It was the 'Italian Alcatraz' - now nature has reclaimed its space
| | WASHINGTON, US, 18 June 2026 (Nat.Geog) - “It was immediately clear to me that there’s no place in Sardinia like it - in fact, only a few spots in the whole Mediterranean can claim such a level of environmental integrity,” says freediver Alessandro Masala about his early immersions in waters surrounding Asinara, an island dotting the western Mediterranean off the coast of Sardinia. |
New walking shark discovered in Papua New Guinea
| | MILNE BAY, PNG, 18 June 2026 (Mongabay) - Researchers have described a new-to-science species of walking shark, which lives in the remote, shallow waters off southeastern Papua New Guinea. The newly named Dudgeon’s walking shark is a type of epaulette shark, a group of small sharks famous for their ability to use their fins to "walk" when stranded in tidal shallows. Walking sharks are nocturnal, feed on invertebrates and aren’t dangerous to humans. |
Bird flu kills more than 75% of baby seals on remote Australian island
| | SYDNEY, Australia, 18 June 2026 (BBC) - Bird flu has killed thousands of southern elephant seal pups on remote Antarctic islands belonging to Australia, new research has shown. Heard and McDonald Islands, about 4,000 km (2,485 miles) south-west of Australia, are home to over one million breeding seabirds and seals. Scientists, using data from last October and this January, estimate about 13,000 baby seals from a group of 17,000 on Heard Island were killed by the H5N1 strain of bird flu since last August, more than 75% of the entire group. They also found higher than expected deaths in penguin populations. |
Great Blue Wall report showcases five years of impact
| | MOMBASA, Kenya, 17 June 2026 (IUCN) - The Great Blue Wall released its first Impact Report today five years after the launch of an ambitious vision to regenerate ocean ecosystems and strengthen coastal livelihoods across the Western Indian Ocean, and it offers compelling evidence that large-scale ocean regeneration is not only possible, but already underway. |
New fleet of electric hydrofoil boats to be deployed in the Maldives
| | LYON, France, 17 June 2026 (Euronews) - Getting from the airport to a private island resort in the Maldives could soon become smoother and more sustainable after plans were announced to deploy up to 100 electric hydrofoil boats across the archipelago. US maritime technology company Navier and Dubai-based JIH Global Investment have confirmed a $100 million (€87 million) partnership to establish the Navier Network, a “software-driven sustainable maritime corridor” designed to connect airports, resorts, private villas, and local islands. |
New Caledonia's election to set the stage for new talks with France
| | SYDNEY, Australia, 17 June 2026 (IPS) - The French overseas territory of New Caledonia in the Pacific will hold elections on 28 June in the wake of the latest agreement on its political status with France being rejected. The representatives elected in the three provincial assemblies and territorial congress will then determine a new round of negotiations as the mission of achieving consensus on New Caledonia’s future continues. |
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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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ARCTIC COUNCIL |
| | UArctic Congress 26-29 May 2026, Torshavn, Faroe Islands |
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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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