Demographic carrying capacity model: A tool for decision-making in Rapa Nui

Abstract

The increase of population in Rapa Nui (Easter Island) has fueled concerns within the community, given the uncertainty of its impacts. These concerns have driven a socio-political process that triggered the enactment of Law 21,070, which regulates the access and permanence of visitors in the territory as a way to cushion the pressure on different environmental, social, and infrastructure components that affect the local quality of life. However, for its application, this law requires technical foundations that allow restrictions to be applied and, therefore, knowledge about the demographic capacity of the territory is also needed. To this end, a dynamic model was built, which consists of different variables that are sensitive to population growth and also can be projected into the future, thus delivering timely information for decision-making. This paper describes the socio-political context for the creation of this instrument, as well as its elaboration process and main results.

Rellenos sanitarios en contextos insulares. Desafíos en el archipiélago de Chiloé, desde una aproximación espacial y normativa

“…Entonces, ¿cómo se determinan dichas variables? La selección de las características necesarias para los emplazamientos se debe realizar acorde a las necesidades de protección de cada territorio, ya que las posibles alteraciones de un relleno sanitario van desde lo espacial, ambiental, a lo socialcultural (Bergamini et al, 2021;Bernache, 2006). En el caso del archipiélago de Chiloé se debería iniciar por eliminar las posibles localizaciones en todas islas menores, es decir, restringir la búsqueda al área representada por la Isla Grande.…”

“…Además, normalmente los residuos que se generan en tales territorios no emanan exclusivamente de la población que ahí reside, sino que también de la población flotante (González Peñaloza, 2017). En este sentido, el turismo por ejemplo implica fuertes presiones por los flujos estivales, consumo del suelo, agua y energía, además de la degradación de paisaje por edificación de infraestructura demandante y el aumento en la producción de residuos (Bergamini et al, 2021;Santamarta, 2014).…”

Exploring the Relationships between Tradeoffs and Synergies among Island Ecosystem Service Bundles: A Study on Zhoushan Archipelago Located on the Southeast Coast of China

“…In the context of rapid urbanization, it is bound to affect the ecosystem health of Zhoushan Archipelago in the face of a sharp increase in construction land, an accelerated nonagricultural transformation of cultivated land, a rapid decrease in tidal flats and wetlands, and an increasingly deteriorating environment [4,37]. Islands present special challenges in terms of sustainable development, and this has been addressed through a range of qualitative and quantitative approaches [38][39][40][41].…”