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Why Kharg Island is a strategic focus as Iran war escalates
WASHINGTON, US, 9 March 2026 (The HIll) - Global energy markets have been rocked by the U.S. war with Iran, as shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have been all but completely cut off. But one location that has not been hit is Kharg Island, which is roughly 16 miles off the coast of Iran and 300 miles from the Strait of Hormuz. Ian Bremmer, the founder of GZERO Media, said last week that Iran exports between 80 and 90 percent of its oil to Kharg Island. The island is also where Iranian “super” oil tankers are serviced, he noted. |
Drive to evict PNG settlement communities runs into problems
WELLINGTON, New Zealand, 10 March 2026 (RNZ) - A Papua New Guinean anthropologist has warned that a campaign by authorities to remove communities from informal settlements in Port Moresby will not solve growing social problems in PNG's capital. Almost half of Port Moresby's estimated population of around 500,000 live in settlements, often without legal title or access to basic services. Some of the settlements have become notorious as crime hotspots. |
The 'Galapagos of west Africa' is plundered by floating fish factories
BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau, 9 March 2026 (Guardian) - The only ice factory on Bubaque, an island in west Africa’s Guinea-Bissau, is out of service. Local fishers, such as Pedro Luis Pereira, are forced to source ice from factories on the mainland, about 70km away – a six-hour round trip by boat. “The machines have been broken for months,” Pereira says, as he pulls in his nets on the shore of the island inside the protected Bijagós archipelago. |
Half-abandoned Japanese island at the heart of tensions with China
KASASA ISLAND, Japan, 9 March 2026 (Guardian) - His island home is shrouded in mist, but his union jack woolly hat makes Hideya Yagi easy to spot as he greets the approaching boat. The 80-year-old, a former president of a construction company, is pleased to see the small group of passengers disembark, mainly because he is one of only seven registered residents at their destination, Kasasa island. It sits at a sensitive spot for national security, close to two key military bases. Iwakuni US Marine Corps airbase is 20km away and a Japanese Maritime Self-Defence force base is 50km to the north, in the city of Kure. |
Philippines 'Cockroach Lord' goes to bat for misunderstood bugs
LOS BANOS, Philippines, 8 March 2026 (AFP) - A thin band of light from Cristian Lucanas's headlamp pierces the blackness of a Philippine rainforest as he digs through the underbrush before gently scooping up a cockroach with his bare hands. As the Southeast Asian country's lone expert on the oft-misunderstood insect - and discoverer of 15 species - friends have dubbed the soft-spoken scientist "Ipis Lord", after the local name for the ubiquitous bug. |
Grim start to year for Sumatran elephants
CENTRAL ACEH, Indonesia, 9 March 2026 (Mongabay) - A Sumatran elephant found dead in Indonesia’s Central Aceh district in late February was the latest case of electrocution to kill one of Indonesia’s remaining critically endangered elephants, officials in the semiautonomous region of Aceh province say. |
The world's lowest-lying islands are under threat
WASHINGTON, US, 9 March 2026 (Nat.Geog) - Rising seas are reshaping the world’s lowest-lying islands, but responsible travel can be part of the solution. So how can we visit without increasing their vulnerability? |
Women's solar training brightens homes and education
ANDAVOANEMBOKA, Madagascar, 8 March 2026 (WWF) - In the stilted homes of Madagascar’s coastal villages, women trained through the Barefoot College National Programme – with support from WWF – are expanding access to solar-powered light. As the light spreads, so does opportunity. |
Give to Gain: Climate change is not gender neutral
APIA, Samoa, 9 March 2026 (SPREP) - Give to Gain IWD2026: The first of a three-part series that highlights Women in Micronesia this International Women’s Day. It forms part of the Federated States of Micronesia National Adaptation Plan Project funded by the Green Climate Fund, implemented by SPREP in partnership with the Government of FSM and Haskoning New Zealand. |
New film on West Papua highlights 'ecocide'
WELLINGTON, New Zealand, 9 March 2026 (RNZ) - Armed conflict is not the only frontline for West Papuans in their struggle against Indonesian rule, according to a new film. The documentary 'Pesta Babi (Pig Feast)' had its world premiere in Auckland at the weekend to kick off a West Papua Forum organised by the West Papuan solidarity movement in New Zealand. |
Unique sea creatures and corals off Caribbean islands
LONDON, UK, 8 March 2026 (BBC) - The waters off the glittering coastlines of Britain's Caribbean territories have long been a mystery. But now scientists on the first expedition beyond the islands' shallows have discovered an underwater mountain range, a massive "blue hole", coral reefs apparently untouched by climate change and never-before-seen sea creatures. |
Animals that live in isolated islands have a peculiar trait
MUMBAI, India, 8 March 2026 (ET) - Islands often exhibit unique evolutionary patterns, with species adapting to limited resources and predator absence. Large animals may shrink (insular dwarfism), while small ones can grow larger (island gigantism). These size changes, influenced by island size and isolation, demonstrate how geography shapes species evolution. |
Tristan da Cunha: The world's most isolated inhabited islands
BRISTOL, UK, 7 March 2026 (BBC Wildlife) - The citizens of Tristan da Cunha have banned fishing and mining in their waters, creating the largest no- take zone in the Atlantic and the fourth largest worldwide. The volcanic archipelago, a UK dependent territory 2,400km west of Cape Town, with a population of fewer than 300, has designated nearly 700,000km² of sovereign waters (about three times the land area of the UK) a Marine Protected Area. |
Iceland's bathing culture has been nominated by Unesco - here's why
WASHINGTON, US, 8 March 2026 (Nat.Geog) - Fed by volcanic heat, Iceland’s geothermal waters have long been used to restore body and mind. From iron-rich mountain baths to silica-filled lagoons, soaking here reveals a culture shaped by elemental forces, where immersion eases muscles, strengthens skin and offers profound mental calm. |
A culinary revolution is underway in the Cayman Islands
WASHINGTON, US, 7 March 2026 (Nat.Geog) - While more than 90% of food is imported in the Cayman Islands, farmers and chefs are beginning to reclaim the soil. From bustling markets to backyard farms, a fragile but flourishing food movement is reshaping what it means to eat locally. |
Pacific Women in Circular Economy Network
SUVA, Fiji, 8 March 2026 (SPREP) - Despite women playing a critical role in household and community-level waste management across the Pacific, they remain drastically underrepresented in the formal waste management workforce and in leadership positions. Marking the first concrete step towards addressing this gap was the Pacific Women in Circular Economy (PacWiCE) Network Introductory Workshop hosted in Fiji. |
Acid rain falls on Vanuatu islands
WELLINGTON, New Zealand, 7 March 2026 (RNZ) - The Vanuatu government has decided not to order a mass evacuation of communities on Ambae island affected by acid rain from the Manaro Voui volcano. |
Nature reserve boss hopeful for island's birds
LONDON, UK, 7 March 2026 (BBC) - A nature reserve manager has said she feels "positive" about the future of seabirds living on a protected island. Last year more than 25,000 breeding pairs of birds from 12 different species arrived on Coquet Island, in Northumberland - an increase in numbers of many on the previous year. This included the island's endangered roseate tern population, which recorded its third highest number of pairs at 144. |
Tiny possum and glider thought extinct found in remote West Papua
SYDNEY, Australia, 6 March 2026 (BBC) - A tiny possum with one extra-long finger on each hand is one of two species thought to have been extinct that have been discovered in West Papua, in what's been called an "exceptional" scientific discovery. The other is a a ring-tailed glider with a tail that can grasp branches. Both have been found living in remote rainforests after they were thought to have disappeared 6,000 years ago. |
Pacific Island in battle to bring rare bird from brink of extinction
AUCKLAND, New Zealand, 4 March 2026 (1News) - Feral cats, rats and the taro vine are having a devasting impact but, with a $20 million contribution from New Zealand, communities across the region are working together with startling results. In Tonga, 13 paid ambassadors are in charge of controlling the rat population to protect an endangered bird the Tongan whistler or hengahenga. |
EC seeks input to shape new European islands strategy
BRUSSELS, Belgium, 6 March 2026 (EC) - The European Commission has launched a four-week public call for evidence to help design a comprehensive new strategy for the EU's islands. Open until 1 April, this consultation invites citizens, businesses, local and regional authorities, civil society organizations, and experts, particularly those based on EU islands, to share their views on the most pressing issues affecting their communities. Through this consultation, the Commission aims to identify key priorities, assess the performance of existing EU policies and legislation, and explore ways to better respond to the needs of islands. Special attention will be given to young people, with the objective of ensuring that islands remain attractive places to live and work. |
Anger in Cyprus over UK bases as war endangers island
DOHA, Qatar, 6 March 2026 (Aljazeera) - Chants of “British bases out” have rung out in recent days in Limassol, as protesters call for the removal of UK military bases from Cyprus’s sun-drenched south coast island. Demonstrations erupted after a suspected Iranian-made drone struck RAF Akrotiri earlier this week, two days after US-Israeli attacks on Iran began. The UK retained two sovereign base areas on Cyprus – Akrotiri and Dhekelia – since the island nation gained independence in 1960 under a fragile power-sharing arrangement between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. For many Cypriots, that arrangement represented a compromise that left Cyprus only partially sovereign. |
Indonesian communities try to reclaim lands
MEDAN, Indonesia, 6 March 2026 (Mongabay) - In January, the Indonesian government ordered the revocation of PT TPL’s forest utilization permit, along with those of 27 other companies, for allegedly violating environmental and forestry regulations that contributed to deadly floods and landslides in November 2025. Twenty-nine communities whose customary lands overlap with the pulpwood company’s concession are demanding the return of 37,219 hectares after decades of conflict with the enterprise. Some people have reoccupied lands. |
Vanuatu moves forward with UN climate resolution
LONDON, UK, 5 March 2026 (Guardian) - The Trump administration’s attempt to sink a UN resolution demanding countries act on the climate crisis has caused cuts to the proposal but hasn’t entirely killed it, according to the tiny Pacific island country spearheading the effort. |
Global sea levels have been underestimated due to poor modelling
LONDON, UK, 4 March 2026 (Guardian) - Sea levels around the world have been underestimated due to inaccurate modelling, with research suggesting ocean levels are far higher than previously understood. Globally, the research found ocean levels are an average of 30cm higher than previously believed, but in some areas of the global south, including south-east Asia and the Indo-Pacific, they may be 100-150cm higher than previously thought. |
Caribbean civil society gathered in Jamaica
KINGSTON, Jamaica, 5 March 2026 (IPS) - Civil society groups from across the Caribbean met in Jamaica in February 2026 for a landmark regional conference, with development leaders urging stronger governance, digital readiness and deeper partnerships to adapt to a shifting and increasingly complex geopolitical landscape. |
European allies rush to bolster Cyprus defences
RAF AKROTIRI, Cyprus, 3 March 2026 (BBC) - European allies are rushing warships and anti-drone defences to Cyprus after a British air base was hit on the island over the weekend. The small Eastern Mediterranean nation has found itself unexpectedly drawn into the aftermath of US-Israeli strikes on Iran. The UK has announced it is sending helicopters with counter-drone capabilities as well as the Type 45 Destroyer, HMS Dragon. |
World's largest krill harvester at centre of row
LONDON, UK, 4 March 2026 (Guardian) - Environmental groups have objected to the recommendation of a “blue tick” sustainability label being awarded to a Norwegian krill fishing giant, amid concerns over concentrated fishing pressure and dramatic climate-driven effects on the Antarctic’s fragile ecosystem. |
SIDS locked out of climate finance, study finds
NEW YORK, US, 4 March 2026 (Forbes) - SIDS are being systematically locked out of climate finance, because the global financing system deems them too small and too fragmented to fund, according to a new analysis. |
World's largest sand island lakes dried up during rainy era
ADELAIDE, Australia, 2 March 2026 (SD) - K’gari’s iconic lakes have existed for tens of thousands of years - but they haven’t always been full. New research shows that about 7,500 years ago, during a time of high rainfall, several of the island’s deepest lakes mysteriously vanished. Scientists believe changing wind patterns may have redirected rain away from the island. As the climate shifts again, the lakes’ long-term survival is no longer guaranteed. |
Deadly landfill collapse exposes risks faced by waste pickers
RODRIGUEZ, Philippines, 2 March 2026 (Mongabay) - A catastrophic dumpsite collapse buried scavengers collecting recyclables at a landfill in the Philippines’ Rizal province on Feb. 20, following a similar incident in Cebu in January that killed 36 people. Across the Philippines, scavengers pay a fee to dumpsite operators to be allowed to search for plastic and metal waste they can sell for recycling. |
Shark culls brought in after fatal attack in New Caledonia
NOUMEA, New Caledonia, 2 March 2026 (Guardian) - Some beaches in areas of New Caledonia are closed to swimming and the authorities have begun shark culling off the capital, Nouméa, after a fatal attack in the popular tourist spot – prompting a legal challenge to stop the operation and reigniting debate over public safety and marine conservation. |
How conservation is reshaping Príncipe, Africa's lush, lost Eden
WASHINGTON, US, 2 March 2026 (Nat.Geog) - Príncipe is a Unesco Biosphere Reserve and one of the most environmentally protected islands on the planet. And the island, it turns out, has one man to thank for that: Mark Shuttleworth, a South African astronaut-turned-conservationist, whose passion was piqued as he gazed down on Earth from space, moved by her beauty, but also her vulnerability. Through the sustainable development and ecotourism company, Here be Dragons (HBD), his approach has been three-pronged, focusing on conservation, agroforestry and hospitality. The company now employs more than 500 people, a striking figure on an island with a population of fewer than 10,000. |
How child labour persists alongside Zanzibar's blue economy
KIWENGWA, Tanzania, 2 March 2026 (IPS) - Along Zanzibar’s west coast, children like Asha are keeping the island’s blue economy running. But a recent study conducted by the University of Dar es Salaam found that fishing and related marine activities are the most dangerous forms of child labour in the archipelago. |
Cuba has its back against the wall
BERLIN, Germany, 2 March 2026 (IPS) - The crisis could scarcely be more dramatic. The US is blocking practically all oil deliveries to Cuba. The island depends on imports for all diesel, petrol and kerosine. Without diesel trucks cannot move, food cannot reach Cuban towns and hospitals will not get any oxygen. Trump says that negotiations are already under way, outside of declaring that Cuba is a ‘failed state’ and the government there needs to make a deal. But Trump says a lot of things. Even a sober look at the alternatives, however, is fairly terrifying. There are basically four scenarios: |
Guardians of the Reef: Protecting the Hawksbill Turtle in Arnavon
GLAND, Switzerland, 2 March 2026 (IUCN) - In the far western reaches of Solomon Islands lie the Arnavon Islands - home to the largest hawksbill turtle rookery in the South Pacific. These remote islands are globally significant, safeguarding one of the ocean’s most threatened marine species. |
Sicily revokes century-old Mondello beach concession over mafia links
PALERMO, Sicily, 1 March 2026 (Guardian) - It is one of Europe’s most celebrated shorelines, framed by mountains and 19th-century villas and famed for its Caribbean-blue water and white sand. But Mondello beach in Palermo, Sicily, has also been mired in controversy, the subject of complaints stretching back a century from residents and tourists who say its private lidos, cabins and deckchairs have left scant room for public access. All that could change after Sicilian authorities revoked the permit of Italo Belga, the company that has controlled the beach for all that time, citing the risk of mafia infiltration into another firm subcontracted to carry out maintenance. |
Offshore energy could generate millions for island
ALDERNEY, Channel Islands, 1 March 2026 (BBC) - Offshore energy resources could be worth up to £20m a year for Alderney, the government has said. The States of Alderney said it had broadened the mandate of its Marine and Energy Working Group to "drive forward" the island's renewable energy ambitions. It said the group would oversee energy, renewables and marine resource development. |
Paradise Lost: Inside abandoned Australian holiday island resorts
NEW YORK, US, 28 February 2026 (US SUN) - Cyclone ravaged resorts abandoned by their billionaire owners are plaguing Australia’s paradise coast as the tropical rainforrest reclaims the wreckage. Many holiday retreats built on the pristine islands off Australia's north east coast are now just eerie piles of destroyed glass and steel. |
Thousands of dead puffins are washing up on Europe's beaches
LANCASTER, UK, 27 February 2026 (Conversation) - February 2026 has seen thousands of dead seabirds washing up along the coastlines of the UK, France, Spain and Portugal. There’s evidence that these “wrecks” (where large numbers of seabirds are found along beaches) are becoming increasingly common because of climate change. Worse still, these dead birds – including Atlantic puffins and European shags – only tell a fraction of the story. Many more are likely to have been lost out in the stormy open ocean. |
Why Trump means the Cuban Revolution faces its biggest threat yet
LONDON, UK, 27 February 2026 (BBC) - Trump has declared that "Cuba is ready to fall", intensifying pressure on the island at its most vulnerable moment since the Cold War. Some commentators have said one of the aims of Washington's removal of Maduro in Venezuela was to deepen Cuba's economic crisis. It appears the Trump administration hopes to weaken the revolution – possibly terminally – and push for the collapse of state-run socialism on the island. |
Why farmers are using Etna's ash as fertiliser
LONDON, UK, 26 February 2026 (Guardian) - In the Sicilian town of Giarre overlooking Mount Etna, Andrea Passanisi, a tropical and citrus fruits producer, uses an unusual fertiliser on his 100-hectare (247-acre) stretch of land: volcano ash. |
A Bitcoin baron wants to build a libertarian paradise on Nevis island
NEW YORK, US, 26 February 2026 (NYT) - In 2024, Janice Daniel-Hodge received a call from a real estate agent on the Caribbean island of Nevis. Would she be interested in selling her late father’s land? She was. Her father was the first premier, or leader, of the island after St. Kitts and Nevis gained independence from Britain in 1983. His estate included 25 acres on Nevis’s undeveloped south, and Ms. Daniel-Hodge signed an agreement to sell the land at some future date. |
Bridge or tunnel linking Mull and mainland to be considered
LONDON, UK, 25 February 2026 (BBC) - Bridges, tunnels or causeways could link the Isle of Mull to the Scottish mainland in the future, after a Scottish government paper suggested a formal consultation on the idea. The National Islands Plan calls for "detailed appraisals" to be carried out about setting up three new fixed links across Scotland. These would go between Mull and the mainland, Barra and the Uists and the Uists and Harris/Lewis. |
UK government denies Chagos Islands deal is paused
LONDON, UK, 25 February 2026 (BBC) - The government has said there is "no pause" in its Chagos Islands deal despite a minister earlier telling MPs that the UK was "pausing" the process of passing the legislation to transfer control of the territory to Mauritius. |
Japan to deploy missiles on island near Taiwan by 2031
LONDON, UK, 25 February 2026 (BBC) - Japan plans to deploy surface-to-air missiles to its remote western island near Taiwan by March 2031, its defence minister said, as regional tensions simmer. It is the first time that Japan specified a timeline for the missile deployment to Yonaguni island since it was announced in 2022. China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own and has not ruled out the use of force to "reunify" with it. Yonaguni is visible from Taiwan's shores on a clear day, located just 110km (68 miles) away. |
How ancient Scottish rocks throw 'snowball Earth' theory up in the air
LONDON, UK, 25 February 2026 (Guardian) - During the ”snowball Earth” period about 700m years ago, Earth’s climate shut down. The planet was encased in ice and insulated from seasonal variations: spring, summer, autumn and winter all stopped. Or at least that was the theory. Recent examination of some ancient rocks from the remote Garvellach islands of west coast of Scotland has now overturned that thinking, suggesting there were periods during snowball Earth when the climate woke up. |
Why Taiwan's religious sites are becoming unlikely rave venues
LONDON, UK, 24 February 2026 (Guardian) - When Andrew Dawson brings a sound system to Puji Temple in Tainan, Taiwan, for lunar new year celebrations, its deities keep watch. To some, partying in a religious site like this might seem sacrilegious, or at least insensitive. But Dawson has been doing this for three years with his Temple Meltdown party series, inspired by religious sites and their role as vibrant centres of civic life. |
A second gold rush in Solomon Islands but a familiar extractive trap
SYDNEY, Australia, 25 February 2026 (Interpreter) - On the eight-kilometre stretch between Alligator Creek and the Ranadi industrial area in Honiara, drivers idling in the city’s notorious traffic are greeted by a scattering of signs reading “we buy gold”. About 20 of these signs have appeared over the past three years, many printed on billboards, others hastily painted on walls or cardboard. |
Russian firms have routed $8bn of trade through UKOTs
LONDON, UK, 25 February 2026 (Guardian) - Russian companies have used Britain’s secretive island territories to conduct $8bn (£5.9bn) of trade since the invasion of Ukraine, according to a report that highlights the flow of goods ranging from oil-drilling equipment to luxury yachts linked to Moscow’s political elite. |
Indigenous communities oppose Papua forest rezoning for palm oil
JAKARTA, Indonesia, 25 February 2026 (Mongabay) - Indigenous communities in Indonesian Papua have filed an administrative objection against forestry ministry decrees that reclassify more than a million acres as nonforest land, clearing the way for oil palm development under the government’s food estate program. |
Protecting and restoring Iceland's precious wetlands
CAMBRIDGE, UK, 25 February 2026 (BirdLife) - Because Iceland lies between Greenland and mainland Europe, it is a natural stopover for many migratory birds travelling along the African-Eurasian Flyway. Birds stop here to rest and refuel, and many species also breed in Iceland. Historically, a large proportion of Iceland’s lowlands were wetlands. However, following government-subsidised drainage efforts between 1940 and 1990, around 90% of these wetlands were affected as land was converted for agricultural use. |
Rottnest Island: The dark history behind an island paradise
ATLANTA, US, 24 February 2026 (CNN) - Rottnest Island, or Wadjemup, as it’s known by the local Aboriginal Noongar people, lies 19 kilometers off the coast of Fremantle. More than 800,000 people visit each year to enjoy its white sand beaches, crystal-clear waters, and native quokka: an adorable, Instagram-famous marsupial that smiles in selfies. Wadjemup became a prison in 1838 and almost 4,000 Indigenous men and boys were incarcerated on the island. Of the 373 of them who died there, most were buried in unmarked graves. |
Azores dodges proposal to overturn no-fishing zones in its new MPA
SAO MATEUS, Portugal, 23 February 2026 (Mongabay) - A law establishing the Azores Marine Protected Areas Network was approved in October 2024 and took effect recently, on Jan. 1 this year. The network now safeguards 30% of Azorean waters, 287,000 square kilometers of seascape sheltering a rich array of marine life, and makes up the largest MPA network in the North Atlantic Ocean. Not two weeks later, on Jan. 15, the Azores Parliament voted on a measure that upholds a core provision of the MPA network, after it came under fire in recent months: No fishing inside the fully protected areas, which constitute half the vast network. |
Can African penguins be brought back from the brink?
LONDON, UK, 23 February 2026 (Conversation) - South Africa is home to 88% of the world’s colonies of African penguins. The species is classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN meaning there is a high risk the birds could go extinct in the wild following rapid population declines. In recent years, conservation organisations, scientists and government agencies have escalated efforts to halt this decline. One of the most significant developments was a March 2025 court ruling that supported the introduction of improved no-fishing zones around key breeding colonies, to protect the penguins’ foraging grounds. Robben Island (11km north-west of Cape Town) is one of the colonies. |
Cuba has survived 66 years of US-led embargoes
SYDNEY, Australia, 24 February 2026 (Conversation) - After toppling Venezuela’s leader earlier this year, the Trump administration has turned its sights on Cuba. The near-total blockade of the island is now posing the greatest challenge to the government since the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. Cuba is quickly running out of oil, creating a dire political and economic crisis for the island’s 11 million residents. |
Protecting dolphins and whales in our Pacific
APIA, Samoa, 22 February 2026 (SPREP) - Traditional knowledge, science, storytelling and innovation will converge in Fiji next week as Pacific nations and global partners gather to strengthen collaborative conservation efforts for whales and dolphins across the Western Pacific. The routes whales travel, known as “blue corridors,” increasingly overlap with hazards such as growing risks from fisheries bycatch, busy shipping lanes, ocean pollution and climate change. |
Floreana giant tortoise reintroduced to Galapagos island
LONDON, UK, 20 February 2026 (Guardian) - Giant tortoises, the life-giving engineers of remote small island ecosystems, are plodding over the Galapagos island of Floreana for the first time in more than 180 years after ‘back breeding’ programme using partial descendants. |
Man in Sicily trained his dog to illegally dump rubbish
PALERMO, Italy, 20 February 2026 (Guardian) - A man in Catania, Sicily, trained his dog to dump bags of rubbish by the roadside in an attempt to evade cameras installed by local authorities to combat fly-tipping, municipal police have said. |
Russia and Japan still can’t agree on who these islands belong to
SAPPARO, Japan, 19 February 2026 (MT) - Tucked away in the basement of this northern Japanese city’s local history museum is a small exhibit devoted to one of World War II’s most enduring territorial disputes. Known as the “Northern Territories Exhibition Room,” it is less a neutral display than a quiet appeal, inviting visitors not only to learn about history, but to also help undo it. |
Deportation of Chagos Islanders blocked by judge
LONDON, UK, 20 February 2026 (BBC) - A judge has issued an order to temporarily block the deportation of four Chagossians who travelled to the Chagos Islands to protest against a deal to hand over the territory to Mauritius. In his ruling, the judge upheld challenges about an unreasonable delay or failure to grant the men permits to visit the territory and the lawfulness of the removal orders. |
The most desirable songbird in Indonesia is disappearing from the wild
SUMATRA, Indonesia, 18 February 2026 (Mongabay) - Armed with a machete, some sticky gum and a recording of birdsong on his phone, “Peni” makes his way into the forest. He’s searching for songbirds in the Sumatran jungle, specifically the white-rumped shama, known locally as murai batu. The popularity of murai batu has boomed in the past decade due to its complex song and striking looks. In Java, keeping caged birds is more than a hobby - it’s deeply cultural, indicating status and maintaining a connection to nature. The booming competition circuit has transformed this traditional pastime into a lucrative industry, with prizes such as cars and large sums of cash up for grabs. A champion murai batu can sell for tens of thousands of dollars. |
How seabird poop helped fuel ancient civilizations in Peru
SYDNEY, Australia, 19 February 2026 (Mongabay) - The Chincha Islands off the coast of Peru are home to many seabird species that cover their island homes with thick layers of poop, or guano. New research now suggests that ancient Peruvians in the Chincha Valley on the Peruvian mainland hunted these seabirds, collected their guano, and used it to fertilize their maize crops, which helped expand pre-Inca societies. |
Indonesia faces scrutiny over permit revocations
JAKARTA, Indonesia, 20 February 2026 (Mongabay) - The Indonesian government’s revocation of 28 forestry, plantation and mining permits after the deadly Sumatra floods is facing new scrutiny after researchers found that several of the concessions cited in the announcement had already expired, been revoked years earlier or are located outside the disaster-hit watersheds. |
Sumatra plan to permit 'community' mines alarms civil society
PADANG, Indonesia, 20 February 2026 (Mongabay) - The government of West Sumatra plans to move forward with a legal pathway for up to 300 small mines operating illegally in the heavily forested province, joining several other devolved governments grappling with how to treat the vast number of unlicensed mines operating across Indonesia. |
Lessons from the Bahari Mali Project in Zanzibar
GLAND, Switzerland, 18 February 2026 (IUCN) - From seaweed value addition to mangrove restoration and beekeeping, coastal communities in Pemba island are strengthening livelihoods while protecting marine ecosystems through the Bahari Mali Project. |
How Blak women are working to build safer workplaces
BRISBANE, Australia, 18 February 2026 (Conversation) - Blak women make up a growing part of the Australian workforce, with 57% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women aged 15 to 64 employed in 2022-23 (the latest figures we have). That’s a significant gain from 45% just four years earlier. |
Vanuatu strengthens nature-based solutions
PORT VILA, Vanuatu, 20 February 2026 (SPREP) - Climate change is already affecting people’s livelihoods, food security, infrastructure, and cultural heritage across Vanuatu. In response, the country is working to strengthen its policies and planning so communities can better prepare for and adapt to these impacts. |
Pacific nations too dependent on seasonal worker schemes
WELLINGTON, New Zealand, 20 February 2026 (RNZ) - Concerns are rising that Pacific Island nations may be too dependent on remittances, as temporary worker schemes in wealthier countries become more popular. Issues around labour mobility schemes have prompted the Samoan government to cap seasonal workers from accessing those programmes. |
Do not give away Diego Garcia, Trump tells UK
LONDON, UK, 19 February 2026 (BBC) - Donald Trump has thrown the UK's Chagos deal into doubt as he launched a stinging criticism of the plan that would see the UK hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and lease back a joint UK-US military base. |
'Smiling' fossil discovered on Holy Island
LONDON, UK, 19 February 2026 (BBC) - Christine Clark, 64, was hunting for fossils during a Boxing Day walk on Holy Island, Northumberland when something caught her eye. A tiny pebble seemed to be "smiling at me", she said. "It looked like someone's fake teeth." The British Geological Survey later confirmed the fossil is a larger part of a crinoid. Crinoids are marine animals that first appeared in the Cambrian period, more than 500 million years ago, making it one of the oldest complex animals on the planet, and versions of it still exist today. |
Sardinia's ancient masked rite of mamuthones and issohadores
LONDON, UK, 19 February 2026 (Guardian) - From mid-January until the end of carnival, mamuthones and issohadores take to the streets of Mamoiada, in the mountainous heartland of Sardinia. This is a time when herders and farmers across the Mediterranean turn to the power of masks to cast off winter and foster the coming of spring |
The island with an air-conditioned ‘forest’
GEWAN ISLAND, Qatar, 19 February 2026 (CNN) - On Gewan Island - the latest addition to a man-made archipelago off the coast of the capital city Doha - visitors can comfortably stroll outside in the middle of a summer’s day thanks to a surprising innovation: an air-conditioned “forest.” |
The Canary Islands - A paradise on life support
BONN, Germany, 17 February 2026 (DW) - Sixty years ago, Europe's first seawater desalination plant was built in the Canary Islands. This technology for producing fresh water was a blessing for the islands. Now, it could prove to be a curse for the ecosystem. |
Chagossians trying to resettle on islands defy removal order
LONDON, UK, 19 February 2026 (BBC) - A group of Chagossians are refusing to obey a removal order issued by British authorities, after landing on the Chagos Islands to protest against a deal to hand over the territory to Mauritius. The four Chagossians arrived on a remote part of the archipelago on Monday after sailing from Sri Lanka, with the aim of establishing a permanent settlement. |
Svalbard: The other Arctic Island flashpoint
CHICAGO, US, 19 February 2026 (RCD) - As many focus on the world's largest island, Greenland, and President Trump’s aggressive efforts to acquire it, another strategic Arctic island, nearby Svalbard, may be an even more likely future point of contention and conflict. Not a conflict between the U.S. and Denmark, or the U.S. and NATO, but between Russia and Norway, and perhaps all of NATO. Or maybe not with NATO. This is because Svalbard, is not just sovereign territory of Norway, but also has legally established Russian settlements dating back two centuries. And that makes Svalbard uniquely dangerous. |
Plastic from 1960s Canada washes up on Orkney beach
KIRKWALL, UK, 17 February 2026 (BBC) - Plastic bottles and debris which appears to have originated in Canada and dates back to the 1960s and 70s has washed up on an Orkney beach. Litter pickers say they are "overwhelmed" by the amount of plastic they have found on the shoreline at Howar Sands in Sanday over the last few weeks. |
US says it supports UK Chagos Islands deal
LONDON, UK, 18 February 2026 (BBC) - The US government has given its official backing to the UK's plan to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and lease back an important military base. It will come as a relief for the UK government after rapid changes in the position of US President Donald Trump on the deal, going from calling it an "act of great stupidity" to saying the deal was the "best" the prime minister could make. |
India court clears mega project on sensitive island
MUMBAI, India, 17 February 2026 (AFP) - India's environmental court has given the go-ahead to the strategically significant Great Nicobar infrastructure project despite widespread concerns of ecological damage to the island in the Andaman Sea. The National Green Tribunal on Monday dismissed a batch of petitions objecting to the mega project on ecologically sensitive Great Nicobar island, saying "adequate safeguards" had been taken into account. |
NZ Minister defends bottom trawling
WELLINGTON, New Zealand, 18 February 2026 (RNZ) - A new poll shows a majority of New Zealanders want the fishing method of bottom trawling banned, as New Zealand is the last country operating a bottom trawling fleet in the high seas of the South Pacific. But the Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones said it was too valuable an industry for the country to get rid of, and claims that Greenpeace - who is leading calls for a ban - was trying to trying to terminate the New Zealand fishing industry in the Pacific. |
Anti-guga hunt graffiti sprayed on nature body's premises
GLASGOW, UK, 16 February 2026 (BBC) - Scotland's nature body says police are investigating vandalism at its headquarters in Inverness. Slogans have been sprayed on walls opposing the Western Isles' traditional guga hunt, which NatureScot issues licences for. For hundreds of years, young gannets have been killed for their meat during the annual hunt on Sula Sgeir, a small rocky island 40 miles (64km) north of Ness on the Isle of Lewis. Hunters argue the practice dates back to the 15th Century and is part of their heritage, but animal welfare campaigners say the hunt is unnecessary. |
Gentoo penguins on Heard Island test positive for bird flu
LONDON, UK, 17 February 2026 (Guardian) - The gentoo penguin has become the first bird to test positive for the H5N1 bird flu on an Australian territory, with samples confirming the virus has spread on a sub-Antarctic island. The deadly and contagious strain of bird flu, which has already killed millions of seabirds, wild birds and poultry overseas, was confirmed in southern elephant seals on Heard Island in November 2025. |
Indonesia capital faces 'filthy' trash crisis
JAKARTA, Indonesia, 17 February 2026 (AFP) - Garbage-choked streets, overloaded landfills and the fear of trash avalanches haunt greater Jakarta, as the world's most populous metropolis grapples with a waste crisis. Jakarta and its satellite cities, known collectively as Jabodetabek, are home to 42 million people and produce up to an estimated 14,000 tonnes of waste daily. That has placed increasing strain on the approximately eight landfill sites that serve the region, which are now all close to or entirely full, according to local media reports. |
A Greenland sled dog champion fears for his culture
ILULISSAT, Greenland, 17 February 2026 (AP) - Growing up in a village in northern Greenland, Jørgen Kristensen’s closest friends were his stepfather’s sled dogs. Most of his classmates were dark-haired Inuit; he was different. When he was bullied at school for his fair hair - an inheritance from the mainland Danish father he never knew - the dogs came to him. |
Intervention in Sumatran national park part of new 'model'
PELALAWAN, Indonesia, 17 February 2026 (Mongabay) - A radical new policy to relocate people living in a notoriously deforested national park on Sumatra has moved hundreds of families to date, with Indonesian officials presenting the controversial program as a blueprint for other protected areas across Asia’s largest remaining tropical forests. |
Insights from the Island Invasives Conference 2026
APIA, Samoa, 17 February 2026 (SPREP) - For Pacific Island nations, the conference carried particular significanc since they hold some of the planet’s highest concentrations of endemic species, yet they remain acutely vulnerable to the introduction and spread of invasive plants and animals. |
Deep sea mining advances, but science and global rules lag behind
SUVA, Fiji, 17 February 2026 (PINA) - A U.S-based ecologist says deep-sea mining is edging closer to commercial reality as extraction technologies advance and demand for critical minerals rises, but scientific uncertainty and unfinished global regulations continue to shape a complex debate for Pacific Island governments and the international community. |
Shetland's scallop fishers brace for arrival of UK’s largest salmon farm
LONDON, UK, 17 February 2026 (Guardian) - At Collafirth, north Shetland, Sydney Johnson is unloading two-dozen bags of scallops by throwing them over his head like medicine balls to the pier above. Johnson, who has just finished a 10-hour shift on his boat, the Golden Shore, is concerned that plans for a new salmon farm will put fishers like him and his two sons out of business. |
Tiny island's climate reparations proposal a potential threat to US
LYON, France, 16 February 2026 (Euronews) - A tiny Pacific island nation is pushing the United Nations to secure climate reparations from countries that fail to act on emissions. Vanuatu's bid, set for a vote by the end of March, has the Trump administration scrambling to stop it. |
Greece's Cycladic islands swept up in concrete fever
MILOS, Greece, 12 February 2026 (AFP) - On the sloping shoreline of the Greek Aegean island of Milos, a vast construction site has left a gaping wound into the island's trademark volcanic rock. The foundations are for a hotel extension that attracted so much controversy last year that the country's top administrative court ended up temporarily blocking its building permit. |
Islands Forum scrapped after meeting just four times
LONDON, UK, 16 February 2026 (BBC) - An initiative set-up to discuss shared challenges and opportunities faced by island communities has been scrapped by the UK government. The Islands Forum was established in 2022 by the then Conservative government as part of its Levelling Up agenda. But the current Labour administration has decided that the forum - which has met four times - should not continue in its current form. |
Cyprus appeals to residents to cut water use
ATHENS, Greece, 16 February 2026 (Guardian) - Authorities in Cyprus have urged residents to reduce their water intake by 10% – the equivalent of two minutes’ use of running water each day – as Europe’s most south-easterly nation grapples with a once-in-a century drought. The appeal, announced alongside a €31m (£27m) package of emergency measures, comes as reservoirs hit record lows with little prospect of replenishment before the tourist season starts. |
Study refutes claim that legal turtle trade supports livelihoods
JAKARTA, Indonesia, 16 February 2026 (Mongabay) - Tens of thousands of freshwater turtles and tortoises are legally harvested each year in Indonesia for their meat and exported primarily to China, while many species teeter on the brink of extinction. Although this turtle trade is thought to provide livelihoods for harvesters, a study finds that with current market prices, it only supports a few hundred people nationwide with a barely sustainable minimum wage income. |
Plans for 'Scotland's largest salmon farm' approved
LONDON, UK, 12 February 2026 (BBC) - Plans to build what has been called Scotland's largest salmon farm off the coast of Shetland have been given the go-ahead. Shetland Islands Council approved an £8m redevelopment in Yell Sound - a strait running between the mainland and the island of Yell - despite opposition from wildlife campaigners. Scottish Sea Farms' (SSF) plans include expanding some of its existing sites in the strait into one bigger farm, the Fish Holm. The company said it would contain up to 6,000 tonnes of salmon at any one time. |
The secretive islands behind the US-UK row
LONDON, UK, 13 February 2026 (BBC) - Chagos is among the most intact reef systems on the planet and has long held a near-mythical reputation among sailors. For decades, self-sufficient voyagers lingered for months, fishing the reef, harvesting coconuts and living slowly. That era ended in the late 1990s, when authorities tightened access. Today, these disputed tropical islands are closed to tourism and the only way for sailors, researchers and authorised visitors to explore the islands is to secure advanced permits, receive a medical evaluation, obtain wreck-removal insurance and then sail to reach this far-flung place. |
Japan explores German silent cargo gliders to resupply remote islands
HONG KONG, 14 February 2026 (SCMP) - A German defence company has successfully tested an uncrewed cargo glider designed to support frontline military units, a technology that Tokyo is also exploring as it looks to bolster its capabilities in islands to the far southwest of the Japanese archipelago. |
Cuban cigar festival called off as US blockade worsens energy crisis
LONDON, UK, 14 February 2026 (BBC) - An annual cigar festival in Cuban capital Havana has become the latest casualty of a fuel shortage caused by a US oil blockade. The organising committee of the Festival del Habano announced on Saturday that this year's event - which was due to take place over five days in late February - would be postponed until further notice. |
The US is starving Cuba of fuel
COLCHESTER, UK, 12 February 2026 (Conversation) - Cuba has reached a breaking point that even its crisis-hardened leadership cannot ignore. It is running out of fuel amid US pressure, having last received oil on January 9 from Mexico. This has prompted airlines such as Air Canada to cancel all flights to Cuba, hitting the tourism lifeline that accounts for most of the island’s foreign currency. |
Pacific Islands must act now on Fiji's HIV lessons
SYDNEY, Australia,13 February 2026 (Interpreter) - Fiji recorded 1,583 new HIV cases in 2024, an incidence of about 158 per 100,000 people. For comparison, Australia, a nation with around 27 times the population of Fiji, had just 757 new cases in 2024 (2.9 per 100,000 people). Even more concerning is the trajectory. Fiji’s new HIV cases have exploded, increasing by 1,219% between 2019–24, showing no signs of slowing down, and contrasting global trends of a steady decline since the mid-1990s. This staggering data awards Fiji the unenviable title of having the fastest-growing HIV epidemic in the world, and yet the figures likely underestimate the extent of Fiji’s HIV crisis due to poor testing rates. |
Banks decline to finance LNG project in Papua New Guinea
SAN FRANCISCO, US, 11 February 2026 (Mongabay) - A total of 29 international banks and export credit agencies have ruled out financing a liquefied natural gas project in Papua New Guinea, citing climate, environmental and human rights concerns. The project is led by French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies, which says the project will go on as planned, nonetheless. |
Bougainville's Panguna mine that sparked civil war on path to reopen
PORT MORESBY, PNG, 12 February 2026 (ABC) - The Autonomous Bougainville Government has signed a secretive deal to reopen a huge gold and copper mine that sparked a catastrophic civil war three decades ago. If re-established it could generate up to $40 billion and bankroll Bougainville's independence from PNG. Locals and experts fear transparency has been sacrificed to get the project up and running. |
Isles crofters call for greater controls on wild geese numbers
GLASGOW, UK, 11 February 2026 (BBC) - Crofters in the Western Isles have called for greater controls on wild geese. Thousands of greylag geese feed on machair, which are coastal meadows also used for growing crops and grazing livestock.The Scottish Crofting Federation said there were too many geese and has requested additional funding for culls so crofters and birds could "live in balance". |
Cape Verde bug deaths claim: Experts give advice
LONDON, UK, 11 February 2026 (BBC) - The deaths of British tourists within months of contracting stomach bugs on Cape Verde has raised questions about the safety of visiting the island. Since December, the UK Health Security Agency has been investigating reports of Shigella sonnei, a bacteria that can cause severe diarrhoea, fever and stomach cramps. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health of Cape Verde said reporting of the situation had been "disproportionate". In a statement, they added: "There is no epidemiological evidence confirming an active outbreak or a sustained change in the national health profile." |
US sanctions officials from Marshall Islands and Palau
DOHA, Qatar, 11 February 2026 (Al Jazeera) - The administration of United States President Donald Trump has sanctioned two leaders of Pacific island nations for alleged corruption, accusing them both of creating openings for China to increase its influence in the region. |
Birds stitched Caribbean islands together with seeds
RENO, US, 10 February 2026 (Earth.com) - Plants cover the Massif de la Hotte in southern Hispaniola so densely that the mountain feels like a puzzle no one meant to solve this way. It is steep, rough, and packed with plant life. For years, scientists wondered why this single mountain range holds more plant species than almost anywhere else in the Caribbean. The answer did not come from soil samples or rock layers. It came on wings. |
Scientists uncover the climate shock that reshaped Easter Island
NEW YORK, US, 10 February 2026 (SD) - Around 1550, life on Rapa Nui began changing in ways long misunderstood. New research reveals that a severe drought, lasting more than a century, dramatically reduced rainfall on the already water-scarce island, reshaping how people lived, worshiped, and organized society. Instead of collapsing, Rapanui communities adapted - shifting rituals, power structures, and sacred spaces in response to climate stress. |
How Amsterdam Island turned into an unlikely haven for feral cows
LONDON, UK, 10 February 2026 (DM) - In 1871, a farmer dumped five cattle on a small, inhospitable island in the middle of the southern Indian Ocean. Against all odds, this tiny herd not only survived but also flourished, adapting to its harsh new home and multiplying, reaching a population of around 2,000 individuals by the late 1980s. By all accounts, this should not have happened. The founding group was too small and the genetic diversity too low to sustain a viable population for any length of time. So, why was this particular band of bovines so successful? |
Al Siniyah Island: An exceptional habitat for Socotra Cormorants
CAMBRIDGE, UK, 11 February 2026 (BirdLife) - Al Siniyah Island is located east of the city of Umm Al Quwain in the United Arab Emirates. A vital coastal habitat east of Umm Al Quwain supports one of the largest breeding colonies of the Vulnerable Socotra Cormorant, alongside dugongs, green turtles, and migratory birds on the African-Eurasian Flyway. Its mangroves, wetlands, and archaeological sites face growing threats, making continued protection and monitoring essential. |
Indonesia's steel expansion risks a surge in greenhouse gas emissions
JAKARTA, Indonesia, 11 February 2026 (Mongabay) - As global demand for steel is rising, Indonesia’s steel industry is one of the country’s largest industrial greenhouse gas emitters and is set to become far more polluting if current trends continue, according to a nonprofit report. |
Flights from St Helena island grounded by airport safety concerns
LONDON, UK, 9 February 2026 (BBC) - The only airport on the island of St Helena, a remote British overseas territory in the Atlantic Ocean, has been closed over fire safety concerns. A major incident has been declared by the local government after checks found the airport's fire engines failed to meet international safety standards, forcing it to halt operations. |
Spain's REE completes inter-island power link in the Canaries
SOFIA, Bulgaria, 10 February 2026 (RN) - Spain’s power grid operator Red Electrica de Espana (REE) said it has completed a subsea electricity interconnection linking the Canary Islands of Tenerife and La Gomera, delivering a project that will strengthen supply security and accelerating the energy transition in the archipelago. |
What it’s like to spend summer on a remote subantarctic island
AUCKLAND, New Zealand, 10 February 2026 (Spinoff) - Jamie Darby was at the start of a gnarly three-day voyage from Bluff to the remote uninhabited Antipodes Islands. As a researcher from the school of biological sciences at the University of Auckland, his mission for the next two months was to collaborate with DOC’s Conservation Services Programme to track the endangered Antipodean albatross by using fine scale GPS units to follow their movements at sea thus providing insights into their deadly interactions with commercial fishing boats. |
Poaching cases uncovered on Japan's Nansei Islands
TOKYO, Japan, 10 February 2026 (JN) - The poaching of rare species designated as national natural monuments and other protected creatures has been occurring repeatedly on Japan’s Nansei Islands. Rare species can be traded in overseas markets for high prices, and experts are calling for harsher penalties. |
Anger and despair in Sicilian town collapsing after landslide
NISCEMI, Sicily, 9 February 2026 (Guardian) - For days, the 25,000 residents of the Sicilian town of Niscemi have been living on the edge of a 25-metre abyss. On 25 January, after torrential rain brought by Cyclone Harry, a devastating landslide ripped away an entire slope of the town, creating a 4km-long chasm. Roads collapsed, cars were swallowed, and whole sections of the urban fabric plunged into the valley below. |
Seafarers were visiting remote Arctic islands over 4000 years ago
LONDON, UK, 9 February 2026 (NS) - Humans were voyaging to remote islands off the north-west coast of Greenland 4500 years ago. This required them to cross over 50 kilometres of open water – one of the longest sea journeys made by Indigenous peoples in the Arctic. |
Migrants from Africa brave deadly Canary Islands crossing
BONN, Germany, 9 February 2026 (DW) - The crossing between Western Africa and the Canary Islands is considered the most deadly sea migration route to the EU. People who attempt to cross face rough seas in overcrowded boats, and, in some cases, violence. |
China woman leaves city job to live on uninhabited island
SHANGHAI, China, 9 February 2026 (SCMP) - A woman has quit her job as a senior manager for a large Beijing company to work on an uninhabited island in the East China Sea. Despite paying just 3,000 yuan (US$430) a month, the remote job has sparked an outpouring of envy online. Yue Li, who was born in the 1980s, posts online about her new job as a quality inspector at a fish feeding base on the uninhabited Dongzhai Island. |
"Violent, often disproportionate repression" in New Caledonia
MELBOURNE, Australia, 6 February 2026 (IS) - France’s national human rights body has detailed violations of human rights and “violent, often disproportionate repression” by French security forces during the 2024 crisis in New Caledonia, which pitted Kanak protestors against thousands of French gendarmes and police. Meanwhile, deep underlying disagreements over the future of the French dependency seem as far as ever from resolution. |
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