Accomplishments and impact of the NGO, Island Conservation, over 15 years (1994–2009)

Bernie R Tershy,Donald A Croll,Kelly Newton

doi:10.1007/s10531-012-0231-4

Bernie R Tershy, Donald A Croll + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-012-0231-4

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Abstract

Improvements in biodiversity conservation are hampered by the lack of reporting on the effectiveness of conservation techniques and the organizations that implement them. Here we summarize the accomplishments and potential impact of the non-governmental organization, Island Conservation, which eradicates damaging invasive vertebrates from islands. Island Conservation has removed 54 populations of 10 invasive vertebrates from 35 islands totaling over 520 km2. These actions helped protect 233 populations of 181 insular endemic species and subspecies of plants and vertebrates and 258 populations of 54 species and subspecies of seabirds from the threat of local and global extinction. There were no reinvasions. One eradication attempt failed. These conservation actions and their apparent biodiversity impact demonstrate the potential of private organizations to protect biodiversity by eradicating invasive species from islands.

Highlights

It is widely accepted that we are in the midst of an extinction crisis brought about by land conversion, overexploitation, pollution and invasive species (Pimm et al 2006; Wake and Vredenburg 2008)
Island Conservation has removed 54 populations of 10 invasive vertebrates from 35 islands totaling over 520 km2
We report on the accomplishments and resulting biodiversity impacts of an international conservation organization that specializes in the prioritization, planning and implementation of invasive vertebrate eradications from islands

Summary

Introduction

It is widely accepted that we are in the midst of an extinction crisis brought about by land conversion, overexploitation, pollution and invasive species (Pimm et al 2006; Wake and Vredenburg 2008). For well-studied taxa, current extinction rates are two to three orders of magnitude greater than background rates and above rates at which new Biodivers Conserv (2012) 21:957–965 species evolve (Dirzo and Raven 2003). This loss of species has negative economic, ethical, and aesthetic impacts and is essentially permanent over time scales relevant to humans. We report on the accomplishments and resulting biodiversity impacts of an international conservation organization that specializes in the prioritization, planning and implementation of invasive vertebrate eradications from islands. Island Conservation is a US-headquartered non-government conservation organization founded in 1994 whose mission is ‘‘to prevent extinctions’’. In this paper we examine accomplishments between 1994 and 2009

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