ISLANDER: Island Sustainability and the Legacy of Anthropogenic & Natural Disturbance on Ecological Resources

Caribbean island ecosystems face unique social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities induced by anthropogenic climate change, exacerbated by unsustainable resource management. The future resilience of island nations will be determined by sustainable development and adaptive subsistence strategies that can respond to increased frequency of climate extremes. To develop sustainable ecological resource management strategies, accurate forecasting of long-term vegetation response to climate and human-caused disturbance is necessary. To address this issue, the project ISLANDER implements an interdisciplinary approach combining palaeoecology, archaeolozoology, palaeoclimate and forest management in Curaçao.