Rare seagrass 'fairy circles' discovered in the Hebrides
| | GLASGOW, UK, 20 January 2026 (BBC) - Seagrass "fairy circles" have been discovered on the seabed in the Sound of Barra in the Western Isles. Scotland's nature body NatureScot said it was not known why the plants grew in circular shapes, but added that the formations were rarely seen. Seagrass usually grows in dense "meadows" and provides important habitat for fish and other marine life. |
Plans for huge wind farm paused over 'unfair' grid charges
| | GLASGOW, UK, 20 January 2026 (BBC) - A huge wind farm planned off the north coast of Scotland will not be built unless "unfair" transmission charges are overhauled, the developer has warned. The 125-turbine West of Orkney wind farm had planned to generate enough electricity to power two million homes by 2029. |
Another New Caledonia agreement signed in Paris
| | WELLINGTON, New Zealand, 20 January 2026 (RNZ) - New Caledonia's politicians and French President Emmanuel Macron have signed a new political and financial agreement concerning the French Pacific territory. The Elysee-Oudinot Accord was signed by most of New Caledonia's political leaders represented at New Caledonia's local Parliament, the congress. |
Greece funds new desalination projects across key isIands
| | LOS ANGELES, US, 20 January 2026 (GR) - Greece is rolling out the new investments as part of a broader national effort to reinforce water resilience. The Ministry of Environment and Energy approved 42 projects costing €75.5 million aimed at building, expanding, and modernizing water supply infrastructure in response to drought-related pressures. For the first time, Greece’s Andros, Kea, and Meganisi will install desalination units, strengthening access to drinking water as drought continues to strain supplies in parts of the country. |
Chagos Islands – and why is the UK returning them to Mauritius?
| | LONDON, UK, 20 January 2026 (Guardian) - In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump has described the UK’s plans to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius as “an act of great stupidity”. He claimed that it had made it all the more important for him to take Greenland from Denmark. |
Antarctic penguins have radically shifted their breeding season
| | LONDON, UK, 20 January 2026 (Guardian) - Penguins in Antarctica have radically shifted their breeding season, apparently as a response to climate change, research has found. Dramatic shifts in behaviour were revealed by a decade-long study led by Penguin Watch at the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University, with some penguins’ breeding period moving forward by more than three weeks. |
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SIDS |
 | | 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States 27-30 May 2024, Antigua and Barbuda |
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NAF |
| | North Atlantic Forum bi-annual international conference 17-21 June, 2024, Connemara, Ireland, |
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IWRA |
| | 1st Islands Water Congress 4-6 Sept, 2024, Torshavn, Faroe Islands |
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ANATOMY OF ISLANDS |
| | 12th Anatomy of Islands symposium 26-28 Sept, 2024, Jelsa, Hvar Island, Croatia |
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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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ISISA |
| | 20th Islands of the World Conference 7-11 July 2026, Shinan County, Jeollanam-do, South Korea |
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