Student Presenter(s): Isabel Tabet, Sahar Esfandyari
Faculty Mentor: Jeannette Sordi
Department: Architecture and Design
School/College: School of Architecture and Design, New York City

Small Island developing states are categorized as such due to the fact that they are vulnerable regions that host distinctive terrestrial and marine ecosystems such as coral reefs, etc. These Island states are identified through three key characteristics:

• Small size - limited resources and economic diversity
• Remoteness and Isolation - creating a reliance on imported goods and services but an environment of unique culture and biodiversity
• Maritime Environment - strong tourism assets, but vulnerable to climate change

They suffer from underdeveloped economies with high transportation, communication, public administration, and infrastructure costs as well, they contend with limited availability of human, institutional and financial resources to manage and use natural resources in a sustainable way (Ashe 2005).

Many SIDs rely on tourism, environmentally, socio-culturally and economically sometimes it is the only industry present. Tourism creates links with and stimulates demand in other economic sectors such as manufacturing, services, transportation, fisheries, and agriculture. Tourists are attracted to SIDs due to their unique, exotic maritime and terrestrial ecosystems; however, this creates an influx of tourists during certain seasons of the year that leads to inverted situations where there are more tourists than residents of these islands. This can overwhelm local natural resources and infrastructure causing it to degrade and become aesthetically unappealing.