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PERSPECTIVE article

Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Pollution
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2024.1459794

Managing technology-critical elements from electronic waste in Small Developing Island States: a burden or an opportunity?

Provisionally accepted
Rachel A. Hauser-Davis Rachel A. Hauser-Davis 1*Natascha Wosnick Natascha Wosnick 2*Dorlan Curtis Dorlan Curtis 2
  • 1 Chemistry, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Brazil
  • 2 Cape Eleuthera Institute, Nassau, Bahamas

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Small Island Developing States (SIDS) face profound challenges from pollution, exacerbated by inadequate infrastructure and resource limitations. This paper examines the longstanding pollution issues plaguing SIDS, highlighting their vulnerability to environmental degradation due to underdeveloped waste management systems and unique oceanographic conditions. The case study of Eleuthera Island in The Bahamas illustrates these challenges vividly, showcasing the island's struggle with e-waste management. This example reinforces the urgency of integrated strategies to enhance environmental resilience and sustainable development in SIDS. Emerging concerns include the proliferation of technology-critical elements (TCEs) in e-waste, driven by rapid urbanization and tourism growth. Despite their crucial role in technological advancement, TCEs pose significant recycling and management difficulties, particularly in the context of limited waste infrastructure. The paper also highlights the imperative for comprehensive regulatory frameworks and sustainable practices to mitigate pollution impacts and safeguard ocean and human health, particularly by shedding light on legislative gaps and opportunities for enhancing pollution control measures in The Bahamas.

    Keywords: Environmental resilience, Waste Management, sustainable development, Urbanization, tourism

    Received: 04 Jul 2024; Accepted: 29 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Hauser-Davis, Wosnick and Curtis. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Rachel A. Hauser-Davis, Chemistry, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Brazil
    Natascha Wosnick, Cape Eleuthera Institute, Nassau, Bahamas

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.