Can a small island be sustainable?
Estimated reading time: 1:30
This is the question a new documentary, Metabolism of Islands, by Dr. Simron Singh explores.
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 groundbreaking, evidence-based systems perspective that moves beyond short-term fixes toward holistic strategies for long-term sustainability.
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.
Conceived and directed by Dr. Simron Singh, and edited by Alexandra Ulacio, the film is a collaborative global effort 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. It was officially launched last month at the Adaptation Futures conference held in New Zealand.
“The Metabolism of Islands highlights two decades of collaborative research offering compelling evidence for the urgent need to use a systems-based approach and to transform island metabolism as a means to adapt to climate change,” says Singh.
Dr. Singh is a professor in the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development and University Research Chair. His primary research focus is to evaluate how small island economies utilize (or metabolize) materials, energy, water, and infrastructure. His research partnerships span island nations in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, and Asia-Pacific regions. In addition to being the founder and lead of the research program Metabolism of Islands, he is also the former executive secretary of the International Society for Industrial Ecology (ISIE), chairs the inaugural board of Island Industrial Ecology within ISIE, and co-chairs Risk-KAN, the World Weather Research Program, and the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP).
The panel and CLARE booth at the Adaptations Futures Conference where Metabolism of Islands was launched.
