With independence from Australia, the Nauruans
began to experience the financial benefits of phos-
phate mining for the first time. They became rich
virtually overnight, creating one of the world’s
highest per capita incomes. The new Republic filed
suit with the International Court of Justice against
Australia in 1989, asking for compensation for the
environmental damage sustained prior to inde-
pendence. Five years later, a settlement was
reached whereby Australia agreed to pay more
than 100 million Australian dollars (Pukrop 1997).
The money earned may have been considerable,
but the phosphate extraction begun by the colonial
powers and continued by the Nauruans has
destroyed the traditional and cultural way of life.
They no longer practice agriculture or fishing, rely-
ing instead on pre-packaged imported fatty foods,
which have decreased the life expectancy, in the
case of men to just 55 years (Economist 2001).
Phosphate production peaked in the 1980s, and
this, combined with a collapse in the market price,
has undermined the main income source for the
island. Moreover, the financial bonanza was badly
mishandled, and the money was squandered.
Offshore banking was the next big idea, but this
shady trade with next to no internal regulation did
nothing for the international reputation of Nauru,
which soon found itself in trouble with interna-
tional regulators.
With the end of the mining operations in sight,
the attention of the island government turned to the
future rehabilitation of the island. With an expand-
ing population crowded into the coastal strip, the
Nauruans need more space for new buildings,
including a hospital and schools. This development
can only occur in the central plateau, which, how-
ever, remains a barren wasteland of limestone and
coral. One solution is to crush the pillars and to
import topsoil, humus, and other nutrients, thus
beginning a long process of rebuilding the ecosys-
tem. The cost is estimated to be double the compen-
sation received from the Australian government,
and it could take more than 30 years to complete
the scheme. Given the worsening financial situation
that the island now finds itself in, such ideas seem
unlikely to come to fruition. As The Economist(2001)
puts it ‘It is a melancholy sign of the islanders’
desperation that the idea of simply buying another
island and starting afresh is once again under dis-
cussion. But who in his right mind would let the
Nauruans get their hands on another island?’ This
may seem a rather unsympathetic remark, but is
fair comment on the quality of leadership since
independence, as this once isolated island society
has attempted to come to terms with the disastrous
results stemming from its interactions with the
global economy.The Canaries: unsustainable development in a natural paradise
The Canarian archipelago is one of the most bio-
diverse areas within Europe (or at least within the
European Union, given that the islands lie closer to
Africa than to Europe). The islands possess more
than 12 500 terrestrial and 5 500 marine species in, or
around, a land area of only 7500 km^2. Within this
total of 18 000 or more species, about 3800 species
and 113 genera are endemic (Izquierdo et al. 2004).
Among them are many examples of spectacular radi-
ations of animals (e.g. more than 100 species of
Laparocerusweevils) and plants (e.g. 70 species of suc-
culent rosette-forming members of the Crassulaceae).
Furthemore, an average rate of description of one
species new to science every 6 days over the last
20 years, suggests that the catalogue of Canarian
species is still far from complete (Fig 11.1).
The Canaries were first settled by the Guanche
people, believed to be of Berber stock, around the
first century BC. The archipelago has been under
European influence since the fifteenth century, with
extensive deforestation of the mesic zones, goat
grazing of the less productive land, and intensive
agricultural use of whatever land could be put into
production. Between 1960 and 1970, as a result of
cheap air travel, the pattern of exploitation of natu-
ral resources began perhaps its third major phase,
shifting from an agricultural society to a mass
tourism model.
This tourist boom has given rise to very abrupt
socio-economical and cultural changes (Table 12.1),
with profound impacts for the natural and semi-
natural ecosystems of the archipelago. Some 12 -
million tourists now visit the Canaries each year,CONTEMPORARY PROBLEMS ON ISLANDS 325