Species conservation in the Pacific Islands: taking effective steps forward

Abstract

Pacific species face heightened levels of threat due to the relatively small size, fragility and rapid environmental changes from human development and invasive species in many Pacific Island Countries and Territories (Veitch et al. 2011; Connell 2013; Sodhi et al. 2013). The geographic isolation of many islands is also a major barrier to the spread of scientific and traditional knowledge on threatened species, and facilitation of supportive networks for strengthening collaboration on species conservation. An additional block is the lack of consolidated approaches to many species conservation issues within the Pacific Island Countries and Territories, particularly for noncharismatic species that are often overlooked or are low on the agenda. Furthermore, the capacity and availability of resources for conservation – including both people and available scientific information – are known to be heavily biased towards developed countries in Oceania (Kingsford et al. 2009). The combined impacts of these gaps and blocks are clearly evident in several related public outputs including: national and regional species inventories, National Biodiversity and Strategic Action Plans, and progress on undertaking and implementing IUCN Red-List species assessments for the Pacific Islands.