The National Forestry Corporation, administrator of the Juan Fernández National Park, and Island Conservation sign an agreement to restore Alejandro Selkirk Island, Chile.

The Juan Fernández archipelago hosts a great diversity of plants and wildlife. The islands are home to flora found nowhere else in the world, and birds flourish here. Recently the National Forestry Corporation (CONAF), the administrator of the Juan Fernández National Park, and Island Conservation signed an agreement to permit the removal of invasive species that threaten the native flora and fauna on Alejandro Selkirk Island. CONAF executive director Aarón Cavieres said:

We have been working with Island Conservation since 2009. Signing this agreement allows us to further strengthen collaborative work and improve the strategy to eliminate invasive plant species such as Maqui, Myrtle, and Blackberry, as well as invasive mammals such as rabbits and mice, which are limiting the survival of our ecologically important endemic species.

Island Conservation Chief Executive Officer Karen Poiani commented:

It is a privilege for Island Conservation to be working in such a globally important biodiversity hotspot.

Featured photo: Field staff on the shoreline of Alejandro Selkirk Island. Credit: Sara de Rodt/Island Conservation
Versión en Español/Spanish transcript