Seabird habitats shrink as ocean heats up
| | PARIS, France, 19 May 2026 (AFP) - Climate change could push seabirds into smaller habitats and force them to fly farther to survive. While warmer oceans have historically caused fish and other marine species to shrink in size, seabirds such as albatrosses, shearwaters and petrels have seen their geographic range contract. In a worst-case warming scenario, 70 percent of species will reduce their range by 2100, with four of them most at risk of extinction - the Galapagos petrel, the Jouanin petrel, the Newell's shearwater and the white-vented storm petrel. |
WMO warns of escalating climate extremes across Caribbean
| | CASTRIES, Saint Lucia, 19 May 2026 (IPS) - Faster-than-average sea level rise, intensifying hurricanes, extreme heat and worsening swings between drought and flooding are increasing pressure on Latin America and the Caribbean, according to a new report released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The report warns that rising land and ocean temperatures, increasingly erratic rainfall patterns and rapidly intensifying tropical cyclones are hurting food systems, water security, public health and coastal communities across the region. |
The battle over how to save orangutans from the curse of palm oil
| | LONDON, UK, 19 May 2026 (Guardian) - Since the 1970s, hundreds of hectares of forest in Borneo have been cleared to grow rice and pineapples and, more recently, oil palms. The large spiky palms with their red, bulbous, oil-rich fruit have become the main cash crop in this once densely forested area. Since the transmigration scheme opened up this area to new settlers in 2016, the orangutans’ forest habitat has been disappearing, and the settlers have found their crops and gardens invaded by unwelcome visitors. |
Philippine fishing communities wary of clean energy boom
| | PASUQUIN, Philippines, 18 May 2026 (Mongabay) - The Philippines is currently highly dependent on fossil fuels for energy generation, but the government has committed to reaching 50% renewables by 2050. The resulting energy boom - especially in Ilocos North, the president’s home province - has seen an influx of foreign investment, but also raised questions about who will bear the costs of the country’s energy transition. Fishers in Ilocos Norte say they worry that wind energy projects in their traditional fishing grounds will disrupt marine life and fishing routes. |
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CIS |
 | | Critical Island Studies 4th international conference 3-4 Oct, 2024, Manila, Philippines |
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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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GSIS |
| | Global Sustainable Islands Summit 20-22 April, 2026, Gran Canaria, Spain |
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SICRI |
| | Island Studies International Conference 25-28 June, 2026, Tacloban City, Leyte Islands, Philippines |
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ISISA |
| | 20th Islands of the World Conference 7-11 July 2026, Shinan County, Jeollanam-do, 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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IWRA |
| | 2nd Islands Water Congress 9-11 Dec, 2026, Montego Bay, Jamaica |
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