The survival of an island: A study on landownership and depopulation on the islands Mykines and Skúgvoy

• Main Author: Niclasen, Gunnhild Dahl
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: Lunds universitet/Humanekologi 2015
• Subjects: Social Sciences; Faroe Islands; Mykines; Outer Island; Faroes
• Online Access: http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/5385817

Urbanisation is an ongoing trend all over the world, and these same trends occur in the Faroe Islands as well. Some of the small peripheral islands are now believed to be on the verge of becoming unpopulated. This study investigates the role of landownership in depopulation on the outer islands in the Faroe Islands. The study looks at two islands in particular and investigates trends in land ownership and access to local resources in relation to local residency. In order to situate the issue of outer island depopulation in the Faroes in a larger context, world system analysis, post colonialism and ecologically unequal exchange are applied in the analysis of the material. The study shows a clear historical trend demonstrating that decrease in population on the small islands goes together with decrease in local-resident ownership. This thesis argues that the issue of depopulation is rooted in the structural problems in the modern world system where capital and labour are accumulated in the core areas. The study also shows that there are strong cultural ties, which make the non-local residents interested in owning land in the peripheral areas and thus having access to the local resources.