“Metabolism of Islands”: A Deep Dive into the Path to Small Island Resilience
Can a small island truly achieve sustainability? This is the provocative question that Dr. Simron Singh, professor in the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development, explores in his new documentary “Metabolism of Islands”.
Drawing on the powerful analogy that islands, much like living organisms, metabolize materials and energy to sustain their populations, the film reveals how unsustainable resource-use patterns—an “island metabolism” out of balance—can weaken resilience and amplify vulnerability to climate shocks. The “Metabolism of Islands” introduces a ground-breaking, evidence-based systems perspective that moves beyond short-term fixes toward holistic strategies for long-term sustainability.
This documentary is a product of over two decades of collaborative research and offers compelling evidence for responding to the urgency of climate risks. Transforming island metabolism is crucial for adapting to climate change, and in building resilience through a systems-based approach.
Featuring voices from across the world’s small island nations, the documentary brings together science, storytelling, and lived experience to illuminate both the challenges and pathways to resilience.
The “Metabolism of Islands” is a collaborative global effort, conceived and directed by Simron Singh, edited by Alexandra Ulacio, and produced and funded by the International Society for Industrial Ecology (ISIE), in partnership with Metabolism of Islands (MoI) and the Climate Adaptation and Resilience(CLARE) program of the U.K. and Canada.
Watch the 34-minute documentary here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7nxYB69veY
Documentary trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoB8vEsaT8U