Solomon Islands has reinstated a ban on dolphin exports
| | WELLINGTON, New Zealand, 18 May 2026 (RNZ) - The Solomon Islands has reinstated a ban on dolphin exports - two days after it was quietly lifted. Amid the drama in parliament as MPs selected a new prime minister, care-taker Fisheries Minister Bradley Tovosia repealed the ban on his way out the door. The ban had encompassed live dolphin exports - mostly for zoos and aquariums - but also covered the export of dolphin meat. Incoming Prime Minister Matthew Wale, shortly before announcing his new Cabinet, announced that the ban would be reinstated, effective Saturday, 16 May. |
The Middle East is setting Pacific tuna fishing dynamics
| | SUVA, Fiji, 18 May 2026 (PINA) - When analysts discuss threats to global tuna supply chains, the usual suspects appear: overfishing, IUU fishing, climate change, labor standards, traceability gaps, and so on. These are real concerns, but the single biggest disruptor on the desk of every Pacific tuna vessel operator is none of them. It is a fuel invoice. Here is the number that matters: Singapore bunker fuel – the benchmark for Pacific fishing fleet operations – was trading at USD$709 per ton at the end of February. By 10 April, it had reached USD$1,630. Fuel prices doubled in six weeks. |
Indonesia says its giant sea wall will stop flooding
| | BRISBANE, Australia, 17 May 2026 (Conversation) - Indonesia plans to build a “giant sea wall", more than 500 kilometres long, to defend Java’s north coast from rising sea levels. The proposal includes a large lagoon behind the colossal concrete wall, raising significant questions about the feasibility and cost of such a giant project. Indonesian civil society groups say the sea wall could prompt more sand mining, degrade mangroves and affect livelihoods of fishing communities. There are fears the project will worsen existing ecological destruction caused by industrialisation. While desperate to avoid flooding, these groups don’t see a wall as the solution. |
Island fire on California National Park
| | SAN FRANCISCO, US, 17 May 2026 (SFGATE) - A wildfire on Santa Rosa, the second-largest island in California’s Channel Islands National Park, had burned over 10,000 acres Sunday night, destroying two historic structures and threatening rare plant species, with zero containment. |
Vietnam's US$5 billion Apec island is running out of time
| | HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, 17 May 2026 (SCMP) - Ahead of next year’s Apec summit, Vietnam has a grand plan to transform Phu Quoc, its largest island, into Southeast Asia’s leading conference and exhibition hub. The 137 trillion dong (US$5.2 billion) blueprint includes an airport overhaul, a light-rail line, clusters of luxury hotels and a brand-new sewerage system – much of it paid for by one of the country’s largest conglomerates, in return for tracts of land, operating concessions and the cachet of building national landmarks. But problems are stacking up 18 months before world leaders are set to descend on Phu Quoc for the November 2027 summit. Construction sites are short of workers, building materials and diesel. The 18km boulevard meant to connect the airport to the summit complex is unfinished. And not a single new hotel room has been built. |
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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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