Socio-ecological transitions, sustainability and collapse of island communities

Their very insularity makes islands excellent focal points for sustainability studies that systematically analyse the interactions between human activities and the environment. The current project aims at analysing society-environment relations on the small Greek island of Samothraki. Our proposed research is in line with the LTSER tradition (Long Term Socio-Ecological Research, see Singh et al. 2013) and builds upon a sociometabolic understanding of socioecological systems (Haberl et al. 2011). We seek to explore the factors that cause societies to prosper and sustain themselves on islands and those that lead to collapse. On the island we investigate, a number of historical cases of collapse have occurred, in the sense of breakdown of complexity and rapid population decline (see Tainter 1988). At present, there is a fragile situation of slow decline of population and ecological challenges that might possibly be brought to a tipping point by impacts of the Greek economic and governance crisis and climate change. At the same time, the island community has decided to make an effort at turning the whole island into a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO standards. This project aims at giving scientific support to this process, by generating improved insights about collapse in the recent past and identifying the threats and possible ailments in order to avoid them for the present. We will focus on the recent past (1945 present), when the island is experiencing a transition process from an agrarian to a modern society and a gradually rising imbalance from ecological overexploitation. With this project we do not only want to study the changing impacts society has on the environment, but also other factors causing population and complexity decline, e.g. the importance of the connection to the mainland. The overarching aims of the project are the following: Identify the key conditions of self-reproduction of the socioecological system of the island of Samothraki, as well as the main drivers of transformation. Reconstruct the current systems compartments and dynamics, in order to make recommendations on how to avoid critical tipping points at present and strive for a sustainable future.

The project "SUSAKI: Socioecological transitions, sustainability and collapse of island communities: the case of Samothraki" aimed at analyzing society-environment relations on the small Greek island Samothraki. We were particularly interested in factors that cause island communities to prosper and those that lead to collapse. The present research project aimed at giving scientific guidance for a sustainability transition, by generating empirical insights about social and ecological realities and involving a large number of local citizens into the research process. Our work significantly contributed to the understanding of the role of science in transdisciplinary processes and the generation of one of the very few complete long-term sociometabolic databases on the subnational level of an island. We could empirically show the devastating environmental consequences of overgrazing and highlight the complex interplay between various causal factors responsible for the current crisis of the agricultural system on the island. We were also able to show the interconnection between tourism development, infrastructure expansion and waste generation, which brings about a series of major long-term challenges for island communities. Methodologically, we applied of a mixed methods approach used in order to overcome data challenges on a low spatial level. The transdisciplinary project had far-reaching outcomes beyond the academic field and resulted in a consistent support of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve prospect for the island from both local and regional authorities, and the formation of the local association "Sustainable Samothraki". In the course of the project, we developed strong collaborations with numerous partners from various disciplines, both within and outside academia.