The global community is defined by administrative units - countries. There are many countries with plenty of land and population which provide places for most people on earth to live. However, there are also some exceptional territories which are isolated from other countries but are still inhabited by a certain amount of people. Listed as United Nations’ non self-governing territories, they are tiny islands at the margins of the earth, with enormous military and economic value.
In 1967, MacArthur and Wilson proposed the Theory of Island Biogeography, in which they envisioned the model of colonization and dispersion in an island environment. According to the theory, because of the special insular environment of an island, once a species manages to colonize an island, the rate of extinction grows. Over time, the countervailing forces of immigration and extinction result in an equilibrium level of species richness.
Looking at the long-term transition of remote islands during the process of colonization, such phenomenon seems happen when military impacts have fastened the process. During wartime, these remote territories were critical frontiers. Countries with power invaded them successively, using them as military base, stopover, proving ground, and even battlefield. After the war, the islands experienced different transformation patterns. Some islands became more inhabited as tourism destination. The military remnants dispersed natural species, providing room for a growing number of population. This is a successful invasion for human. While many other islands became uninhabited as wildlife refuge. The natural habitat, either polluted or destroyed by natural disasters, forced islanders to evacuate. Military structures became the only purpose for people to stay. This is an unsuccessful invasion to some extent.
The earth is an island. We don’t know if we need to evacuate sometime in the future.
GSD Fall 2019 SCI 6322 | Mapping: Geographic Representation and Speculation Instructor: Robert Gerard Pietrusko
