Breckwoldt, Annette ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5976-4537 and Vave, Ron (2026) Cultural Diversity and Marine Biodiversity: Bridging what is already connected. Journal of Marine and Island Cultures, 15 (1). pp. 1-19. DOI https://doi.org/10.21463/jmic.2026.15.1.03.

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Abstract

Islands are disproportionate drivers of both cultural and ecological diversity. Yet, both forms of diversity face accelerating and compounding pressures and decline under the effects of globalization, climate change, and inflexible governance regimes. This paper argues that cultural diversity and marine biodiversity on islands are not merely co-located but fundamentally co-constitutive and bidirectional — each sustaining, shaping, and reinforcing the other through ‘biocultural’ feedback loops. The emphasis lies on the intrinsic linkages between cultural diversity and marine biodiversity, particularly in Pacific Island contexts. Drawing on the concept of 'biocultural diversity' and contributing to the framework of an island epistemology, the paper synthesizes coastal case studies from the South Pacific, as well as the Pacific Northwest. These cases demonstrate that Indigenous and local cultural practices — ceremonial systems, customary tenure, seasonal restrictions, and spiritual relationships with marine species and places — need to be in place, and can function as effective, adaptive marine management and stewardship systems with measurable ecological outcomes. The paper calls for a systematic literature review to examine the connections between cultural diversity and marine biodiversity from an island studies perspective, underscoring the fundamental research gap this contribution seeks to address. Together with the other papers in this special issue, this contribution centers interdependence, community resilience, and archipelagic thinking, and discusses how events such as the 2026 World Island Exhibition in Yeosu (South Korea) can amplify island voices and reshape global narratives about islands from sites of marginalization and vulnerability to sources of innovation for sustainable marine futures.

Document Type:	Article
Programme Area:	PA5
Research affiliation:	Science Management > Transformation Through Transdisciplinarity (TripleT)
Refereed:	Yes
Open Access Journal?:	Yes
DOI:	https://doi.org/10.21463/jmic.2026.15.1.03
ISSN:	22126821
Date Deposited:	06 May 2026 11:27
Last Modified:	06 May 2026 11:27
URI:	https://cris.leibniz-zmt.de/id/eprint/6208

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