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Essential to preserve 'legacy' of Great Blasket island
DUBLIN, Ireland, 10 September 2023 (IT) - It is essential to preserve the “irreplaceable legacy” of Great Blasket Island, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said. Mr Varadkar visited the Co Kerry island on Saturday to see ongoing restoration works and attend the annual Ceiliúradh an Bhlascaoid commemoration.

The Greek island fuelling the Arab world's sweet tooth
CHIOS, Greece, 8 September 2023 (ME) - At first glance, the shaded, cobblestoned central square in the medieval village of Kalamoti on the Greek island of Chios, seems far removed from the bustling streets of Amman, Jordan. Kalamoti is one of 24 Mastichochoria, or mastic villages, of southern Chios, the only place in the world where the rare, cedar-flavored resin of the same name is cultivated.

North Keppel becomes first carbon negative Great Barrier Reef island
ROCKHAMPTON, Australia, 8 September 2023 (ABC) - North Keppel Island off Queensland's Capricorn Coast is being completely powered by renewable energy, making it the first carbon negative island in the Great Barrier Marine Park. It is home to an environmental education centre run by the Queensland government. About 2,500 students stay on the island for school camp each year, where they learn about climate change, First Nations culture and sustainable living. 

Slave descendants on Georgia island fighting to keep protections
DARIEN, US, 8 September 2023 (AP) - Descendants of enslaved people who populate the tiny island of Sapelo off the coast of Georgia are once again fighting their local government, this time over a proposal to eliminate protections that for decades helped shield the Gullah-Geechee residents from high taxes and pressure to sell their land to developers.

The land and sea routes to 2030
LONDON, UK, 7 September 2023 (Nature) - Islands have unique vulnerabilities to biodiversity loss and climate change. Current Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement are insufficient to avoid the irreversible loss of critical island ecosystems. Existing research, policies, and finance also do not sufficiently address small islands’ social-environmental challenges. 

Small-scale fishers flag use of banned net by outsiders
SUMENEP, Indonesia, 7 September 2023 (Mongabay) - Small-scale fishers in Indonesia’s Masalembu Islands have filed a petition to the government calling for the establishment of an exclusive fishing zone off-limits to larger trawlers that use a controversial type of net that scoops up everything in its path.

Dynamite use sends shockwaves through fishing industries
PULMUDAI, Sri Lanka, 7 September 2023 (Guardian) - Though illegal in Sri Lanka, blast fishing thrives across the island with a variety of explosives such as gelignite, watergel sticks and detonators, often smuggled from stone quarries. Between 2019 and 2023, the Sri Lankan navy said it seized 18 gelignite sticks, 12,570 watergel sticks and 3,073 detonators, but that many more slip through.

SICRI
Island Studies International Conference "Island Innovation, Resilience, and Revitalization" 20-26 June, 2023, Miyajima, Hiroshima, Japan

PIURN
5th Pacific Islands Universities Research Network conference 4-6 July, 2023, Rarotonga, Cook Islands

CBF
2nd Caribbean Conservation Finance Congress 27-28 July, 2023, Bridgetown, Barbados

CEST
18th International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology 30 Aug-2 Sept, 2023, Athens, Greece

LPAZ
4th Forum The Azores, The Atlantic and the Global Challenges 7-10 Sept, 2023, Santa Maria, Azores, Portugal

ISLAND INNOVATION
Virtual Island Summit 25 Sept-1 Oct, 2023

ANATOMY OF ISLANDS
11th symposium 28-30 Sept, 2023, Jelsa, island of Hvar, Croatia

TGN
International Coastal Symposium 3-6 Oct, 2023, Taipei, Taiwan

UPEI
Turning the Tide: Climate Change, Social Change, and Islandness conference 23-26, Oct, 2023, Oranjestad, Aruba

FESTPAC
13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture 6-16 June, 2024, Honolulu, Hawaii

NAF
North Atlantic Forum bi-annual international conference 17-21 June, 2024, Connemara, Ireland, 

ISISA
19th Islands of the World Conference 25-29 June, 2024, Lombok Island, Indonesia

IWRA
1st Islands Water Congress 4-6 Sept, 2024, Torshavn, Faroe Islands

SIDS
4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States TBA 2024, Antigua and Barbuda