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© 2025 Island Innovation. All rights reserved.

    News

    Curated stories and analysis from islands and sustainability leaders worldwide.

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    Showing 9 of 2068 news items
    Scotland's largest uninhabited island to have rainforest restored
    Climate ActionMarch 2, 2026

    Scotland's largest uninhabited island to have rainforest restored

    Excerpt from thenational.scot SCOTLAND’S largest uninhabited island has become the focus of a major restoration project as its original Atlantic rainforest biome is set to be re-established. Taransay, a 790-hectare island off the west coast of Harris in the Outer Hebrides, is to undergo a major transformation as those behind the project say the Atlantic rainforest, once common on the western seaboard, has become one of the country’s most forgotten and fragmented habitats. The island’s owners, Adam and Cathra Kelliher, say they have taken a “deliberate” decision to step away from short-term commercial development and instead pursue a future grounded in ecological recovery and local employment.

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    'No island is too small to make an impact': Germany builds closer ties with Tonga, seals diplomacy with Niue
    Policy & GovernanceMarch 2, 2026

    'No island is too small to make an impact': Germany builds closer ties with Tonga, seals diplomacy with Niue

    Excerpt and Photo Credit: pacificislandtimes.com Germany’s foreign minister recently embarked on an Indo-Pacific tour to shore up relations and build a backstop against China. Tonga was the last leg of Johann Wadephul’s tour, and to some observers, it the curious part of the itinerary, which began in Singapore and Brunei before moving on to New Zealand and Australia. How does Tonga, a tiny island kingdom in the South Pacific with a population of approximately 104,000, share the interests of economic powerhouse Germany, a country it has so little in common with? Lord Fakafanua, Tonga’s prime minister, said Wadephul’s visit reflected the “strength and longevity” of the two countries' relationship and their shared focus on sustainable development and climate resilience, both vital to their future. While in Tonga, Wadephul met with Niue's prime minister, Dalton Tagelagi, to seal Germany's diplomatic relations with Niue, marking another step toward closer ties in the Pacific region.

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    Massive win for moana as Taranaki seabed mining application rejected
    Ocean & BiodiversityMarch 2, 2026

    Massive win for moana as Taranaki seabed mining application rejected

    Excerpt from greenpeace.org Greenpeace along with iwi and environmental groups are calling the decision to reject Trans Tasman Resources proposal to mine the Taranaki seafloor “a massive win for people power and the ocean”. In a draft decision, released today, the Fast Track expert panel declined the Australian company’s application to mine the seabed in the South Taranaki Bight. The panel declined consent for the project, finding it would likely cause material harm to marine ecosystems, threatened species like pygmy blue whales and penguins, and concluded it could not be safely managed, even with conditions attached. Greenpeace Aotearoa seabed mining spokesperson Juressa Lee says: “This is the outcome we have been fighting for over 12 years. It shows exactly what happens when communities, iwi, experts and ocean protectors stand together.

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    How mountain terraces have helped Indigenous peoples live with climate uncertainty
    Culture & CommunityMarch 2, 2026

    How mountain terraces have helped Indigenous peoples live with climate uncertainty

    Excerpt from eco-business.com Indigenous communities have lived with changes to the climate for centuries. Their adaptations over those many years are based on their close observation of weather, water, soils and seasonal change, and they have been refined through generations of learning. That knowledge, though developed deep in the past, is increasingly useful in the modern world. As global temperatures rise, climate pressures are intensifying, with longer dry spells, stronger storms and more erratic rainfall. Terrace systems reflect Indigenous peoples’ long experience of living with environmental uncertainty in specific places and historical contexts. They offer ways of thinking about risk and long-term land use based on observation and intergenerational learning.

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    Landmark project improved farmers’ livelihoods and protected forests in Madagascar, new report finds
    Water & FoodMarch 2, 2026

    Landmark project improved farmers’ livelihoods and protected forests in Madagascar, new report finds

    Excerpt from webwire.com Findings from the impact evaluation conducted by Conservation International, in partnership with the Green Climate Fund’s Independent Evaluation Unit, found clear evidence of higher crop yields and lower deforestation rates among farming communities participating in the USD 16 million “Sustainable Landscapes in Eastern Madagascar” project. The project supported more than 24,000 smallholder farming households in and around the Ankeniheny-Zahamena and the Ambositra-Vondrozo forest corridors with climate-smart agriculture techniques, distribution of seeds and equipment, forest patrols, agroforestry promotion and forest restoration.

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    All hands on paddles: Why COP31 needs the full strength of Pacific women
    Policy & GovernanceMarch 2, 2026

    All hands on paddles: Why COP31 needs the full strength of Pacific women

    Photo Credit and Excerpt from themandarin.com.au I watched our children trundle home from their first day back at school, their giggles drifting across the heat-haze of dusty roads. It reminded me of the girl I once was, and of thousands of girls across our Blue Pacific for whom school is not guaranteed. I was one of the fortunate ones: my parents invested in me, and I had access to a good education. It was my mother who nudged me toward politics. When I veered off this path, she pulled me back to it.

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    Why location matters for the Pacific Pre-COP
    Climate ActionMarch 2, 2026

    Why location matters for the Pacific Pre-COP

    Excerpt from lowyinstitute.org When Australia bid to host the 2026 annual global climate change negotiations COP31, it envisioned a Pacific partnership that would centre climate dialogue around the concerns of vulnerable island nations. After Türkiye refused to withdraw its competing bid, Australia compromised. Türkiye would host the formal conference, while Australia presided over negotiations. Australia has also committed to support a Pacific-hosted Pre-COP meeting, a two-to-three-day preparatory gathering where ministers and senior officials from up to 50 different delegations shape expectations for the main conference. Now, Fiji and Palau are competing to be the venue for these talks. Both nations bring extensive climate credentials, but to maximise this opportunity for the benefit of the region, logistics and symbolic impact must be considered.

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    Fiji, Palau and Tuvalu set to show world leaders climate change impact ahead of COP31
    Policy & GovernanceMarch 2, 2026

    Fiji, Palau and Tuvalu set to show world leaders climate change impact ahead of COP31

    Excerpt from abc.net.au Fiji, Palau and Tuvalu look set to host world leaders and climate change ministers in the lead-up to COP31 in a bid to encourage larger countries to accelerate cuts to emissions. Both Fiji and Palau had offered to host the "pre-COP" meetings secured for the Pacific under a complicated deal struck last year that saw hosting rights for the main climate summit go to Türkiye while giving Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen a key position in global climate negotiations. Australia and Pacific Islands nations have declared they want to use the opportunity to publicise the Pacific's existential battle with climate change. But negotiations on who should host events in the lead-up to the summit have dragged on.

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    From repair to reinvention: Jamaica’s defining post-hurricane choice
    Climate ActionMarch 2, 2026

    From repair to reinvention: Jamaica’s defining post-hurricane choice

    Excerpt from jamaica-gleaner.com In the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, the public conversation has centred on an understandably sensitive issue: should Jamaicans pay more to rebuild? Roads were washed away, schools closed their doors, small businesses absorbed losses they were never structured to withstand, and several parishes continue to assess damage that will take months – if not years – to fully repair. The instinct is to debate taxation. But the more meaningful question is not whether recovery costs money. It always does. The real issue is how Jamaica chooses to finance reconstruction – and what standard of rebuilding it is prepared to accept. Over the past decade, Jamaica made deliberate progress in reducing its debt-to-GDP ratio and stabilising its macroeconomic position. That discipline matters. It restored investor confidence and reduced the country’s exposure to external shocks. A sharp return to heavy borrowing would risk weakening those gains. At the same time, avoiding difficult fiscal decisions in the name of political comfort is not a strategy either. Every country that experiences severe disruption – whether through conflict, pandemic or natural disaster – must recalibrate. Recovery requires capital. The method of mobilisation determines whether a nation stabilises or slips into repetition.

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