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PNG PM Marape rejects deep-sea mining
NICE, France, 16 June 2025 (Mongabay) - PNG PM Marape opposed deep-sea mining at UNOC3. Contradicting his position, however, is the governor of PNG’s New Ireland province, Walter Schnaubelt, who has vocally supported mining the Solwara 1 project and reportedly met with company and national government officials about extracting copper and gold from the seabed.

Macron visits Greenland in show of European unity
NUUK, Greenland, 15 June 2025 (BBC) - In a sign of Greenland's growing importance, French President Emmanuel Macron is visiting the Arctic island today, in what experts say is a show of European unity and a signal to Donald Trump.

Race to mine metals for EV batteries threatens marine paradise
LONDON, UK, 15 June 2025 (BBC) - Stark images, captured from a drone by environmental campaigners appear to show how nickel mining has stripped forests and polluted waters in one of the most biodiverse marine habitats on Earth. The Raja Ampat archipelago - a group of small islands in Indonesia's Southwest Papua Province - has been dubbed the "Amazon of the Seas". But mining for nickel - an ingredient in electric vehicle batteries and in stainless steel - has ramped up there in recent years, according to the organisation Global Witness .

'Glimmer of hope' for marine life at UN Ocean conference
NICE, France, 13 June 2025 (BBC) - The UN Ocean conference has been heralded a success, with more countries ratifying a key treaty to protect marine life and more progress on curbing plastics and illegal fishing in our seas. The key aim was to get the High Seas Treaty ratified by 60 countries to bring it into force. The agreement was signed two years ago to put 30% of the ocean into protected areas. Fifty countries had ratified by Friday, but dozens more promised to ratify by the end of the year. This and other progress on plastics and illegal fishing appears to have restored faith in the ability of governments to work together.

Concerns over Pacific Garbage Patch clean-up
SAIPAN, CNMI, 13 June 2025 (RNZ) - An expert says there is pushback from environmental groups when it comes to cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. They have raised concerns that clean-up efforts could destroy an unintended but now-established ocean ecosystem. While the "patch" isn't a solid island of trash, it is a dense concentration of microplastics and floating debris, which accumulate due to oceanic gyres. Efforts to clean it up could cause massive bycatch and harm species that have come to depend on it.

UNOC3 closes with historic commitments: activists still demand action
NICE, France, 13 June 2025 (IPS) - UNOC3 concluded today in Nice with an urgent call for governments to translate bold words into concrete action to protect the world’s oceans. One of the most anticipated achievements of the conference was progress on the High Seas Treaty - officially known as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement. With 51 ratifications confirmed and 60 needed for entry into force, the treaty promises to enable the creation of marine protected areas in international waters, a crucial tool to achieving the goal of protecting 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030.

SPREP
Fourth Pacific Ocean Pacific Climate Change Conference, 20-24 May 2024, Apia, Samoa

ISLAND INNOVATION
Global Sustainable Islands Summit 21-23 May, 2024, Prince Edward Island, Canada

SIDS
4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States 27-30 May 2024, Antigua and Barbuda

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

ANATOMY OF ISLANDS
12th Anatomy of Islands symposium 26-28 Sept, 2024, Jelsa, Hvar Island, Croatia

CIS
Critical Island Studies 4th international conference 3-4 Oct, 2024, Manila, Philippines

CBD
COP16 21 Oct-1 Nov, 2024, Cali, Colombia

UNFCCC
COP29 11-22 November, 2024, Baku, Azerbaijan

ISLAND DYNAMICS
DARKNESS II conference, 20-23 January 2025, Nuuk, Greenland

JICAS
Islands And Island Studies conference 3-7 June, 2025, Jersey, Channel Islands

UNITED NATIONS
UN Ocean Conference 9-13 June, 2025, Nice, France

UPEI
3rd international conference on SIS and SNIJs 16-20 June, 2025, Charlottetown, PEI