New Paper Shows Invasive Species Removal is a Nature-Based Solution for Climate Resilience
Island Conservation and partners have published a new paper quantifying ecosystem resilience on restored islands!
Rooted in Science and
Indigenous Knowledge
As new studies come in, conservation science is confirming what indigenous cultures have understood for centuries – everything is connected.
Indigenous Knowledge
Indigenous knowledge is essential in conservation efforts, offering time-tested environmental practices rooted in deep connections to land and ecosystems. By valuing and integrating this wisdom, we create more effective and sustainable solutions for island restoration.
Recognizing Indigenous science as invaluable methodology enhances biodiversity, strengthens nature’s resilience, and honors the cultural traditions that have stewarded these environments for generations.
Island-Ocean Connection Challenge
The Island-Ocean Connection Challenge is a catalytic global initiative co-founded by Island Conservation, Re:wild, and UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography. We are bringing together diverse partners to restore at least 40 globally significant island-ocean ecosystems from ridge to reef by 2030 to benefit people, wildlife, and our planet.
Monitoring
We’re always tracking our progress.
Our Impact Team is out in the field at all stages of our projects ensuring that we are making the maximum amount of impact as possible while tracking benefits like species recovery and marine health.
Using advanced tools and a data-driven approach, we can measure long-term impacts, adapt strategies, and continually improve our methods to ensure lasting positive outcomes for island communities worldwide.
Learn more about our impact and what we have accomplished to date.
Publications
Check out some of the publications our team has contributed to. View all publications
PRESS RELEASE: New Study Shows Eradicating Invasive Species from Islands Produces Global Impact
Island Conservation’s David Will co-authored an important paper that shows the power of eradications. The Database of Island Invasive Species Eradications (DIISE) demonstrates that our targeted actions bring incredible returns on investment.
Press Release: Pursuing Sustainable Development for Island Communities by Removing Invasive Species
Researchers establish explicit connections between invasive vertebrate eradication on islands and socioeconomic and human health benefits to island communities, addressing global sustainable development targets. RELEASED: August 13, 2020 at 9:00 AM PST Media contact: Claudio Uribe, Island Conservation;claudio.uribe@islandconservation.orgResources: Research paper,…
New Research: Eight Priority Islands for Restoration
New research published in PLOS ONE prioritizes islands where the removal of invasive species is feasible and will prevent extinctions. Research published in PLOS ONE and led by Island Conservation staff identified 169 islands where the removal of invasive species…
New Research: Database Aids Conservationists in Preventing Extinctions
Want to save 41% of the planet’s highly threatened vertebrates? Work on islands. Mapping our world’s most vulnerable island species, and a key threat to their survival. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Sally Esposito, Island Conservation, sally.esposito@islandconservation.org, +1 (706) 969-2783 Resources:…
Read up
Check out our full list of published papers by our Island Conservation staff members over the years.
DIISE
The Database of Island Invasive Species Eradications (DIISE) is a collaborative partnership comprising Island Conservation, the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group, the Coastal Conservation Action Lab at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Maanaki Whenua-Landcare Research, and the University of Auckland, New Zealand.
Islands are at the center of the extinction crisis, with invasive vertebrates being a major threat. The DIISE database helps conservationists by providing detailed information on over 1,200 invasive vertebrate eradication projects, with an 87% success rate, supporting global biodiversity protection.
TIB
The Threatened Island Biodiversity (TIB) database is the most comprehensive global resource on threatened island species, invasive animals, and islands.
Covering nearly 2,000 islands and 1,300 species, it helps prioritize conservation efforts to prevent extinctions. Developed by leading conservation organizations, TIB offers crucial insights for effective island restoration.
DIISE Database
Welcome to the Database of Island Invasive Species Eradications (DIISE), a new tool for conservation practitioners
The database can be viewed here: DIISE DATABASE
Islands are the epicenter of the current extinction crisis and invasive vertebrates are a leading cause of extinctions on islands. However, protection of threatened biodiversity by removing invasive vertebrates from islands is becoming a powerful and widely used conservation tool.
The DIISE is a publicly available resource to help land managers and conservation practitioners learn more about invasive vertebrate eradications on islands around the world. The database provides detailed information on individual eradication projects and also provides opportunities to analyze trends in past eradication projects. To date, we are aware of more than 1200 attempts to remove invasive vertebrates from islands. Of more than 1000 that are classified as successful or failed (and excluding reinvasions), the success rate is ~87%.
As we learn more about where this conservation intervention has been utilized, we expect to update these numbers. We encourage you to review the database and submit edits to existing data or new projects not currently in the database. Details on how to submit comments are provided on the DIISE website, DIISE DATABASE
The DIISE is a collaborative partnership comprising Island Conservation, the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group, the Coastal Conservation Action Lab at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Maanaki Whenua-Landcare Research, and the University of Auckland, New Zealand.
Questions? Please contact Island Conservation at science@islandconservation.org
TIB Database
Introducing the global Threatened Island Biodiversity database (TIB).
The TIB is the world’s best compilation of Threatened species (as classified by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature or IUCN), invasive animals, and islands. The database can be viewed here: TIB DATABASE
Islands are…
A special conservation need. Islands represent less than 5% of the earth’s land area yet harbor 80% of known species extinctions since 1500 (Ricketts et al. 2005), and 39% of today’s IUCN Critically Endangered species (TIB Partners 2012). Invasive vertebrates are a leading cause of insular extinctions and remain a critical threat to endangered island species today (MEA 2005).
A special conservation opportunity. Proven techniques to protect island biodiversity exist, including more than 1,000 successful island eradications of invasive vertebrates worldwide, often followed by remarkable recoveries of endangered species and ecosystems (Keitt et al. 2011). The challenge now is to increase the scale and application of these proven restoration tools to reverse this tide of island extinctions.
Prioritizing conservation for threatened island biodiversity. The Threatened Island Biodiversity database is the most comprehensive global review of IUCN Threatened Species breeding on islands and at risk from invasive vertebrates. Our goal is to help guide where conservation intervention can prevent island extinctions. To date the TIB database includes almost 2000 islands for 1300 threatened species, collated from 1800 scientific literature sources and the contribution of more then 500 experts.
TIB partners who will maintain and expand the database over time include Island Conservation, University of California at Santa Cruz – Coastal Conservation Action Laboratory, BirdLife International, and the IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group.
Our recommended citation for the TIB database is:
Threatened Island Biodiversity Database Partners. 2014. The Threatened Island Biodiversity Database: developed by Island Conservation,University of California Santa Cruz Coastal Conservation Action Lab, BirdLife International and IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group. Version 2014.1 <www.tib.islandconservation.org>. Downloaded on December 2015.
The online Threatened Island Biodiversity database was built with the support of The David and Lucille Packard Foundation, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the Global Environment Facility.
References
IUCN. 2013. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
Keitt, B., K. Campbell, A. Saunders, M. Clout, Y. Wang, R. Heinz, K. Newton, and B. Tershy (2011). The Global Islands Invasive Vertebrate Eradication Database: A tool to improve and facilitate restoration of island ecosystems. Pages 74-77 In C. R. Veitch, M. N. Clout, and D. R. Towns, editors. Island invasives: Eradication and management. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
MEA 2005. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Biodiversity Synthesis. World Resources Institute, Washington, DC.
Ricketts, T.H., E. Dinerstein, T. Boucher, T.M. Brooks, S.H.M. Butchart, M. Hoffmann, et al. 2005. Pinpointing and preventing imminent extinctions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 102: 18497-1850.