Thai island community rallies to protect beloved dugongs
| | KOH LIBONG, Thailand, 21 May 2026 (Mongabay) - Seagrass beds around the island of Koh Libong in Thailand’s Andaman Sea have died off in recent years, part of wider nationwide declines scientists say have multiple, complex causes. The seagrass shortage has devastated the island’s once famed dugong population, jeopardizing tourism businesses and impacting the island community who have long protected them. Locals frustrated by slow government seagrass recovery plans are working with researchers and conservation groups to build citizen science skills and trial seagrass restoration techniques. |
UN backs historic climate crisis ruling, despite US opposing it
| | LONDON, UK, 21 May 2026 (Guardian) - The UN has voted 141-8 to adopt a resolution backing a world court opinion that countries have a legal obligation to address climate change, with the US – which is the world’s biggest historical emitter – among the small group opposing it. The resolution, brought by the Pacific island Vanuatu, affirms a July 2025 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that states are obligated to reduce fossil fuel use and tackle global warming. |
PNG warns against fishing in New Ireland
| | PORT MORESBY, PNG, 21 May 2026 (Guardian) - Papua New Guinea’s government has warned communities not to fish from parts of the New Ireland coastline as preliminary tests show evidence of metals in some water samples, after months of residents reporting dead marine life in the area. |
Pacific civil society cautions ISA of ‘bluewashing’ deep-sea mining
| | SUVA, Fiji, 20 May 2026 (PINA) - Pacific civil society groups are calling for transparency and inclusion in regional deep-sea mining talks, as environmental stewardship concerns and poor economic prospects accompany the corporate push. This cautionary call comes on the first day of the International Seabed Authority (ISA)’s Pacific Small Island Developing States regional workshop, the so-called ‘Deep Seabed Sustainable Blue Growth Initiative’ in Suva, Fiji. |
Greenland's oil and minerals will be dangerous to extract
| | BURLINGTON, US, 19 May 2026 (Conversation) - When the Trump administration discuss Greenland’s importance to the U.S., they tend to focus on the island’s strategic value and its natural resources: critical minerals, fossil fuels and hydropower. They rarely mention the hazards, many of them exacerbated by human-induced climate change, that those longing to possess and develop the island will inevitably encounter. That’s imprudent, because the Arctic's climate is changing more rapidly than anywhere on Earth. Such rapid warming further increases the already substantial economic and personal risk for those living, working and extracting resources on Greenland, and for the rest of the planet. |
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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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