Environment

• Tuesday, September 19th 2017 - 09:54 UTC

  Joint AECO/IAATO conference to promote responsible polar tourism

  

  More than 90 representatives from the Arctic and Antarctic expedition cruise industry will gather in Iceland for the second AECO/IAATO conference to be held in October 1/4. The topic of the conference is evolution and new challenges in the polar tourism industry.

• Tuesday, September 19th 2017 - 09:04 UTC

  Hurricane Maria flattens Dominica: “we need help, we need help of all kinds”

  

  The British Overseas Territory of Dominica has suffered “widespread damage” from Hurricane Maria, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit announced. “We have lost all that money can buy,” he said in a Facebook post. The hurricane suddenly strengthened to a “potentially catastrophic” category five storm, before making landfall on the Caribbean island.

• Monday, September 18th 2017 - 07:35 UTC

  UK's Blue Belt Initiative taken as reference at the International Marine Protected Areas congress in Chile

  

  The British Embassy in Santiago participated this month with over 30 British delegates and a GREAT-branded stand at Impac4, the world’s largest Congress on International Marine Protected Areas held in La Serena, a city located in the north of Chile. The Congress, hosted by the Chilean Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Environment, was followed by a High Level meeting in the city of Viña del Mar, near Santiago, Chile’s capital.

• Sunday, September 17th 2017 - 08:38 UTC

  UNWTO newly-formed Disaster Recovery Working Group for the Affected States in the Caribbean.

  

  The program was formed to meet the needs of member states that have been recently impacted by powerful natural disasters such as hurricanes, tropical storms and earthquakes .Speaking at a special meeting of the newly convened recovery program, Secretary General of the UNWTO, Taleb Rifai said, “We cannot just stand still – it is not right.

• Saturday, September 16th 2017 - 08:12 UTC

  Falklands promotes the Weather Observation Website to improve forecasting

  

  The Falkland Islands government is calling for individuals' weather observations to be uploaded to the Met Office system thus helping with improving forecasting and in formal weather modeling.

• Saturday, September 16th 2017 - 07:53 UTC

  Preservation of the Ozone Layer: 30th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol

  

  The United Nations’ International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer is celebrated on the 16th September every year. Commemorating the 1987 signing of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the day advocates activities that create awareness on topics related to climate change and ozone depletion.

• Thursday, September 14th 2017 - 07:20 UTC

  Falklands Offshore Minerals Environmental Legislation Consultation

  

  The Falkland Islands Department of Mineral Resources is carrying out a public consultation on a range of proposed legislative measures applying to the offshore oil and gas industry.

• Monday, September 11th 2017 - 06:22 UTC

  Chile creates a marine protected area around Easter Island

  

  Chilean President Michelle Bachelet officially created a 740,000-square kilometer marine reserve around remote Easter Island, a move that will protect dozens of species found nowhere else. The move follows five years of efforts by environmental organizations and the Rapa Nui people of Easter Island, famous for its extreme isolation and mysterious stone statues known as Moai.

• Sunday, September 10th 2017 - 12:53 UTC

  Update regarding Irma’s impact over the Caribbean Islands.

  

  Assessments are still coming in from the impact of Hurricane Irma on a number of Caribbean countries in the northern Leeward Islands and the northern Caribbean with warnings and watches still in place for a few countries in Irma’s path. Additionally, due to the projected path of Hurricane Jose, a category 4 storm, tropical storm and hurricane watches and warnings have been issued for some countries in the northern Leeward Islands.

• Sunday, September 10th 2017 - 09:19 UTC

  UK's response to Hurricane Irma has been “found waiting”; several Caribbean islands devastated

  

  Britain's response to Hurricane Irma has been “found wanting”, the heads of two parliamentary committees have said. Many of those affected in the UK's overseas territories in the Caribbean are still in “grave need”, Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat and Labour MP Stephen Twigg said.The UK has stepped up its relief effort, with three RAF aid flights sent to the area.