Although the IRR aims to collect and collate relevant Jersey-based research for the benefit of our island community, the IRR will also serve as a basis of knowledge for other island nations and small states. This exchange of knowledge on a global level will help widen the IRR’s importance while demonstrating Jersey’s position as a leading authority on many subjects relating to islands and island communities.
The Island Research Repository’s scope includes:
Health
Social Care / Welfare
Lived Experience
Justice
Environment
Education
History and Heritage
For more information about submission guidelines, pls email rees.monet@jicas.ac.je
Why Islands?
Islands provide some of the planet’s most spectacular examples of biodiversity, making them important repositories of unique species. Yet there are probably more endangered species and habitats per capita in Small Island States and territories than anywhere else in the world. Species living on islands are more vulnerable to extinction, largely because of the impact of introduced species. Islands, especially isolated oceanic islands, have evolved in isolation for millions of years, and their animals and plants have had to compete with only a limited range of species. For this reason they provide a ready home for many species of exotic animals and plants, and their flora and fauna is especially vulnerable to extinction after the arrival of man and the exotic animals and plants that always accompany him to those islands.
Archaeological and historical studies provide many examples of resource over-exploitation leading to extinction and the collapse of civilization. Most documented species extinctions have been on islands, and contemporary ecological studies of islands show very clearly the kinds of threats faced by both island and continental ecosystems.
10 of the 34 richest areas of biodiversity in the world!
13% of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites
More than half of the world's marine biodiversity
7 of the world's 10 coral reef hotspots
Islands and Island Communities
JICAS aims to create a suite of niche Postgraduate degrees focusing on islands and island communities. We recognise that Jersey is ideally placed to lead the way in meeting the challenges facing our world in the 21st century and through cross-discipline research, teaching and learning. This, then, is where we begin!
