A disease-free island refuge is being tapped for a koala rescue mission
| | LONDON, UK, 3 April 2026 (BBC) - Kangaroo Island is thought to host the world's largest chlamydia-free koala population, offering something of a living insurance policy for the species. Still, these koalas are under a pressure of their own: more than a century of isolation has left them deeply inbred and genetically fragile. |
Cuba to pardon more than 2,000 prisoners
| | HAVANA, Cuba, 3 April 2026 (AFP) - Cuba has announced plans to pardon 2,010 prisoners as a “humanitarian” gesture during Holy Week, amid heightened US pressure on the government in Havana. The announcement came days after Donald Trump eased a de facto oil blockade of Cuba by allowing a Russian tanker to deliver crude oil to the nation. |
Falkland Islands on the April 2 anniversary of 1982 war, in photos
| | STANLEY, Falkland Islands, 2 April 2026 (AP) - Attention in Argentina returns each April 2 to the Falkland Island, a wind-swept South Atlantic archipelago whose sovereignty Argentina has long claimed. The islands’ ties with the mainland remain limited, decades after the 1982 war with the U.K. ended in a British victory. |
Taiwan to strengthen Pratas islands defences
| | TAIPEI, Taiwan, 2 April 2026 (Reuters) - Taiwan will strengthen its defences of the Pratas as China steps up its activities around the islands which lie at the top end of the South China Sea. The Pratas, an atoll which is also a Taiwanese national park, are only lightly defended by Taiwan, and its coastguard has that responsibility rather than the military. |
How fuel-reliant Pacific Islands are handling the Iran war crisis
| | WELLINGTON, New Zealand, 2 April 2026 (RNZ) - Clean energy researchers say the Middle East fuel crisis underscores the need for Pacific countries to adopt renewable energy. A new report from Zero Carbon Analytics stated around 80 percent of Pacific Islands countries' energy relies on imported oil products. The report noted that the Cook Islands, Fiji, Nauru, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Tuvalu and Vanuatu have all pledged to achieve 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2035; while Tonga and Solomon Islands have set a target of 70 percent renewable electricity by 2030, and complete renewable generation by 2050. |
How a seabird has adapted to life in Honolulu's concrete jungle
| | HONOLULU, Hawaii, 2 April 2026 (AP) - Ka'iulani Murphy is quick to spot white terns flapping their wings when she's guiding Polynesian voyaging canoes across the Pacific. The birds hunt for food at sea and lay eggs on land. So traditional navigators like her, who look to the stars, waves and other elements in nature to pilot across the ocean, see the bird's presence as a sign that land is near. These days voyagers returning to Honolulu have more white terns to track than at any other time in modern history. New data shows their numbers have jumped more than 50% in the past decade - evidence the seabirds are thriving amid the concrete towers, traffic-clogged roads and Waikiki hotels in the state’s largest metropolis. |
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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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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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