SPREP applauds commitment to safeguarding the Pacific Ocean
| | PORT MORESBY, PNG, 21 May 2026 (SPREP) - An interconnected MPA spanning at least 6 million skm2 has been committed by Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu through the Melanesian Ocean Corridor of Reserves (MOCOR) Declaration and Framework 2026 - 2030. Signed this month between the three Pacific Island countries, this newly established ambitious network of national and jointly managed protected areas will be the largest transboundary MPA in the world. |
Why has the US indicted former Cuban President Raul Castro?
| | SYDNEY, Australia, 21 May 2026 (Conversation) - After a week of speculation, the US Department of Justice has officially indicted Raul Castro, the 94-year-old ex-president of Cuba. The charges relate to a 1996 incident in which the Cuban military allegedly shot down two unarmed civilian planes operated by Brothers to the Rescue. The news comes amid mounting US pressure on the ailing Cuban Republic to change its system of government after 67 years of revolutionary rule. So why did the United States act now, and what will happen next? |
Better survey methods uncover new insights into biodiversity
| | ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar, 21 May 2026 (Mongabay) - Conservation biologist Dimby Raharinjanahary, now director of monitoring at the Madagascar Biodiversity Center, is part of a global initiative called LIFEPLAN that is working to expand biodiversity monitoring beyond a few target species to include a much wider range of organisms, including hyper-diverse and still poorly known groups such as arthropods and fungi. |
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. |
|
 |
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 |
|
GSIS |
| | Global Sustainable Islands Summit 20-22 April, 2026, Gran Canaria, Spain |
|
SICRI |
| | Island Studies International Conference 25-28 June, 2026, Tacloban City, Leyte Islands, Philippines |
|
ISISA |
| | 20th Islands of the World Conference 7-11 July 2026, Shinan County, Jeollanam-do, South Korea |
|
SPREP |
| | 11th Pacific Islands Conference for Nature Conservation and Protected Areas, 7–11 September 2026, Noumea, New Caledonia |
|
ANATOMY OF ISLANDS |
| | 14th Anatomy of Islands symposium 15-17 Oct, 2026, Jelsa, Hvar Island, Croatia |
|
IWRA |
| | 2nd Islands Water Congress 9-11 Dec, 2026, Montego Bay, Jamaica |
|
