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Islands, tourism and water: Water stress as a symptom of the insularity-islandness tension

Skrimizea, E.
; Laclé, FrancielleOrcid icon; 
Parra, C.
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Location research
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2021-12-14
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Abstract for the Sustainable Island Futures III December 14, 2021 Islands, tourism and water: Water stress as a symptom of the insularity-islandness tension Eirini Skrimizea, KU Leuven, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Leuven, Belgium, eirini.skrimizea@kuleuven.be Francielle Lacle, SISSTEM, University of Aruba, Aruba & KU Leuven, Belgium, francielleamis.lacle@student.kuleuven.be Constanza Parra, KU Leuven, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Leuven, Belgium, constanza.parra@kuleuven.be Tourism increases, diversifies and concentrates water consumption in space and time; it contributes to social-ecological processes that often make tourist destinations vulnerable to water stress. Climate change projections foresee an increase in water stress problems in many tourist resorts. Tourist islands are considered particularly vulnerable to water stress due to their geographic isolation and the limited options for enhancing supply. Despite the significance of the issue, an understanding of the water-tourism complex as a social-ecological phenomenon and as a challenge for the sustainable development of the islands remains under-researched. To address this gap, in this paper, we introduce the “Water-Tourism Social-Ecological Systems framework” based on literature on water and tourism, social-ecological systems, adaptation, vulnerability/resilience, and island studies. We apply this framework to investigate the so far underexplored water stress vulnerability of the island of Rhodes (Greece) through in-depth interviews with key actors and secondary sources. Our analysis eventually connects the water issue to unsustainable development lock-ins related to the insularity-islandness tension. As such, it moves beyond the usual applied management perspective focused on efficient water use and opens up the scope of solutions that are being discussed arguing for the need of bringing forward sustainability transformations in tourist islands. Further elaborating on our work, we conclude with a reflection on the implications for research questions, methodologies and issues to be tackled in small-island states, using the example of Aruba.
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Skrimizea, E., Lacle, F., Parra, C. (2021, December 14) Islands, tourism and water: Water stress as a symptom of the insularity-islandness tension. [Conference abstract & presentation]. Symposium Sustainable Island Futers III/online
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14473/1487
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