Ascension Island
| Use attributes for filter ! | |
| Population | 806 (Feb 2016) |
|---|---|
| Part of | Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha |
| Currency | Saint Helena pound |
| SHP | |
| Capital | Georgetown |
| Did you know | Discovered by the Portuguese João da Nova in 1501, Ascension was taken by the British in 1815 and used as a naval station. |
| Date of Reg. | |
| Date of Upd. | |
| ID | 947379 |
About Ascension Island
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56' south of the Equator in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is about 1,600 kilometres from the coast of Africa and 2,250 kilometres from the coast of Brazil.
Bibby Stockholm: First asylum seekers board housing barge in Dorset
... Ms Dines also said " all possibilities" were being examined on tackling the migrant crisis amid reports the government is looking at flying illegal migrants to the British overseas territory Ascension Island, in the middle of the southern Atlantic...
Plastic Pollution: Waste from across world found on remote British Island
... Litter found on the south-western coast of Ascension Island has been traced back to countries including China, Japan and South Africa, they say...
Falklands War veterans mark 40th anniversary of RAF raid
... The bomber crew had to fly 3,700 miles (6,900 km) from RAF Waddington near Lincoln to Ascension Island in the South Atlantic and then another 3,300 miles (6,100 km) to the Falkland Islands...
How Falklands War and rugby led to 40-year friendship
... " I was excited as much as anything, and for the first few weeks until we reached Ascension Island it all seemed like a dream...
The UK migrant dilemma - it's all about Brexit
... Options under discussion at the Home Office have included Rwanda, Ascension Island and Albania...
Plastic Pollution: Waste from across world found on remote British Island
By Nayana Mena BBC News
Thousands of pieces of plastic debris from all over The World have washed up on a remote South Atlantic island, according to conservationists.
Litter found on the south-western coast of Ascension Island has been traced back to countries including China, Japan and South Africa , they say.
The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) team spent five weeks assessing the extent of plastic pollution there.
More Than 900 species of Marine Life are At Risk , they reported.
Ascension Island has a wealth of species native to The Island that have been affected by plastic pollution, such as The Land crab, frigate bird and various species of sharks, turtles, fish and seabirds.
The remote British-owned island has been subject to many schemes aiming to conserve its natural biodiversity, launched by the government as well as independent groups.
" There is too much plastic being used badly, " Fiona Llewellyn, a marine biologist at the ZSL Marine conservation team, told The Bbc .
" It was heart-breaking seeing The State of the plastic Over There , " She Said , adding that big brands and governments needed to be made to account for The Mess .
Ms Llewellyn and her fellow researchers found 1,000 pieces of plastic waste in just one beach hut and More Than 7,000 pieces in total during The Expedition .
The Small Island , with a population of just 800 people, is concerned by The Crisis . Only a small amount of plastic that washes up on its shores is coming from The Island itself. Ms Llewellyn said: " It's easy to see that most of it is coming from elsewhere. "
Animals are ingesting the plastic and getting tangled in it, which can cause harm. There are growing concerns around microplastics and how they work their way up the Food Chain .
The types of plastic commonly found on The Island 's coastline include plastic bottles, hard plastic fragments that have broken down, fishing gear and cigarette butts.
Much of the waste ends up beached on rugged cliffs that are hard and dangerous to reach. " It was really challenging straggling down The Rock faces to get to this shoreline and count all the plastic that was there, " She Said .
The ZSL Marine conservation team worked with the Ascension Island government's conservation team, St Helena National Trust, St Helena's government, the University of Exeter and the Nelson Mandela University in Cape Town in a collaborative effort to tackle plastic pollution.
The total project will last for three years and consists of monitoring the currents and movement of water, identifying the plastic bottles and assessing their expiry and production dates to distinguish when they might have entered the water and where from.
Source of news: bbc.com
Ascension Island Photos
