Nature-Based and Community-Based Solutions for Sustainable Island Ecosystem and Landscape Management

Dear Colleagues,

Islands are at the forefront of the climate crisis. Rising sea levels, biodiversity loss, resource scarcity, and socio-economic vulnerability intersect most intensely in island ecosystems. Conventional, sector-based management approaches have proven insufficient to address these complex and interconnected challenges. Nature-based solutions (NbS) and community-based solutions (CbS) offer a transformative alternative. By restoring and working with ecosystems while empowering local communities and knowledge systems, these approaches enable islands to enhance ecological resilience, sustain livelihoods, and strengthen adaptive capacity. For islands, where nature, culture, and survival are inseparable, NbS and CbS are not optional tools—they are essential strategies for sustainability.

This Special Issue aims to advance cutting-edge research on nature-based and community-based solutions for sustainable island ecosystem management. It seeks to showcase innovative, place-based, and scalable solutions that connect ecology, society, and governance. The Special Issue aligns strongly with Sustainability’s mission to promote interdisciplinary, solution-oriented research addressing global environmental and social challenges, with islands serving as critical sites for sustainability science.

Original research articles and reviews are welcome, including but not limited to the following topics:

• Nature-based solutions for island and coastal resilience;
• Community-based ecosystem management and co-governance;
• Climate adaptation and mitigation in island systems;
• Landscape management, ecosystem services, and blue carbon;
• Traditional ecological knowledge and biocultural diversity;
• Policy, governance, and planning innovations for island sustainability;
• Comparative and transdisciplinary island case studies.

 I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Sunkee Hong
Guest Editor

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