7th International Conference on Environmental Future (7ICEF) - Humans and island environments

ICEF background

The International Conferences on Environmental Future (ICEFs) are a distinguished series, the first of which preceded the historic 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. They are organised by the Foundation for Environmental Conservation, which also manages the journal Environmental Conservation. The Foundation was formed in 1975 by Nicholas Polunin Sr and is now headed by Professor Nicholas V.C. Polunin who is based at Newcastle University (UK). The six ICEFs held to date are:

1st ICEF: The Environmental Future. 1971. Helsinki, Finland

2nd ICEF: Growth without Ecodisasters. 1977. Rekjavik, Iceland

3rd ICEF: Maintenance of the Biosphere. 1987. Edinburgh, UK

4th ICEF: Surviving with the Biosphere. 1990. Budapest, Hungary

5th ICEF: Environmental Future of Aquatic Ecosystems. 2003. Zurich, Switzerland

6th ICEF: Interdisciplinary progress in environmental science. 2011. Newcastle, UK

A seventh ICEF focused on island environmental futures is proposed to take place in 2017.

7th ICEF: Humans and island environments

Islands have played a fundamental part in the development of many fields of research and understanding. Journeys to islands helped bring forth theories of evolution, island biogeography and island biology. There has been an ever greater interest in islands with key events such as the publication of The Theory of Island Biogeography by MacArthur and Wilson in 1967, a symposium on Historical ecology in the Pacific Islands at the 17th Pacific Science Congress in 1991 and the UN Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) in Barbados in 1994. In 2006 the Island Studies Journal started publication and at the 2014 Island Biology conference in Hawaii there was a call to start a Society of Island Biology with an associated journal. Other conferences include the Islands of the World Conference series and the International Conferences on Small Island Developing States.

The 7th ICEF aims to provide a forum for discussion and debate on the current and future issues surrounding island environments, bringing together islanders, researchers, managers and NGOs from a broad array of disciplines and fields. The underlying questions are: how have islands aided our understanding of human-environment interactions? What are the latest directions in island biological and cultural conservation? Where should island conservation efforts be focused? and, What conservation lessons do islands have for the rest of the world?

Several broad themes are proposed:

  1. What is the importance of islands to environmental conservation? - defining islands and the challenges and opportunities they provide 1; biological 2 and cultural diversity on islands and threats 3
  2. How have humans changed island ecosystems through history? – impacts on terrestrial and marine ecosystems4–6; changes in understanding of pre- and post-European impacts; setting baselines for conservation 7,8
  3. What are the future challenges for island ecology and evolution? – integrating palaeoecological and historical ecological data into evolutionary models; relative roles of ecology and evolution on biodiversity patterns 28; development of global island datasets 2,29
  4. How can island conservation contribute to human wellbeing? - importance of functioning ecosystems for human welfare - high dependence of island livelihoods on ecosystem services13; complementarity of conservation and other objectives such as food security and human health14.
  5. How are islands dealing with the challenge of balancing development with sustainability? – different development paths, e.g. ecotourism, natural resource extraction; needs of current island populations balanced against long-term sustainability 20
  6. How can we incorporate the value of island environments into conservation? – ecosystems service valuations on islands and their use in policy and management 15,16; biodiversity offsets on islands; pitfalls of the economic valuation approach 17
  7. How can indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) be used to improve island environmental futures? – sustainable use of biodiversity 9; traditional systems of land and marine tenure10,11; ILK of environmental baselines and change12
  8. How can we build island communities that are resilient to the impacts of climate change and environmental hazards? - impacts on ecosystems and losses of species22,23; effect on people, e.g. potential for climate refugees24,25; traditions/ memories of environmental change and adaption26,27
  9. What role can the humanities play in island conservation? - indigenous art; representations of islands; importance of islands as both a physical and philosophical idea 18; expressions and perceptions of change in islands; islands and eco-art: how island artists are using public art to draw attention to ecological challenges19
  10. How does environmental governance on islands currently operate and what forms of governance produce the best outcomes? - complexities of island environmental governance related to external affiliations, e.g. overseas territory status21; international networks of islands, e.g. SIDS ( GLISPA (
  11. How can we improve island conservation through integrated marine and terrestrial management? – principals for integrating marine and terrestrial management 14; managing human altered land and seascapes 30; whole island protection and island MPAs 31
  12. What is the current state of knowledge of island extinctions and how can this be used to set baselines for restoration? - historical records of extinction and principal causes40,41; current records of island biodiversity2,42and setting baselines for restoration8; IUCN redlisting criteria for islands43,44
  13. How well are island conservation issues addressed in international conventions and agreements? - international agreements, targets and conventions; future focus of island conservation efforts; global biodiversity targets and the role of islands; regional programmes and opportunities for conservation partnerships
  14. What have we learnt about invasive species on islands and what are the best strategies for dealing with them in the future? - ecosystem effects, prevention, eradication programmes – lessons learnt51; eradicating multiple species52; effects of habitat modification, overexploitation, monocultures, climate change and globalisation on frequency and success of invasions53; biosecurity
  15. What is the role of environmental education on islands? - status and needs of island environmental education; roles of botanical gardens and museums; importance in conservation; are islanders leading education?
  16. Conclusion: What are the island conservation lessons for the planet? - conservation lessons learnt from islands that are applicable globally; island understanding of human-ecosystem interaction; island environmental futures.

Conference format and review papers

The conference will follow the format of previous ICEFs. Before the conference, review papers will be commissioned on each of the themes outlined above. These reviews will be written by lead researchers in the appropriate field and will be published in Environmental Conservation following the normal peer-review process[i]. The review papers will not only provide a background to the current state of knowledge on a topic, but also form the basis for discussions at workshops addressing each of the themes involving the reviewer and several ‘discussants’.

The conference will include up to 80 invited experts (reviewers and discussants), will be open to other participants, will feature plenary oral and poster presentations and workshop sessions, and expects to provide opportunities for off-site observation and interactivity. Each theme will then have a workshop where topics such as state of knowledge, future research directions and priorities for conservation will be discussed. It is hoped that the opportunity for researchers and environmental managers from diverse island backgrounds to meet and talk will further island based research and conservation. Expected outputs from the conference are a series of policy briefs that will be made available online, outreach activities, including media articles, and papers in Environmental Conservation and other journals.

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[i] For examples of previous reviews published for the 5th ICEF, see papers in Environmental Conservation Vol. 29, Issues 1 – 4, 2002, and for the 6th ICEF, see Environmental Conservation Vol. 37 Issue 4, 2010 and Vol. 38 Issue 2, 2011