Future of the Environment

We must respect the ocean when building artificial islands

Seagulls soar in the sky near Tokto islets April 21, 2005. Many South Koreans see Tokyo's fight over the easternmost islets of the Korean Peninsula as harkening back to Japan's brutal 1910-1945 colonial rule over the peninsula. They see Tokyo's claims as a land grab similar to the expansion Japan undertook in the first half of the 20th century. Japan refers to the islets as Takeshima. REUTERS/Lee Jae-Won  LJW/YH

Artificial islands are often celebrated as engineering marvels, but what is the cost to the marine environment? Image: REUTERS/Lee Jae-Won

Katherine Dafforn
Senior Research Associate in Marine Ecology, University of New South Wales
Mariana Mayer-Pinto
Research Associate in Marine Ecology, University of New South Wales
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Related topics:
Future of the EnvironmentOceanSustainable Development
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