An account is given of the island of Surtsey, which rose out of the sea near the Westman Islands off the south coast of Iceland as the result of a submarine volcanic eruption in November 1963. In the nearly twenty-six years since it emerged, the surface of Surtsey has undergone rapid–on the geological time-scale–transformation especially by the actions of wind and water. Indeed the changes have been far more rapid and considerable than had been expected.

Despite the harsh conditions for colonization by biota, a fair amount of vascular-plant-dominated vegetation now covers an estimated 1–2% of the surface of the island, aided particularly by winds and birds bringing in disseminules. These and other features are being studied so far as possible without disturbance. Despite a general shortage of water, as rain seeps rapidly into the surface lava, sand, or tuff, a total of 25 species of vascular plants (including one fern) have been identified as having attained ecesis on the island, but not all have persisted. Five species of birds have so far colonized Surtsey, and now nest there, in addition to which there are numerous migrants coming and going, and the overall conclusion is that, despite the generally difficult environmental conditions, ‘a flourishing growth of vegetation can be expected to develop’ eventually.

These studies and their implications could be useful indicators for the possibilities of rehabilitation of land areas that have been devastated by human conflict or other abuse.

Mostly for political reasons, rather little research has been done on the environmental impacts of military activities. However, some data on this theme have been collected, especially in North America, the Federal Republic of Germany, and The Netherlands. In this last-mentioned country the overall military environmental impact appears to be considerable, and can be compared qualitatively and quantitatively with the pressures on the environment which other economic sectors impose.

The contribution of the military sector to the world-wide environmental degradation problem is estimated at more than 6%, resulting from its share in the gross international product and the heavy character of military practice in both war and peace-time. In The Netherlands this share appears to be about 2 to 5%, which can be deduced from the military share in the national total consumption of energy. The military use of such poisonous and often rare elements as thallium, thorium, copper, beryllium, cadmium, zinc, and lead, varies from about 10 to 40% of their total national use.

Because fish populations are the classical examples of common-property resources, Garrett Hardin's ‘tragedy of the commons’ is frequently cited as the cause of their decline. However, it has now been shown that many small community fisheries, as well as a number of larger commercial fisheries, are not managed according to the ‘commons’ model but rather are subject to internal limitedentry restrictions which prevent resource overexploitation. Further, Hardin's model ignores critical relationships which exist between common-property and private resources in many Third World rural societies. Changes in these relationships have significant implications for sustained yield management of common-property resources, such as fisheries, in these societies.

In Amazonia, the current changing relationship between common-property and private resources on the terra firme uplands profoundly affects the degree of exploitation that is experienced by the region's fisheries. It also has important implications for the survival of Amazonia's flood-forests which play a critical role in the region's fisheries ecology.

Forested areas of Kanching Recreation Forest exposed to concentrated recreational use tend to show signs of deterioration as indicated by soil parameters related to soil compaction. The results of the present study clearly indicate that such a deterioration of soil conditions has already occurred, though not on an alarming scale. Indeed the status of these soils remains favourable, as the figures for saturated hydraulic conductivity and plant-available water are still ‘satisfactory’, or at least were so during the period of study (1989). Surface runoff and sheet-erosion in intensively-used recreational sites must not, however, be looked upon in isolation when advising on recreational forest land-management.

A recent study in Kanching Forest Reserve, Malaysia, showed that recreational use of forested areas could adversely affect soil conditions. Soil bulk density and micropore space were significantly increased, but total porespace and macropore space were significantly decreased. Available water-holding capacity, saturated hydraulic conductivity, and particle-size distribution, were not significantly affected by recreational use on such sites, indicating that the status of Kanching Recreation Forest soil is still favourable for plant growth, or at least it was during the period of this study.

To embody the concept of sustainability in environmental management and development planning has latterly become recognized internationally as a priority for the future. Governments in many countries have consequently dedicated substantial funds to the task of defining planning and management strategies that are sustainable. Somewhat surprisingly, however, there has been very little attention given so far to establishing appropriate frameworks within which to evaluate the implications of planning and policy alternatives for sustainability.

One of the most important questions to be addressed in evaluation exercises relates to the conflicts among different systems – economic, social, and biophysical – that may be realized in pursuing development options that may be sustainable. It is also important to establish whether the pursuit of sustainability may compromise the capability to fulfil other important societal goals and objectives. If the potential for these various conflicts can be discerned, then it may also be possible to identify development strategies that minimize conflict, while simultaneously achieving sustainability.