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Journal of Developing Societies
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Collapse of Easter Island

Lessons for Sustainability of Small Islands

Palanisamy Nagarajan

University of Prince Edward Island, Canada

The collapse of Easter Island is one of the world's major archeological and anthropological mysteries. Small islands are closed systems, and they represent a microcosm of the planet Earth, which is also a closed system on a planetary scale. Observing and comprehending interconnected economic, social and ecological changes taking place in small islands is relatively straightforward. This article contends that we have been witnessing ‘Easter Island Syndrome’ signals; yet, we continue to ignore them at our peril. Under the dynamics of globalization, we have been liquidating finite natural capital at an unprecedented rate. If the current trends continue unchecked, many countries, particularly small islands, are likely to get caught in ‘Easter Island traps’.

Key Words: Easter Island • ecological disaster • microcosm of the planet Earth • sustainability

Journal of Developing Societies, Vol. 22, No. 3, 287-301 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0169796X06068032
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?