World's largest penguin colony suffers enormous population crash
| | LONDON, UK, 7 October 2026 (Guardian) - The world’s largest penguin colony has declined by two-thirds since 2011, most likely because of the climate crisis, a study has revealed. Scientists said the rapid demise of chinstrap penguins on Zavodovski, the northernmost of the South Sandwich Islands in Antarctica, increased the risk of a wider ecosystem collapse. |
French Polynesia proposes independence process at UN
| | WELLINGTON, New Zealand, 7 October 2026 (RNZ) - President Moetai Brotherson says French Polynesia's future cannot remain solely a French domestic matter. Brotherson has addressed the UN Special Committee on Decolonisation, or C-24, which was established in 1961 by the UN General Assembly as its subsidiary body devoted to the issue of decolonisation. He said the French territory proposes what he called a simple programme of work. This includes a comprehensive programme of information and education on the options available; a UN visiting mission to hear the people directly; and an agreed pathway towards a democratic act of self-determination, "ultimately allowing the Ma'ohi people to express their choice freely through a referendum - no predetermined outcome, no unilateral imposition". |
Underwater explorers question viability of deep-sea mining gold rush
| | MELBOURNE, Australia, 7 October 2026 (ABC) - Few people on Earth have seen a polymetallic nodule 4 kilometres under the ocean, but Rob McCallum is one of them. "They are anywhere between the size of a potato or a baseball and they are black," he said. Mr McCallum is a divemaster and founder of EYOS Expeditions, a firm that specialises in deep-sea diving operations. But Mr McCallum, and other undersea experts like him, question the viability of the industry, fearing the only winners will be early investors and the companies selling the machinery needed to mine the ocean floor. |
Gentoo penguins on Deception Island
| | LONDON, UK, 7 October 2026 (BBC) - Lopsided whale oil tanks sank into the dark sand. Ancient wooden boats slowly decayed in the brutal Antarctic weather. Deception Island's whaling and sealing industries had long since been abandoned when Romain Barats arrived. The island he saw was one where the tables had turned: animals now ruled. Barats, a wildlife photographer, captured the island's post-industrial atmosphere in a haunting series of photographs, one of which depicts three gentoo penguins almost look like sentinels standing beside the ruins. |
Lundy island on cusp of closure as it runs out of water
| | LUNDY ISLAND, UK, 7 October 2026 (BBC) - Famed for its puffins, the picture-perfect island of Lundy attracts birdwatchers from all over. But the island is on the cusp of being evacuated as water levels drop to the lowest levels ever, forcing residents to take drastic measures to ensure supplies do not run out. |
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CBD |
 | | COP16 21 Oct-1 Nov, 2024, Cali, Colombia |
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UNFCCC |
| | COP29 11-22 November, 2024, Baku, Azerbaijan |
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ISLAND DYNAMICS |
| | DARKNESS II conference, 20-23 January 2025, Nuuk, Greenland |
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JICAS |
| | Islands And Island Studies conference 3-7 June, 2025, Jersey, Channel Islands |
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UNITED NATIONS |
| | UN Ocean Conference 9-13 June, 2025, Nice, France |
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UPEI |
| | 3rd international conference on SIS and SNIJs 16-20 June, 2025, Charlottetown, PEI |
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ARCTIC COUNCIL |
| | UArctic Congress 26-29 May 2026, Torshavn, Faroe Islands |
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SICRI |
| | Island Studies International Conference 25-28 June, 2026, Tacloban City, Leyte Islands, Philippines |
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WORLD ISLANDS FAIR |
| | The world’s first international event themed around islands 5 Sept-4 Nov, 2026, Yeosu, South Korea |
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SPREP |
| | 11th Pacific Islands Conference for Nature Conservation and Protected Areas, 7–11 September 2026, Noumea, New Caledonia |
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ANATOMY OF ISLANDS |
| | 14th Anatomy of Islands symposium 15-17 Oct, 2026, Jelsa, Hvar Island, Croatia |
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SOCIETY OF ISLAND BIOLOGY |
| | 5th Island Biology conference 2-6 November, 2026, Atami City, Japan |
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IWRA |
| | 2nd Islands Water Congress 27-29 Jan, 2027, Montego Bay, Jamaica |
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ISISA |
| | 21st Islands of the Word Conference 6-10 June, 2027, Willemstad, Curacao |
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