Islandness, Lifeboat Ethics and Sustainable Development Projects

in Small Island Communities: Musings of a Native Islander

COMMENTARY

By Isaac Abuya, PhD

Nairobi, Kenya

Sustainable developments in small island communities and states in developing countries largely depend on how designers and implementers of development projects in the islands integrate Islandness and Lifeboat ethics in the islands’ development programming. Integration and affirmation of Islandness, the heightened metaphysical sensation of sacredness, awe and specialness of islands, moderated by lifeboat ethics (a communal ethics of care of the shared but scarce resources of our small islands), may be the missing links in sustainable development programming in small island communities and states in developing countries. There is growing concern, however, that Mainlandness, a concept that I introduce and conceptualize as the heightened existential experience of profanity, irreverence, contempt and indifference that characterise mainland ethics and development, may be finding its way in small island communities. Mainlandness, the very antithesis of islandness and lifeboat ethics, is buttressed by a spaceship ethics (an ethics of wasteful development, effluent and environmental degradation that pervade mainland developments) may soon sound the death knell of small island communities, especially in developing and emerging island economies; if islanders themselves do not check the untrammeled wasteful and unsustainable development projects in the islands. Sustainable development projects in small island communities and states should integrate and affirm the sacredness and specialness of our islands. Islanders, irrespective of where they live, have only one home. Our islands. Development projects in the island should therefore integrate islandness and the ethics of care in their design, implementation and evaluation. This commentary is expected to expand the debate and scholarship on the concept of project environment. It is also expected that the commentary will ignite interest among project management researchers on how to address the challenges inherent in the design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects in small islands. I hope that islandness and lifeboat ethics will promote discourse on project management scholarship and programming in small island communities and states.

Sustainable development in small island communities largely depend on how designers and implementers of development projects in the islands integrate Islandness and lifeboat ethics in the islands’ developments. Integration and affirmation of Islandness (a concept that has been widely discussed in island development studies, but which I define as the heightened metaphysical sensation of sacredness, awe and specialness of islands), moderated by Lifeboat Ethics (which I conceptualize as a communal ethics of care of the shared but scarce resources in small islands), may be the missing links in sustainable development programming in small island communities and states in developing countries. However, there is growing concern that Mainlandness, a concept that I introduce and conceptualize as the heightened existential experience of profanity, irreverence, contempt and indifference that characterise mainland worldview and development, may be finding its way in our small islands. Mainlandness, the very antithesis of islandness and lifeboat ethics, is buttressed by a spaceship ethics; an ethics of wasteful development, effluent and environmental degradation that pervade mainland developments, may soon sound the death knell of small island communities, especially in developing and emerging island economies, if islanders themselves do not check the untrammeled wasteful developments in the islands.  Sustainable development in small island communities and states should integrate and affirm the sacredness and specialness of our islands. Island development without islandness is unsustainable.

Island communities are some of the most vulnerable and at risk geographical spaces in the world. With an estimated 600 million inhabitants, islands are more likely to experience extensive and intrusive developments to cater for the growing needs of the island population, investors and island visitors. With the heightened destination branding of islands, islands in the 21^st century will experience more pervasive developments, especially in tourism related development projects. Moreover, with the escalating allure of islands as place destinations, reinforced by the predominant feelings of specialness, sacredness and awe that islands impose on islanders and island visitors alike, 21^st century islands will experience more troubling and pressured intrusion of mainlandness and wasteful developments. The pressure will be experienced and exerted more on islands’ physical spaces and environments. Evidence from islands in developing economies suggest that ‘hospitality effluent’: hard and solid wastes and pollutants from island hotels, resorts, lodges and other related hospitality facilities, continue to exert untold toll on environmental integrity in most islands.

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How to cite this article: Abuya, I.O. (2020). Islandness, Lifeboat Ethics and Sustainable Development Projects in Small Island Communities: Musings of a Native Islander; PM World Journal, Vol. IX, Issue II, February.  Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/pmwj90-Feb2020-Abuya-islandness-lifeboat-ethics-and-sustainable-development-of-small-islands.pdf

About the Author

Isaac Odhiambo Abuya, PhD

Nairobi, Kenya

Isaac Odhiambo Abuya teaches project planning and management and also coordinates the PhD, Master and Bachelor Programmes in Project Management at the University of Nairobi, Kisumu Campus. His research interests include the integration of multidisciplinary perspectives in project management research and their application to small island and minority and vulnerable communities and populations. He has a combined 25 years of experience in teaching both in high schools and universities in Kenya and in managing development projects in the country. He was a Project Director at World Vision Kenya, National Programme Manager at AED/FHI 360, Project Coordinator at ADRA International, Programmes Coordinator at Nyanza Reproductive Health Society(NRHS), and Chief of Staff, Homa Bay County, Kenya. Isaac has consulted for leading non- governmental organizations in sub- Saharan Africa. He holds Master and PhD degrees in Project Planning and Management from the University of Nairobi, a Master of Arts degree in Counselling Psychology from Kenyatta University, Kenya and a Bachelor of Education degree (History and Religion majors) from Egerton University, Kenya. Isaac is also a non-paid Director of Better Futures for Children, an island-based organization (IBO) committed to advancing reading literacy among orphans and vulnerable children in small islands in Kenya’s Lake Vitoria. Isaac is a native resident of Rusinga Island. He is working towards the development of Island Research for Island Development Initiative (IRIDI), to advocate for the translation of research conducted in Kenya’s small islands to support sustainable development of the small islands.

Dr Abuya serves as an Honorary Academic Advisor for the PM World Journal and Library. He can be reached through his email at isaacabuya@yahoo.com or isaac.abuya@uonbi.ac.ke