Japan to survey Pacific island for potential HLW repository
| | WESTMONT, US, 16 April 2026 (ANS) - Japan will study the possibility of siting a deep geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste on the remote island of Minamitorishima, about 1,200 miles southeast of Tokyo. Masaaki Shibuya, mayor of the village of Ogasawara, reportedly expressed his willingness to allow Japan’s government to proceed with a preliminary survey, called a literature survey, of the island, which is one of several within the Ogasawara Islands. |
Pacific islands face a connectivity shock as oil prices surge
| | SYDNEY, Australia, 15 April 2026 (Interpreter) - Spiking global oil prices and shipping insurance costs threaten to create a connectivity crisis for the Pacific Islands region. Higher fuel and freight rates will make shipping and aviation more expensive and less frequent, undermining the transport links that underpin trade, tourism and public services. This will be felt in day-to-day life. Pacific economies rely heavily on imported fuel and long?distance transport, with about 80% of their energy supply and most electricity generation coming from petroleum products. When oil and insurance costs rise, so do food and transport prices, utility charges, and the cost of all imported goods. |
'Rediscovered' species spotlight importance of Indigenous knowledge
| | SAN FRANCISCO, US, 15 April 2026 (Mongabay) - Two species of marsupial thought by scientists to be extinct for thousands of years still live in the forests of Indonesian Papua on the island of New Guinea, according to recently published research. One of the animals, the ring-tailed glider, is sacred to the Tambrauw people, and it’s part of a newly proposed genus, Tous, borrowing the Tambrauw name for the glider. The other animal, a pygmy long-fingered possum, was discovered during a mammal-watching trip on the Bird’s Head Peninsula. |
Invasive ferrets removed from an island in a world-first
| | BELFAST, Northern Ireland, 15 April 2026 (Mongabay) - Rathlin Island off the north of Northern Ireland is now free from feral ferrets that were harming its native seabirds. Conservationists say this is the first time these nonnative animals, which were domesticated from polecats some 2,000 years ago, have been completely eradicated from any island. |
Bohol Island is home to one of the world’s smallest primates
| | LONDON, UK, 15 April 2026 (IFL) - A gathering of mysterious cones dots the horizon of Bohol Island in the Philippines. These natural geological features formed over millions of years and their appearance changes with the seasons, which is where their name “Chocolate Hills” comes from. There are thought to be between 1,200 to 1,700 Chocolate Hills spread across Bohol. Some of them stand at 120 meters (394 feet) tall, while others are a mere 30 meters (98 feet). Speaking of small things, Bohol is also home to tarsiers, one of the world’s smallest primates. |
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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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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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