Can Natural Resource Governance Drive Sustainable Economic Development in Small Islands? A Systematic Literature Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58812/wsshs.v4i05.2888Keywords:
Natural Resource Governance, Coastal Economic Development, Small Islands, Sustainable Livelihoods, Coastal Governance, Systematic Literature ReviewAbstract
There has been a growing attention in response to numerous multidimensional development challenges emerging within small island context such as vulnerability, geographic isolation, limited infrastructure, and high dependence on coastal and marine resources. Governance has increasingly arisen as a crucial factor affecting sustainable economic development and community resilience in such island context. This study aims to systematically review the current literature on natural resource governance and sustainable economic development in small islands. In specific, the review examines major research themes, governance approaches, livelihood strategies, and rising research gaps within the literature. This study employed a protocol adopted from PRISMA-based systematic literature review approach using the Scopus database. A total of 1,216 publications were initially identified using predefined search strings, followed by screening and eligibility assessment procedures. 16 articles were included in the final analysis. The findings reveal four dominant themes within the literature: collaborative and multi-scalar governance, blue economy transitions, social capital and islandness, and integrated sustainability frameworks. The review further shows that co-management and decentralized governance approaches positively influence livelihood diversification, fisheries sustainability, tourism development, and community resilience. Fisheries and tourism remain the dominant economic sectors, while alternative livelihoods such as aquaculture, homestay management, and marine creative industries are increasingly promoted to strengthen local economic resilience. Nevertheless, persistent challenges remain significant concerns. This includes elite capture, governance inequality, tourism dependency, and limited quantitative evidence.
References
[1] L. Teneva et al., ‘Small island nations can achieve food security benefits through climate-adaptive blue food governance by 2050’, Mar. Policy, vol. 151, p. 105577, May 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.marpol.2023.105577.
[2] R. Turvey, ‘Vulnerability Assessment of Developing Countries: The Case of Small‐island Developing States’, Dev. Policy Rev., vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 243–264, Mar. 2007, doi: 10.1111/j.1467-7679.2007.00368.x.
[3] UNCTAD, ‘Small island developing states: Maritime transport in the era of a disruptive pandemic – empower states to fend against disruptions to maritime transportation systems, their lifeline to the world.’, Policy Brief, United Nations Publication., 2020.
[4] C. Béné, ‘Resilience of local food systems and links to food security – A review of some important concepts in the context of COVID-19 and other shocks’, Food Secur., vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 805–822, Aug. 2020, doi: 10.1007/s12571-020-01076-1.
[5] K. Ismail, T. Setiawan, F. Lestari, and S. N. Habibah, ‘The Food Accessibility of Fishermen’s Households in Small and Outermost Islands with Social Network Analysis’, J. Mar. Isl. Cult., vol. 12, no. 1, Apr. 2023, doi: 10.21463/jmic.2023.12.1.08.
[6] S. Latuconsina, D. Susilastuti, M. Meirinaldi, and W. Widiyarini, ‘The Contribution of Fisheries Subsector Performance in Increasing Economic Growth in The Eastern Indonesia Region’, Return Study Manag. Econ. Bussines, vol. 2, no. 12, pp. 1255–1262, Dec. 2023, doi: 10.57096/return.v2i12.198.
[7] R. Suqie, ‘Food Security: Challenges, Solutions, and the Path Forward’, Food Secur., vol. 15, no. 11, 2024, doi: http:/dx.doi.org/10.14303//ajfst.2024.113.
[8] K. Zheng, X. Lu, P. Wang, F. Zhang, J. Chen, and Z. Feng, ‘The Path to Sustainable Development of China’s Islands: Constructing “Harmonious and Beautiful Islands”’, Sustainability, vol. 18, no. 3, p. 1632, Feb. 2026, doi: 10.3390/su18031632.
[9] M. A. Hassan, C. McMichael, and U. Kothari, ‘Islandness and resilience: a study of food systems in the Maldives’, Geoforum, vol. 169, p. 104534, Feb. 2026, doi: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2026.104534.
[10] R. H. Sayuti, ‘Community Readiness in Implementing Sustainable Tourism on Small Islands: Evidence from Lombok, Indonesia’, Sustainability, vol. 15, no. 12, p. 9725, Jun. 2023, doi: 10.3390/su15129725.
[11] D. Syafrini et al., ‘Innovation in developing isolated coastal villages into sustainable marine tourism villages in West Sumatra, Indonesia: adaptive capacity, social capital, and transformation’, Front. Sociol., vol. 11, p. 1754562, Mar. 2026, doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2026.1754562.
[12] F. Berkes and D. Armitage, ‘Co-management institutions, knowledge, and learning: Adapting to change in the Arctic’, Études/Inuit/Studies, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 109–131, Jan. 2011, doi: 10.7202/045407ar.
[13] A. Rosadi, P. Dargusch, and T. Taryono, ‘Understanding How Marine Protected Areas Influence Local Prosperity—A Case Study of Gili Matra, Indonesia’, Int. J. Environ. Res. Public. Health, vol. 19, no. 20, p. 13508, Oct. 2022, doi: 10.3390/ijerph192013508.
[14] M. Sarhan, T. Pernecky, M. Orams, and M. Lück, ‘Exploring collaborative governance and community participation in tourism and conservation—insights from Waiheke Island, New Zealand’, Front. Sustain. Tour., vol. 4, p. 1567048, Jun. 2025, doi: 10.3389/frsut.2025.1567048.
[15] S. Cross, D. Padfield, R. Ant-Wuorinen, P. King, and S. Syri, ‘Benchmarking island power systems: Results, challenges, and solutions for long term sustainability’, Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev., vol. 80, pp. 1269–1291, Dec. 2017, doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2017.05.126.
[16] E. Stratford, ‘Flows and boundaries: small island discourses and the challenge of sustainability, community and local environments’, Local Environ., vol. 8, no. 5, pp. 495–499, Oct. 2003, doi: 10.1080/1354983032000143653.
[17] A. Bailey, M. Moglia, and S. Glackin, ‘Participatory justice and climate adaptation for water management in Small Island Developing States: a systematic literature review and discussion’, Reg. Environ. Change, vol. 24, no. 1, p. 19, Mar. 2024, doi: 10.1007/s10113-024-02182-y.
[18] M. J. Page et al., ‘The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews’, BMJ, p. n71, Mar. 2021, doi: 10.1136/bmj.n71.
[19] V. M. Syddall, K. Fisher, and S. Thrush, ‘Collaboration a solution for small island developing states to address food security and economic development in the face of climate change’, Ocean Coast. Manag., vol. 221, p. 106132, Apr. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2022.106132.
[20] D. C. North, Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance, 1st edn. Cambridge University Press, 1990. doi: 10.1017/CBO9780511808678.
[21] E. Ostrom, Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. Cambridge University Press, 1990.
[22] R. A. Praptiwi et al., ‘Tourism-Based Alternative Livelihoods for Small Island Communities Transitioning towards a Blue Economy’, Sustainability, vol. 13, no. 12, p. 6655, Jun. 2021, doi: 10.3390/su13126655.
[23] N. J. Bennett et al., ‘Towards a sustainable and equitable blue economy’, Nat. Sustain., vol. 2, no. 11, pp. 991–993, Oct. 2019, doi: 10.1038/s41893-019-0404-1.
[24] R. A. Praptiwi et al., ‘Tourism-Based Alternative Livelihoods for Small Island Communities Transitioning towards a Blue Economy’, Sustainability, vol. 13, no. 12, p. 6655, Jun. 2021, doi: 10.3390/su13126655.
[25] W. N. Adger, ‘Social Capital, Collective Action, and Adaptation to Climate Change’, Econ. Geogr., vol. 79, no. 4, pp. 387–404, Oct. 2003, doi: 10.1111/j.1944-8287.2003.tb00220.x.
[26] C. Folke, S. R. Carpenter, B. Walker, M. Scheffer, T. Chapin, and J. Rockström, ‘Resilience Thinking: Integrating Resilience, Adaptability and Transformability’, Ecol. Soc., vol. 15, no. 4, p. art20, 2010, doi: 10.5751/ES-03610-150420.
[27] C. A. Ruggerio, ‘Sustainability and sustainable development: A review of principles and definitions’, Sci. Total Environ., vol. 786, p. 147481, Sep. 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147481.
[28] M. M. Masud, S. M. Shahabudin, A. Baskaran, and R. Akhtar, ‘Co-management approach to sustainable management of marine protected areas: The case of Malaysia’, Mar. Policy, vol. 138, p. 105010, Apr. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.marpol.2022.105010.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Budiman Budiman, Khairul Mujahidi, Mujahidin Hasanul Bisri
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Facebook 
Instagram 
Twitter 
Youtube 
westscience.journals@gmail.com