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Bird Conservation and Invasive Species

• About Us
• Overview of Problem

About Us

SPREP’s Regional Invasive Species Programme (RISP) and Regional Bird Conservation Programme (RBCP) have been in place since 1998; New Zealand funds a full time position to manage the two programmes.

The goal of the RISP is the: “Prevention, eradication or control of non-indigenous species which threaten ecosystems, habitats and species” and that of the Regional Bird Conservation Programme is: “to recover threatened bird species and to conserve all other indigenous bird species and their habitats.”

Following technical reviews of each topic, a Regional Strategy was cooperatively developed and set in place for each of these Programmes and approved for implementation by the member countries (Invasive Species in 2000, and the Bird Conservation in 2001). These documents continue to be used to lobby for funds and to direct the Programmes in their priorities including establishing in-country bird conservation projects and invasive species management.

The primary role of the current Bird Conservation and Invasive Species Programme Officer (POBCIS) is therefore to coordinate the implementation of these complementary programmes and to facilitate the implementation of the two Strategies. The current POBCIS, Liz Dovey, works closely with a series of key organisations, such as IUCN’s Invasive Species Specialist Group, the Global Invasive Species Programme, Birdlife International, Conservation International, and the United Nations Development Programme amongst others. Her chief aim in this has been to facilitate the implementation of the Strategies (with a particular emphasis on accessing appropriate funding to undertake the required tasks) and assist countries access required information and expertise.

Overview of Problem

The Pacific Islands and territories occupy more than 38 million square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean in their national waters and Exclusive Economic Zones, an area more than three times larger than the United States of America or China. Less than 2% of the Pacific region is land. The high islands support large tracts of intact rainforests that contain unique communities of plants and animals with many species found nowhere else in the world – for some islands, 80% or more species are endemic. The Pacific has been named one of the world’s global biodiversity hotspots – these have more than 1500 endemic plant species and more than 70% natural vegetation disturbed. A high proportion of the region’s total biodiversity is threatened with extinction, including 14% of Pacific bird species. Many of these endemic and threatened species are of resource or spiritual significance to Pacific people. Island ecosystems tend to have fewer species present and therefore become less complex with distance from the continents – and simpler systems are less resilient to new arrivals. Loss of species from naturally simple island ecosystems increases their vulnerability to catastrophic events and reduces the capacity of the ecosystems to provide food, shelter, income for people and an ability to carry on traditional ways of life.

The establishment of invasive species into natural ecosystems constitutes one of the leading threats worldwide to the loss of species and consequently biodiversity. The impacts of invasive species is numerous and can be irreversible. Pacific Island countries are particularly vulnerable to the effects of invasive species due to the high proportion of endemism and restricted range species. Consequently, invasive alien species are the principal cause for the extinctions of native biodiversity on land and pose the greatest threat to remaining terrestrial biodiversity in the Pacific. Habitat modification or loss, over-harvesting, including illegal trade constitute the other two main causes for species extinctions.