Islands make up only 3% of the earth’s land area, but harbor 20% of all bird, reptile and plant species.
Extinction rates are also exponentially greater on islands: 95% of bird extinctions, 90% of reptiles, 69% of mammals and 68% of plants have occurred on islands, with most of these extinctions caused by invasive species, such as feral goats and rats. Once invasive species are removed from islands, native species and island ecosystems recover with little or no additional intervention.
Our goal is to prevent extinctions by working where the concentration of both biodiversity and species extinction is greatest – on islands.
Over the last 15 years, Island Conservation and local partners have protected 239 species on 33 islands from the threat of extinction.
In 2009, IC will plan or implement restoration projects on more than 20 islands in Canada, the U.S. (including California, Hawai`i, Washington, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and the Line Islands), Mexico, Ecuador, Chile and the Republic of Palau.
