This open access book addresses the following topics for the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve (BR) in the Colombian Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia, and Santa Catalina, in the southwest Caribbean Sea, which is the world’s largest BR and contains representative ecosystems of tropical island regions.

● Future regional climate behavior and forms of balanced relationships between humans and nature to promote climate change (CC) adaptation and mitigation strategies for tropical islands.

● The relevance of BRs as ideal locations to study and replicate interdisciplinary adaptation strategies. BRs are “living, dynamic laboratories” where local communities demonstrate safe and sustainable development possibilities. Island and coastal tropical BRs disproportionately face adverse effects of CC, making them a research priority with unprecedented intellectual challenges for their unique characteristics.

This collaborative effort

● Stimulates critical and interdisciplinary thinking around tropical island regions

● Presents new and different angles to understand local socioenvironmental impacts of CC

● Demonstrates the linkage between ecosystem services, human well-being, and CC adaptation

● Connects local experiences to global dynamics and processes, and vice versa

● Places the struggles and knowledge of the indigenous Raizal people at the forefront of CC and BR studies

● Examines relevant socioenvironmental pathways toward collective action for adaptive capacity, resilience, and ultimately contributes to sustainable development processes in BRs worldwide.

This book was financed by the  Corporation Center of Excellence in Marine Sciences (CEMarin).