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© 2025 Island Innovation. All rights reserved.

    News

    Curated stories and analysis from islands and sustainability leaders worldwide.

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    Showing 9 of 93 news items in Water & Food
    Voices from the field: In Papua, health workers and communities mobilize against malaria
    Water & FoodMarch 1, 2024

    Voices from the field: In Papua, health workers and communities mobilize against malaria

    Photo: WHO/Rosa Panggabean. Priskila. Retrieved from who.int In Papua Region, eastern Indonesia, local health workers and communities are accelerating action to prevent, detect and treat malaria, in alignment with Indonesia’s updated National Action Plan on Acceleration of Malaria Elimination 2020–2024 and its 2025–2026 bridging plan. Based on a recent Ministry of Health [report](http://p2p.kemkes.go.id/laporan-tahunan-malaria/), as many as 81% of all malaria cases in Indonesia come from just nine districts and cities in Papua, highlighting the urgent need for accelerated, comprehensive and sustained action, with communities leading the way. From community clinics to remote islands, and from medicines and larval control to bed nets, each image in this story highlights the resilience, innovation and perseverance at the heart of Papua’s quest to become malaria-free, joining 389 malaria-free districts country-wide.

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    How potato farmers in Prince Edward Island combat soil erosion and disease threats
    Water & FoodFebruary 20, 2024

    How potato farmers in Prince Edward Island combat soil erosion and disease threats

    Excerpt and Photo from fwi.co.uk Prince Edward Island in eastern Canada claims to be the potato capital of the world based on production per capita, with an annual harvest of 1.45m tonnes. This equates to 10t of potatoes per head of its 150,000 population. Elizabeth Irving, who runs Indian River Farms alongside her grandfather and mother, describes its iconic iron-red, fine sandy loam soils – common to large parts of the province and ideal for growing potatoes – as the business’ prize asset. But Prince Edward Island’s (PEI’s) undulating topography and maritime climate present a major threat to its sustainability. On average, the island serves up more than 1,000mm of annual rainfall, harsh winter freeze-thaw cycles and…

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    Mangrove crab sustainability is vital for fishers in Indonesia’s Aru Islands
    Water & FoodFebruary 2, 2024

    Mangrove crab sustainability is vital for fishers in Indonesia’s Aru Islands

    Photo by Ridzki R. Sigit/Mongabay-Indonesia. Retrieved from news.mongabay.com A recent rapid survey in Lorang village by Indonesian researchers, however, has indicated signs of depletion in the abundance of mud crabs, sparking new concerns among local fishers who depend on the marine creature for their livelihoods. The boom in mud crab fisheries in the Aru Islands started in 2014 when the Indonesian government imposed [a moratorium on various fisheries commodities](https://peraturan.bpk.go.id/Details/158400/permen-kkp-no-56permen-kp2014-tahun-2014), including shrimp and fish. “In the late 1990s, some people in Lorang were hunting for crabs in the mangroves,” said Natanel, who was also one of the first generation of crab catchers in the village. “But it started to flourish from 2015 until now.” The Indonesian government [has estimated](https://peraturan.bpk.go.id/Details/159676/kepmen-kkp-no-50kepmen-kp2017-tahun-2017) the potential for crab resources in the fisheries management area that includes the Aru Islands at 1,498 tons with a total allowable catch of 1,198 tons. Fishers in Lorang village, for example, don’t need to go far to sell their mud crabs, as buyers from elsewhere in the district would travel there themselves. Typically, crabs weighing 300-700 grams (10-25 ounces) are sold for 90,000 rupiah ($5.70), and those weighing more than that, up to 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds), are priced at 180,000 rupiah ($11.40). Crabs larger than 1 kg can be sold for up to 300,000 rupiah ($19).

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    Farmers on Small Italian Islands Restore Ancient Groves and Local Production
    Water & FoodFebruary 2, 2024

    Farmers on Small Italian Islands Restore Ancient Groves and Local Production

    Photo by Federico Burgalassi. Retrieved from oliveoiltimes.com One of the seven islands of the Tuscan archipelago, Giglio covers 21 square kilometers and is located nearly 16 kilometers off the region’s southern coast. Fewer than 1,500 people live year-round on the island, characterized by hilly terrain, steep terraces that slope toward smooth, pale granite cliffs, and a few sandy beaches much sought-after by vacationers during the warmest months. “An olive mill has been operating on the island until the mid-1990s,” Bancalà said. “Our ancestors landed on these coasts between 1560 and 1570, and afterward, they were most likely engaged in olive farming.” “Indeed, today, we are taking care of trees that have been passed down to us from our great-grandfather, who produced olive oil,” he added. “The company’s name is a tribute to him; Goffo is the nickname by which he was known in the village.” Agriculture, primarily viticulture, has always been vital for the economy of Giglio, which was also home to a pyrite mine that provided work to more than 300 islanders from 1938 to 1962. Then, in the 1960s, tourism started developing and gradually supplanted the other activities – for several years, only some villagers continued cultivating the land. Over the past two decades, a renewed enthusiasm for farming began to spread on the island. In the early 2000s, some entrepreneurs reintroduced Ansonaco (the local dialect for Ansonica) wine, made from an autochthonous white grape, onto the market.

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    In community with food, champions of regenerative agriculture gather in Kauai
    Water & FoodDecember 18, 2023

    In community with food, champions of regenerative agriculture gather in Kauai

    Excerpt and Photo from impactalpha.com If you think regenerative agriculture is merely an elite affectation of modern foodies, you might want to pay a visit to the 600-year-old Alakoko fishpond on a bend in the Hulēʻia River on the windward side of Kauaʻi. Alakoko is one of nearly 500 fishponds that once provided sustainable seafood to communities across the Hawaiian islands. Most have fallen prey to development and disrepair; a few dozen are being restored by community and conservation organizations. At Alakoko, the nonprofit [Mālama Hulēʻia](https://malamahuleia.org/) and scores of volunteers are restoring the 2,700 foot kuapā, or fishpond wall, that once created a vibrant ecosystem to nurture young fish, along with crabs and birds. Crews also are pulling out thickets of red mangroves, an invasive species that had choked the pond.

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    Bison herd fuels Prairie Island community’s journey to food sovereignty
    Water & FoodDecember 18, 2023

    Bison herd fuels Prairie Island community’s journey to food sovereignty

    Photo: Ben Hovland / MPR News. Retrieved from agweek.com Dressen says the return of bison to the river valley is just one sign of health here. “Thanks to the commitment of our elders, our veterans and our community members and tribal council, today we have a herd of at least 300,” said Dressen. “We have at least 70 babies this year. So as our community came back home and started to grow, it also mirrored our relatives coming back also. And today, both the community and the buffalo here at Prairie Island are flourishing.” In the decades since Prairie Island established its bison herd, tribal nations have worked to get U.S. Department of Agriculture support for the growing and processing of Indigenous foods. And they want more say in how those systems operate. Advocates say tribal self-governance under the farm bill means that tribes would manage their own programs after agreeing to comply with USDA standards. It’s part of an effort to reclaim food sovereignty or control over production and distribution of the foods that sustained communities for generations including before colonization. In 2018, the Native Farm Bill Coalition (NFBC) advocated for a pilot project that supported the purchase of traditional foods. Eight tribes were allowed to purchase Indigenous foods outside those vendors approved by the USDA. The coalition and others would like to see the program expanded to include all tribal nations across the country. For Prairie Island, it could mean contracts with the USDA that would offset the costs of their operation and increase sales and trade opportunities. The coalition said the USDA spent $4 billion in tribal communities nationwide in fiscal year 2022, but only a fraction of that spending went to contracts with Indigenous farmers and producers.

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    Mayotte, a group of French-controled African islands, is running out of water
    Water & FoodNovember 27, 2023

    Mayotte, a group of French-controled African islands, is running out of water

    In Mayotte, a group of [French](https://blavity.com/black-owned-uncle-nearest-whiskey-grande-champagne-vineyard) territorial islands between Mozambique and Madagascar, residents face a severe shortage of clean water. According to many of the islands’ nearly 300,000 people, the response to a years-long drought has been lacking. [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/19/climate/mayotte-water-crisis-drought-climate/index.html) reported that Mayotte is experiencing its worst drought in over 25 years, with its two water reserves operating at less than 10% of their capacities. Authorities are tightly rationing water in the island territory, with citizens having access for 18-hour stretches “every couple of days,” per a schedule the government issued on Oct. 9. Worse, even when the water is on for residents, it is often contaminated, exacerbating an outbreak of gastroenteritis among residents. The dire conditions have caused outrage among residents, who blame local officials and the French government. France colonized Mayotte in 1841 and declared it one of its five overseas departments in 2011. Despite being legally part of France, conditions in Mayotte are significantly worse than in mainland France. According to the [Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/france-mayotte-water-crisis-protests-f079fb9b8f2b4057cd06687bb88d9fb9), Mayotte is “the poorest place in the European Union.” Most residents live below the French poverty line, half earning less than $170 monthly.

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    France’s poorest island is parched because of drought and underinvestment
    Water & FoodNovember 27, 2023

    France’s poorest island is parched because of drought and underinvestment

    Photograph: [Gregoire Merot/AP Photo]. Retrieved from aljazeera.com Drop by disappearing drop, water is an ever more precious resource on Mayotte, the poorest place in the European Union. Taps flow just one day out of three in this French territory off Africa’s eastern coast, thanks to a drawn-out drought compounded by years of underinvestment and mismanagement. Diseases like cholera and typhoid are on the rebound, and the French army recently intervened to distribute water and quell tensions over supplies. The crisis is a wake-up call to the French government about the challenges and cost of managing human-caused climate change across France’s far-flung territories. Racha Mousdikoudine, a 38-year-old mother of two living in Labattoir, washes dishes with bottled water, when she can get it. When the water taps run, she says, “I have to choose between taking a shower or preserving my water supply.

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    Bali Is On A Mission To Become An Organic Island To Improve Tourism
    Water & FoodOctober 30, 2023

    Bali Is On A Mission To Become An Organic Island To Improve Tourism

    Photo Retrieved from thebalisun.com Bali is on a mission to become an organic island. Once upon a time, Bali was an island of integrated food forests and villages that spanned from the highest ridge lines down to the ocean reefs. Over the last few decades, farming methods have changed dramatically across the world. Local politician and ex-Governor of Bali, Made Mangku Pastika, has confirmed that Bali must start the transition to an organic-only model to help improve the fertility of the land and quality of the produce and, in turn, establish the island as an ‘expensive’, premier destination in the eyes of tourists. During a meeting with local farmers and agricultural leaders Pastika shared, “If we don’t use chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the quality of agricultural precuts will be[better and healthier for consumption](https://bali-antaranews-com.translate.goog/berita/328182/pastika-pulau-organik-jadikan-bali-lebih-mahal-dan-subur-di-mata-turis?_x_tr_sl=id&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp).” Members from the Simantri Integrated Agricultural System group, which is made up of farmers from around the province, joined Pastika to discuss the transition, or rather de-transition to organic farming as standard. Pastika shared, “When I was Governor of Simantri Group [the concept] was developed. The idea at the time was an effort to help care for Bali in the midst of a dense population.” He added that organic produce can be sold for higher prices and that international tourists have consistently shown interest in these more premium products, whether that be coffee, vegetables, fruits, grains, or meat.

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