-disciplinary approach. Questions that will be considered and addressed include: How can an island like Lesvos (as a case study) move towards an ambitious and successful energy transition? How to combine conservation in core nature areas with development in the surrounding landscapes? How can the challenges and opportunities of the refugee crisis can be met in socially sustainable ways? What are the prospects for sustainable social and economic development?

Dates

13 - 17 February 2023

Location

SALA DE PIEDRA DEL RECTORADO (University of Las Palmas de Gran

Canaria), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Gran Canaria island, Canary Islands, Spain

Level BA/MA/PhD/Postdoc/Practitioners

Fee

€ 200 (TBD)

Organising committee

Dimitris Ballas, Faculty of Spatial Sciences

Rodrigo Riera, IU-ECOAQUA, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Fernando Tuya, IU-ECOAQUA, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Academic coordinators

• Ricardo Haroun, IU-ECOAQUA, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
• Luis Hernández-Calvento, IOCAG, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
• Juan Carlos Martín Hernández, TIDES, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
• Rodrigo Riera, IU-ECOAQUA, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
• Fernando Tuya, IU-ECOAQUA, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Contact

islas rug.nl

More information on our Summer Schools website