Call for Papers: Special Section of the Island Studies Journal to be included in its May 2016
issue (Vol. 11, No. 1), dedicated to the theme Sustainable Development and Nature Conservation
in the Outermost European Regions. Deadline for paper submission: November 30, 2015.
Guest Thematic Section Editor: Dr. Artur Gil – Centre for Ecology, Evolution & Environmental
Changes/ Azorean Biodiversity Group, Department of Biology, University of the Azores, Ponta
Delgada, São Miguel Island, Azores, Portugal - arturgil@uac.pt
Background
The Outermost European Regions (OERs) are geographic areas which are part of a European
Union Member State, but situated outside continental Europe. As of April 2015, nine territories
(six French, two Portuguese and one Spanish) are registered as having OER status: Guadeloupe,
French Guiana, Martinique, Réunion, Saint-Martin, Mayotte (France), Azores, Madeira
(Portugal), and the Canaries (Spain). In 2011, about 4.5 million people lived in the EU outermost
regions, representing 0.9% of the EU population.
OERs face several challenges to full development – remoteness, insularity, terrain and climate
constraints, economic dependence and a narrow range of exportable commodities or services. A
European Commission communication entitled “The outermost regions: an asset for Europe”,
advocated an alternative approach, focusing on the potential contribution of these regions to
overall growth and development in Europe. A strategic priority was to turn the handicaps of OER
into assets. For example, the outermost regions have geographical, ecological and geological
characteristics that make them excellent research sites for such fields as climate change impacts.
Moreover, their biodiversity and exceptional marine ecosystems are very promising in specific
fields like innovation in pharmaceuticals and agronomy.
All OERs except French Guiana are islands or archipelagos (and even French Guiana,
surrounded by ocean and rivers on all sides is, in many respects, an island). Climate variability
and changes, the proliferation of invasive exotic species, the increasing growth of tourist activity,
natural catastrophes, the overexploitation of natural resources as well as the pollution and residue
management are threats to sustainable development, to nature conservation and to the
maintenance of island biodiversity. These characteristics, associated with remoteness, isolation
and smallness, make the sustainable development and nature conservation strategies and policies
of OERs especially challenging in scientific, technical and political terms.
Call for Papers
Island Studies Journal (ISJ) is considering the publication of a special section to be included in
its May 2016 issue (Vol. 11, No. 1), dedicated to the theme: Sustainable Development and
Nature Conservation in Outermost European Regions. Articles to appear in this special section
will address concepts, strategies and models across more than one island, as well as the influence
of islandness in the targeted topics, in order to contribute for designing and implementing better
and more cost-effective sustainability and nature conservation policies in Outermost European
Regions.
Manuscripts submitted to ISJ should describe original approaches within the overall theme of
"Sustainable Development and Nature Conservation in Outermost European Regions", including
but not restricted to the following:
- Climate change adaptation
- Pollution and residue management
- Land, Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning
- Island energy transitions through
accelerating uptake of renewables
- Water resources planning and management
- Biodiversity protection
- Specific approaches for Strategic
Environmental Assessment (SEA) and
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
- Ecosystem services assessment
- Ecotourism development
- Islandness, smallness, remoteness and
socio-political responses to climate change.
Publication is subject to the usual standards of academic excellence, and involves rigorous peer
review.
All manuscripts to be considered for publication are to be laid out in the ISJ style guide (which
follows the APA style, 6th edition) - http://www.islandstudies.ca/guidelines_style.html.
They should be sent to the ISJ Editor at: isj@upei.ca by not later than November 30, 2015 to
be considered for inclusion in the special section (please use “Sustainable Development and
Nature Conservation in Outermost European Regions” as e-mail subject title).