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Category Archives: Islands

Phase II of Floating Islands project begins

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HOUMA, La. (AP) Phase II of the Floating Islands Restoration Project, designed to help rebuild the coastline in Terrebonne Parish, will be held Friday and Saturday.

Volunteers will place about 1,000 feet of synthetic mats in the water. The 5-foot-by-20-foot mats can hold 150 to 200 plants and will be placed end-to-end and anchored to the water bottom.

Officials say the "floating islands" technology allows the plants to take root in the water bottom while providing protection from the natural elements.

Phase I of the project, completed in September 2011 in Point Aux Chene, was the first to use the new technology, developed by Martin EcoSystems, in an open-water application in the marine environment.

Coastal Conservation Association and its partners were pleased with the results and decided to expand into Phase II.

"Even after the devastating effects of Hurricane Isaac, we found that the floating islands were still thriving and outperforming the surrounding natural marsh," said CCA Louisiana Habitat Chairman John Walther. "It was an easy decision to expand on this project with Phase II, and we are so thankful to our partners for helping make this expansion possible."

Walther believes Phase I's success shows that the technology could be used on a broader scale, as part of the State's Coastal Master Plan.

"We have proven that the project is sustainable and resilient," Walther said in a statement Thursday. "Since we know that it is also cost effective, we believe that this technique could be a useful tool in rebuilding and protecting Louisiana's coastline."

Volunteers this weekend will plant two types of marsh grass smooth cord in the center and seashore paspalum on the edges to create a habitat component. The plants are installed in the mats onshore and then the mats are moved to the water for installation.

Funding for the project is provided by CCA Building Conservation Trust, Shell Oil Company, Keep Terrebonne Beautiful, Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government and private donations by CCA members. The total project cost is expected to be about $100,000.

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Phase II of Floating Islands project begins

Windswept, remote…who would want to live in the Falkland Islands?

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The loss of life was tragic but in almost all other respects the Falklands war was a comedy of unintended consequences from which those who started it lost the most. Talk to Falkland Islanders old enough to remember the period just before the war and you'll learn that the government of Margaret Thatcher was perceived not as a heroic force for freedom but as treacherous and deceitful.

A plan was under way, spearheaded by the Foreign Office, to go behind the Falklanders' back and cut a deal whereby Britain would share sovereignty with Argentina for a period of time, prior to relinquishing authority over the islands altogether.

The lunacy of the generals who invaded the Falklands in April 1982 was that, from the point of view of Argentina's historic quest to 'recover' the 'Malvinas', their action could not have been more counter-productive. Had they waited, they'd have had the islands on a plate. But they were losing their grip on power and they resorted to the desperate, populist act of dispatching their army to the windswept archipelago.

What happened was that Thatcher dispatched her own troops to get the islands back; the generals, covered in ignominy, were overthrown; all possibility of Argentina claiming sovereignty over the islands any time soon went up in smoke; and Britain was saddled with holding on to them, at considerable cost to the Treasury, until the long distant day when the Falklanders themselves, now fully in charge of their destiny, immune to Foreign Office scheming, deem fit to say goodbye.

And all for what? There's a line from Hamlet when the prince asks a soldier what the mission is of a Norwegian army passing through Danish territory. It turns out they are set for Poland, the soldier replies, explaining, "We go to gain a little patch of ground/ That hath in it no profit but the name". Jorge Luis Borges, an Argentine writer who admired Shakespeare, had his own spin on the theme, applied to the Falklands war. Asked what his opinion was of the conflict on the South Atlantic, he said: "It is a fight between two bald men over a comb".

An inverted version of the same idea might have been more appropriate. Two combs fighting over a bald man. Bald is the word to describe the landscape of the Falklands, and pretty much everything else there. There are no trees on the 760-island archipelago save for a few scattered, stumpy ones in the capital Port Stanley, where 2,200 people or 85 per cent of the total island's population lives, and on the British military base an hour away by road, where some valiant horticulturalist planted a dozen, all of them condemned to bend desperately sideways in the direction of the prevailing winds, like a row of umbrellas blown inside out.

Stanley is a long, thin rectangle of squat little Lego constructions by the sea with a couple of gift shops on the shoreline where they sell stuffed penguins made in the UK and, at the town's business hub, one general store where clothes are scarce and stubbornly unfashionable, where the range of chocolates and cigarettes is what you might expect to find at a medium-sized London Tube station, where fresh fruit and vegetables practically all imported are few and far between.

On the narrow streets there are no advertising billboards and no traffic lights, because there is no traffic to speak of. The only vehicles are four-by-fours, all amply served by the capital's one petrol station. An unmarked road of mostly gravel links Stanley to the Falklands' second city, Goose Green, a loose arrangement of 18 partially inhabited houses and half a dozen barns so bare, windswept and seemingly barren of human activity that the image comes to mind of a struggling pioneers' outpost in Idaho, circa 1842, after a visit by the Apaches.

But Stanley and Goose Green are New York and Las Vegas compared to what they were before the Falklands war, the worst thing that happened to a thousand dead British and Argentine soldiers, but bonanza time, after it was all over, for the islanders. In all other respects, the mad futility of that war on the South Atlantic, 500 kilometres from Argentina's southernmost coast and 12,000 from Britain's, exceeds anything Borges' dry, despairing imagination was able to come up with. Beyond questions of symbolism, myth and national pride, it is impossible to fathom what use these islands were for a vast country like Argentina, empty of people in much of its geography and unfairly rich in natural resources.

Today there is some money to be made from fishing rights and possibly but far from certainly from the discovery offshore of oil and gas, but back then the only thing the economy offered was wool and lamb's meat. What is more, just before Argentine troops invaded and fleetingly 'recovered' sovereignty over the Malvinas in April 1982, the British government was negotiating to hand them over to Buenos Aires. Not surprisingly, Britain saw little point in keeping hold of a far-flung territory that barely a handful of its citizens had heard of (and therefore of negligible political value), where the land was unprofitably rocky semi-tundra and where penguins outnumbered people by a ratio of 250 to one.

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Windswept, remote...who would want to live in the Falkland Islands?

Island hopping in Davao with Islands Banca Cruises

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Asia, Best Beach, Ecotourism, Nature Trip, Philippines By melo on April 19, 2013 9:48 am

It was my second time to experience Island Hopping with Islands Banca Cruises. My first time was in Cebu where they initially launched the tour packages and my second was last year in Davao during DFAT (Davao Food Appreciation Tour) 2012.

Vanishing Island

What i love about their tour is their customized boat with comfortable seats andlarge sun decks thatare specially designed for having sun bathe and sightseeing.Aside from their expanded sundeck, cushioned seats and attractive exteriors, I also enjoyed their facilities like iPod dock, clean rest rooms, Wi-Fi Internet access and cold beverages inside the boats.

Watersports in Samal

Island hopping in Davao with Islands Banca Cruises is a thrilling way to enjoy the scenic beauty of beaches and marine life of Davao.This special Banca cruise tours are designed in customized packages. The tours can be from a half day hopping to a full day of cruising.

Stopover at Vanishing IslandbyChris Nierva

A full day island hopping is the best choice to explore the cool water journey. The tour company provides warm hospitable crew that are also well trained in all aspects of boat operation. Each Banca is designed to accommodate 20 tourists at a time excluding the boat captain, tour guides and other staffs as well as life guards.

Lunch TimebyChris Nierva

Banca cruises offer recreational equipments such as scuba gear, underwater camera, dive masks, snorkel, fins and kayaks. Besides, a trash can and washrooms are provided at the back side of the boat. Island Banca Cruise offers budget friendly packages which include sunset cruises and lechon or barbeque picnics. They provide corporate tours as well as customized Banca picnics.

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Island hopping in Davao with Islands Banca Cruises

Dozens of earthquakes strike Japanese islands

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TOKYO, April 18 (UPI) -- The Miyakejima Islands were rattled by about 40 noticeable earthquakes, including at least two Thursday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The strongest of earthquakes, which began rumbling Wednesday, registered a magnitude of 6.2 and was in waters near the island in Tokyo's Izu island chain, Yomiuri Shimbun reported.

The earthquakes began Wednesday morning and extended into Thursday.

Although it is assumed the quakes are not related to any volcanic activity, the meteorological agency said it would monitor the situation.

The Oi nuclear power plant, Japan's only online nuclear reactor, is near the island, but its operator, Kansai Electric, said the earthquake didn't damage the facility.

Miyake village government officials said most damage, including landslides, was on the western half of the island.

Village officials and construction workers began clearing an earthquake-triggered landslide that inundated a road Thursday.

"We didn't expect this," a village official said. "We won't be able to open this road."

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Dozens of earthquakes strike Japanese islands

New Pumpa | FREEZE (GO GUNG) [2013 US Virgin Islands Soca][Marvelous Production] – Video

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New Pumpa | FREEZE (GO GUNG) [2013 US Virgin Islands Soca][Marvelous Production]
Produced by: Marvelous Production(bass:Moziah Miller) , Engineered by: Beat Down Beats Follow Julian: http://www.facebook.com/JulianspromosFanpage [LIKE] Jul...

By: Julianspromos Main

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New Pumpa | FREEZE (GO GUNG) [2013 US Virgin Islands Soca][Marvelous Production] - Video

Pacific Plan Review underway in Solomon Islands

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Pacific Plan Review underway in Solomon Islands

16th April 2013

An extensive programme of consultations lies ahead for the Pacific Plan Review in the Solomon Islands this week.

Beginning today with a meeting with the Solomon Islands Prime Minister, Hon. Gordon Darcy Lilo, and a roundtable discussion with Permanent Secretaries of various ministries, the Review Team will also consult throughout the week with senior civil servants, civil society, private sector and development partners.

Chair of the Pacific Plan Review, Rt. Hon. Sir Mekere Morauta, KCMG, welcomed the opportunity to consult widely, noting that broad views were necessary to map out a truly inclusive and comprehensive path ahead for the Pacific Plan.

We are here to listen, first and foremost, Sir Mekere said. We have gathered a wealth of insights on potential future directions for Pacific regionalism from the countries visited so far, and must continue to strive for such inclusivity during our consultations across the region.

Sir Mekere is accompanied by Review consultant, Dr Nick Poletti, on the Solomon Islands country consultations.

Sir Mekere added that submissions were also being received via the Pacific Plan Review website, http://www.pacificplanreview.org, and encouraged individuals, special interest groups and organisations to send in their views to the Review team online.

From the Solomon Islands, the Pacific Plan Review team will travel to Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Nauru, Kiribati, Republic of Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, and Fiji, before presenting its interim findings in late May.

ENDS

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Pacific Plan Review underway in Solomon Islands

Falkland Islands Holdings to report fall in annual profits

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LONDON (ShareCast) - Falkland Islands Holdings, a British conglomerate which owns logistics, warehouses and retail outlets on the islands, expects to report a fall in annual profits.

The company anticipates pre-tax profit of 3.0m for the year to March 31st 2013, compared to 3.2m a year earlier.

The group said trading was satisfactory at its division Falkland Islands Company (FIC), which provides services to retail, distribution, port services, shipping, hotels and mineral exploration.

Retail sales experienced growth while tourist activity declined with fewer cruise ship visits.

Preparations to ramp up activity at the Sea Lion discovery continued, including preliminary work on planning for related infrastructure projects.

"As a result, although turnover increased on the record levels seen last year, FIC's contribution is expected to be slightly lower," the company said.

Momart, the fine art and antiques shipping and storage company, delivered record revenues on the back of growth in large exhibitions and the global commercial art market.

Revenues at the Portsmouth Harbour Ferry Company were little changed on lower passenger numbers. Profits are expected to fall at the ferry company as a result of an increase in costs.

The Falkland Oil and Gas (Other OTC: FLKOF - news) arm's drilling campaign proved a working hydrocarbon system in the South and East Falklands Basins. An extensive 3D seismic campaign is now underway to de-risk further the prospectivity and identify the next prospects for drilling.

The group ended the period with cash balances of 11.5m and bank borrowings of 2.0m.

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Falkland Islands Holdings to report fall in annual profits

Avatiu Port Opens In Cook Islands

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Avatiu Port Opens In Cook Islands

Rarotonga, Cook Islands, 15 April 2013 The Asian Development Bank (ADB), today joined the Government and people of the Cook Islands to officially open the upgraded Avatiu Port, which was substantially improved by the Avatiu Port Development Project.

The project has not only extended the life of Avatiu Port, but has already boosted the safety and efficiency of port operations in Cook Islands, said Richard Neves, Financial Secretary for the Cook Islands Ministry of Financial and Economic Management.

Avatiu is the countrys principal international port, which handles 90% of Cook Islands imports by sea. Cook Islands is heavily reliant on imports to support tourism which accounts for more than 50% of the countrys gross domestic product. Tourism earnings are expected to increase further as cruise ships are now able to berth at Avatiu.

ADB has maintained a long and active presence in Cook Islands supporting priority infrastructure investments, such as this Avatiu Port project, that aim to boost private sector-led and environmentally sustainable economic growth, said Ayumi Konishi, Deputy Director General of ADBs Pacific Department.

Under the project, the ports main wharf was climate-proofed to make it less vulnerable to the effects of extreme weather. The harbor entrance was widened to enable larger vessels to berth at the renovated wharf, which is already boosting the delivery of essential social services and consumer goods.

ADB has provided Cook Islands a range of development assistance in the form of loans, grants and technical assistance. Since joining ADB in 1976, ADB has approved 17 loan projects amounting to $US59.71 million, including a grant component of $0.80 million and 32 technical assistance projects of almost $11.4 million.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members 48 from the region.

ENDS

Scoop Media

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Avatiu Port Opens In Cook Islands

New Sinking Islands and Lands

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The seas do rise and fall over the ages. Lands sink and rise depending on the weather. Dynamic modeling of sea-level rise, which takes storm wind and wave action into account, paints a much graver picture for some low-lying Pacific islands under climate-change scenarios than the passive computer modeling used in earlier research, according to a new report. A team led by research oceanographer Curt Storlazzi of the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center compared passive bathtub inundation models with dynamic models for two of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in the Papahnaumokukea Marine National Monument. The team studied Midway, a classic atoll with islands on the shallow (28 meters or 626 feet deep) atoll rim and a deep, central lagoon, and Laysan, which is higher, with a 2030 meter (6598 feet) deep rim and an island in the center of the atoll. Together, the two locations exhibit landforms and coastal features common to many Pacific islands.

"Passive bathtub inundation models typically used to forecast sea-level rise impacts suggest that most of the low-lying atolls in the Pacific Islands will still be above sea level for the next 50-150 years. By taking wave-driven processes into account, we forecast that many of the atolls will be inundated, contaminating freshwater supplies and thus making the islands uninhabitable, much sooner," Storlazzi said.

Bathtub inundation is about the displacement of liquid water volume by melting ice volume. In simple language is if melted ice water adds 100 cubic feet of water, the the ocean level will go X inches. What this study does is to study the additional effects caused by other water phenomena such was waves.

The team found that at least twice as much land is forecast to be inundated on Midway and Laysan by sea-level rise than was projected by passive models. For example, 91 percent of Midway's Eastern Island is projected to be inundated under a model that takes into account storm and wave activity accompanied by a sea-level rise of 2 meters (6.5 feet), as compared with only 19 percent under passive sea-level-rise models. Storm waves on Midway are also projected to be three to four times higher than they are today, because more deep-water wave energy could propagate over the atoll rim and larger wind-driven waves could develop on the atoll.

"This report demonstrates the future threat to refuges with the Monument, and the potential impact on nesting seabirds, endangered monk seals and green sea turtles will be considered as we plan for the future,: said Doug Staller, the Service's Superintendent of the Papahnaumokukea Marine National Monument.

These findings have importance not only for island wildlife on the largely uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Storlazzi said, but for the tens of thousands of people who live on other low-lying Pacific Island groups such as those found in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia. Because the models attempt to characterize how much land will be washed over by storm waves even if it is not permanently inundated, they offer tools for forecasting where agricultural land may be damaged by repeated saltwater over wash, as well as where groundwater may be contaminated by saltwater. The findings suggest that inundation and impacts to infrastructure and terrestrial habitats will occur at lower values of predicted sea-level rise, and thus sooner in the 21st century, than suggested by passive map-based bathtub inundation models.

Many media reports have focused on the island nations of the Pacific, notably the Polynesian islands of Tuvalu, which based on more severe flooding events in recent years, were thought to be "sinking" due to sea level rise. A scientific review in 2000 reported that based on University of Hawaii gauge data, Tuvalu had experienced a negligible increase in sea level of about 0.07 mm a year over the past two decades, and that climate effects had been a larger factor in Tuvalu's higher tides in recent years.

The report, "Forecasting the Impact of Storm Waves and Sea-Level Rise on Midway Atoll and Laysan Island within the Papahnaumokukea Marine National MonumentA Comparison of Passive Versus Dynamic Inundation Models," is available online.

For further information see Storm Waves.

Tuvalu image via Wikipedia.

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New Sinking Islands and Lands

Kerry spells out policy on Senkaku Islands

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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) answers reporter's question during the joint press conference at the Iikura Guest House in Tokyo, Japan on April 14, 2013. UPI/Keizo Mori

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TOKYO, April 15 (UPI) -- The United States recognizes the Senkaku Islands are under Japan's administration but doesn't take a stand on their ultimate sovereignty, its top diplomat said.

Secretary of State John Kerry, concluding his Asia visit in Japan, commented on the East China Sea islands, which have become a source of serious territorial dispute between Japan and China. Tensions over their rival claims have led to violent protests in China and adversely affected their bilateral trade. The United States remains concerned that the issue should not get out of control.

Appearing with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida at a news conference, Kerry said in his talks he reiterated U.S. principles governing the policy on the Senkaku.

"The United States, as everybody knows, does not take a position on the ultimate sovereignty of the islands. But we do recognize that they are under the administration of Japan," Kerry said. "And we obviously want all the parties to deal with territorial issues through peaceful means."

The U.S. visitor said any action that raises tensions or leads to miscalculations would affect peace, stability and prosperity of an entire region.

"And so we oppose any unilateral or coercive action that would somehow aim at changing the status quo," Kerry said.

Kishida said while Japan-China relations are very important, he explained to Kerry that Japan cannot concede on issues of her sovereignty.

"I stated Japan is calling on China to reaffirm our mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interest, and I explained Japan's door is always open to dialogue," he said.

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Kerry spells out policy on Senkaku Islands


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