Identity and decision-making for sustainability in the context of small islands

Natural and urban environments determining environmental beliefs and behaviours, economic thought and happiness /Ambientes naturales y urbanos determinan creencias y comportamientos ambientales, el pensamiento económico y la felicidad

“…Deriva de una serie de estudios que encontraron diferencias significativas entre ambos grupos en dimensiones psicosociales como el apego al lugar y la identidad de lugar respecto a un territorio específico (que, a su vez, parece influir sobre las medidas pro-ambientales y de bienestar). Más aún, algunos estudios recientes han aportado evidencia acerca de la construcción de un imaginario sociocultural diferente en poblaciones insulares (por ejemplo, Benedicto, 2014). Tradicionalmente estos estudios se han basado en la diferencia entre estas poblaciones como nativas o inmigrantes, o en relación con la cantidad de tiempo que llevan residiendo en cada territorio (Hernández et al, 2007; Lyth et al, 2016).…”

“…It is based on a series of studies that have found significant differences between the two groups, comparing psychosocial dimensions such as attachment and place identity to a specific territory (which, in turn, seems to influence pro-environmental and well-being measures). Moreover, some recent studies have provided evidence about the construction of different sociocultural imagination in insular population (e.g., Benedicto, 2014). Traditionally, these studies have been based on the difference between these populations as native and immigrant, or in relation to the amount of time that they have lived in each territory (Hernández, Hidalgo, Salazar-Laplace, & Hess, 2007; Lyth, Harwood, Hobday, & McDonald, 2016).…”

Supporting insular research and development through the ‘Archipelago’ information system

“…As a final point, islanders tend to be more participatory in dealing with local problems and voluntarily collecting and sharing information (Benedicto, 2014;UNDESA & OAS, 2003). In addition, we are well on the way toward moving from an epoch of comfortable oppositions and binary thinking that position insiders against outsiders, openness versus closure, roots versus routes, global versus local (Baldacchino, 2012).…”

The role of science in sustainability transitions: citizen science, transformative research, and experiences from Samothraki island, Greece

“…We do not propose replacing top-down 'inappropriate development' imperatives with a version of romanticised localism. Instead, we stress the need to combine a reasonable understanding of the biophysical attributes and institutional specificities of insularity, as well as the emotional geography and insular identity (Depraetere, 2008) in a process of collectively designing an alternative vision of development (Benedicto, 2014).…”