Now Reading: Sustainable Energy Mix in Fragile Environments by Mary-Ellen Tyler

In July 2014, a group of SEDV faculty members including the late Julie Rowney, Mary-Ellen Tyler, Anil Mehrotra, Irene Herremans, and Allan Ingelson organized a working summit in the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador. The three-day event was by invitation only and took a multidisciplinary approach to sustainable energy development.

The purpose of this international summit was to bring public and private sector representatives, practitioners and academic researchers together in workshops and case study presentations to explore research issues, knowledge and practice gaps and the possible cross-sector approaches necessary to better understand sustainable energy mix in fragile environments. 

Sustainable Energy Mix in Fragile Environments, published by Springer Science in February 2018 and edited by Mary-Ellen Tyler, presents a range of international insights, practice experiences and research gaps, which emerged from the Galapagos summit. The book offers a “what we know now” understanding of energy mix in fragile environments from a variety of international, social, ecological, economic and technological perspectives and development contexts.

Energy is a critical life-support system in both social and ecological systems. In remote and fragile environments, such as islands, where development pressures like mining and tourism are prevalent, having local economic development opportunities and access to energy resources is critical. However, sustainable development issues arise when social and economic development opportunities create increasing energy demands in geographic locations lacking access to conventional energy sources. There is a critical link between access to affordable and clean energy and sustainable development. In remote and fragile environments, access to a variety of energy sources (i.e., conventional and unconventional) allows for creation of a sustainable energy mix, tailored to meet local needs.

As a designated United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) World Heritage Site, Marine Reserve and National Park, the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador are in a remote location with local communities and marine and terrestrial ecosystems of historical and international significance. The need to manage growing land and water based international eco-tourism pressures while striving to improve the quality of life for local communities and conserve the ancient and biologically significant flora and fauna of the islands makes the Galapagos a microcosm of the sustainable energy mix challenges facing remote and fragile cultural and biophysical environments worldwide.

Sustainable Energy Mix in Fragile Environments serves as an excellent complement to the teachings provided by the diverse faculty of the SEDV program. Because this book provides a holistic review of options, along with an analysis of all associated technical, social, environmental and economic considerations for energy development in a fragile environment, it provides an excellent compilation of key concepts learned throughout the program. While all SEDV courses emphasize the link between sustainable development and clean energy, students who particularly enjoyed Ecology, Sustainable Development and Indigenous Cultures, Environmental Impact Assessment in the Energy Sector, or any of the pollution courses, will find themselves engrossed in the pages of this book. A must-read for any prospective, current or past SEDV students!