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

We highlight the importance of island research that aims to achieve sustainability transitions. All too often, developmental priorities are largely defined by economic policy imperatives, and island research either ignores or masks such normative connotations. This article reports on ten years of tr...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Panos Petridis, Marina Fischer-Kowalski, Simron J. Singh, Dominik Noll
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Prince Edward Island 2017-05-01
Series:Island Studies Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.islandstudies.ca/sites/default/files/ISJPetridisSustainabilityTransitionsSamothraki.pdf
Description
Summary:We highlight the importance of island research that aims to achieve sustainability transitions. All too often, developmental priorities are largely defined by economic policy imperatives, and island research either ignores or masks such normative connotations. This article reports on ten years of transdisciplinary socioecological research on the Greek island of Samothraki. We sequentially: (i) introduce socioecological thinking and the conceptual framework of social ecology, and show how this is operationalised and applied on this case study, and (ii) highlight the importance of a transdisciplinary research approach, in promoting island sustainability. We conclude with a plea for more transformative research and citizen research in the direction of sustainability within island studies.
ISSN:1715-2593