Towards a guidance document for invasive species planning and management on islands

In 2012 a process was initiated to produce a guidance document for invasive species management on islands, as an objective of a regional invasive species project in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) islands, implemented by IUCN. The consultative process for producing the document began with requests and discussions via regional and global island and invasives email distribution lists. Initial responses revealed a consensus on the need for a guidance document for programmatic planning.

Niue Pig Management Plan

Feral and wandering domestic pigs collectively cause significant environmental damage in Niue, chiefly to coconut crab populations, seedling coconuts, soil organisms, soil structure and fertility transfer. They also cause significant economic damage to plantations and domestic gardens. Feral pig eradication on Niue Island would be impossible to both achieve and maintain in the current scenario of domestic pig management. Pig management practices vary from adequate to laissez faire, with constant escape and release from sites.

Guidelines for invasive species planning and management on islands

These Guidelines deal with invasive plants, animals, disease agents and other organisms, in marine, freshwater and terrestrial environments, and their impacts on the environment, biodiversity, ecosystem services, human health, economies and society. All of the main thematic areas and their objectives are required for comprehensive management of the invasive species threat. These Guidelines reflect and are compatible with relevant international conventions and standards (see Resources p.

Key Biodiversity Areas

Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) are the most important places in the world for species and their habitats. Faced with a global environmental crisis we need to focus our collective efforts on conserving the places that matter most. The KBA Programme supports the identification, mapping, monitoring and conservation of KBAs to help safeguard the most critical sites for nature on our planet – from rainforests to reefs, mountains to marshes, deserts to grasslands and to the deepest parts of the oceans.

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A Rapid Biological Assessment of the Mt. Panié and Roches de la Ouaième region, province Nord, New Caledonia

The Mt. Panié RAP survey was led by a partnership between local communities, Province nord (Northern Province), Conservation International (CI) and Dayu Biik, an indigenous conservation non-profit organization. CI and Province nord’s relationships
with research institutes and experts, both in New Caledonia and internationally, brought together the multiple skills needed for
this comprehensive survey.

Rapid Biological Assessments of the Nakanai Mountains and the upper Strickland Basin: surveying the biodiversity of Papua New Guinea’s sublime karst environments

The independent state of Papua New Guinea (PNG) occupies the eastern half of New Guinea, the world’s largest and highest tropical island and one of the last major tropical wilderness areas on earth. Although New Guinea and nearby smaller islands remain substantially covered with tropical forest and are known to have an immensely rich and highly endemic flora and fauna, much of this biota remains undocumented, as evidenced by spectacular discoveries of both plants and animals during Conservation International’s recent RAP biodiversity surveys on the island (e.g. Richards 2007).

A Rapid Biodiversity Assessment of the Nakorotubu Range, Ra and Tailevu Provinces, Fiji.

Conservation International’s Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) is an innovative biological inventory program designed to use scientific information to catalyze conservation action. RAP methods are designed to rapidly assess the biodiversity of highly diverse areas and to train local scientists in biodiversity survey techniques. Since 1990, RAP’s teams of expert and host-country scientists have conducted 60 terrestrial, freshwater aquatic (AquaRAP), and marine biodiversity surveys and have contributed to building local scientific capacity for scientists in 26 countries.

A rapid biodiversity assessment of the Nakauvadra Highlands, Ra Province, Fiji

The Republic of Fiji consists of approximately 300 islands located roughly 3000 km east of Australia in the Pacific Ocean (between 16o and 20oS, 177oW and 175oE). There are four main islands in the Fiji group: Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, Taveuni and Kadavu. The two largest islands, Viti Levu (10,544 km2) and Vanua Levu (5,535 km2) comprise 88% of the total land area (~18,300 km2). It is estimated that no more than 100 islands are permanently inhabited. Most of the islands are the remnants of once active volcanoes sitting on a piece of the Pacific Plate.