February 2011: The first issue of the newsletter of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) EU Outermost Regions and Overseas Countries and Territories Programme has been released, with a focus on Greenland.

The February issue of the newsletter, titled “Europe Overseas Connect,” highlights that Greenland is home to a number of species adapted to the harsh Arctic climate and that the island’s biodiversity is increasingly threatened by the impacts of climate change. It also notes that the major challenge facing Greenland is the balance between achieving sustainable development and meeting climate change concerns. In adds that this balance can be achieved only by pursuing a responsible policy on mitigation and adaption to climate change, and by sustainably meeting the needs and aspirations of Greenland’s people.

The newsletter also includes an article on Arctic technology, describing how Greenlandic communities are small and remote settlements dependent on oil for their energy needs, where rising costs of oil and gas have spurred interest in renewable options.

Finally, the newsletter highlights a series of upcoming regional events, including: the approval of the Man of War Shoal Marine Park, St. Marteen’s first National Environmentally Protected Area; the expansion of the National Red List of Threatened Species in France to include the flora of Reunion Island; the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ (RSPB) provisional decision to proceed with the restoration of the Henderson Island World Heritage Site, which aims to eradicate rodents; the UK’s Darwin Initiative publication of a briefing note on lessons learned from its work in British overseas territories; and the seamounts survey carried out in the international waters of the southern Indian Ocean. [Publication: Europe Overseas Connect Newsletter]