Can Great Nicobar Islands survive India’s development aspirations?
| | THE HAGUE, Netherlands, 13 May 2026 (GV) - The proposed Great Nicobar Development Project includes a transshipment port, an international airport, a township, and a power plant. First proposed by NITI Aayog (policy commission) in the late 2010s, the project received environmental clearance in 2002 and has since moved into the early stages of implementation. The Indian government has described the project as strategically significant because of the island’s location near the Strait of Malacca, one of the world’s busiest maritime trade routes. |
The sunny Danish island that's a poster child for the good life
| | SAMSO, Denmark, 12 May 2026 (Guardian) - The island of Samsø lies off the coast of the Jutland peninsula, an hour’s ferry ride from Aarhus, and is something of a poster child for sustainability and the good life, being known as “Denmark’s vegetable garden” because of its fertile soil and beneficial climate. It’s been energy-positive since 2007, thanks to community buy-in to initiatives including windfarm ownership and biomass heating systems powered by agricultural waste. The aim is to be completely fossil fuel-free by 2030 – two decades ahead of Denmark’s goal of carbon-neutrality by 2050. |
The global sand crisis: it's being used up faster than it can be replaced
| | LONDON, UK, 12 May 2026 (Guardian) - Malé is one of the world’s most overcrowded cities, but it faces double pressure. As well as a growing population, the capital of the Maldives is also threatened by rising sea levels. Owing to climate breakdown, its living space is shrinking. So the justification for a land reclamation project seemed clear. Take sand from elsewhere in the archipelago and use it to build up the land available for Malé’s people. What could go wrong? After all, it’s only sand, right? |
Sicily police investigate illegal race with horse-drawn carts
| | PALERMO, Sicily, 12 May 2026 (Guardian) - A video showing an illegal horse race in Sicily, with spectators firing pistols into the air and brandishing Kalashnikov rifles, has prompted a police investigation that has led to the seizure of the animals. |
50-year study delivers 'chilling' verdict on deep sea mining risks
| | RAROTONGA, Cook Islands, 12 May 2026 (CIN) - A major review of 50 years of data warning that deep-sea mining could cause long-lasting damage to Pacific marine ecosystems has reinforced the Cook Islands’ cautious approach to seabed minerals exploration, according to Seabed Minerals Authority (SBMA) Commissioner Beverly Stacey Ataera. |
The Bahamas goes to polls in three-way battle
| | NASSAU, Bahamas, 12 May 2026 (Guardian) - Voters in the Bahamas head to the polls on Tuesday in a hotly contested general election featuring high-profile candidates such as the former basketball champion Rick Fox. Voters in the Caribbean archipelago are divided over concerns about immigration, especially from neighbouring Haiti, and the rising cost of living, with significant spikes in gas prices caused by war in the Middle East. |
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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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