Island Conservation

Description

We are committed to the protection of island life.
Islands harbor an extraordinary treasure of unique plants and animals - the wealth of species that so amazed Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, that it led them to develop a theory on the origins and adaptation of all species. We live for the day when island flora and fauna are no longer declining, when the threats to their persistence are gone, and when they are once again significant ecological players on their island stages.

We formed as a network of conservationists in 1994 starting with Island Conservation (US) a 501(c)3 registered non-profit. In 1997, we helped form a sister organization in Mexico, Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas, A.C (GECI). GECI, with the Mexican National Protected Areas Commission (CONANP) and local partners, began the systematic protection of Northwest Mexico's insular biodiversity. In 2004, we assisted in the formation of another sister organization, Island Conservation Canada.

We have removed introduced mammals from 27 islands in less than 10 years. This has eliminated the only significant extinction threat for 20% of the insular endemic animals, 25% of the insular endemic plants, and 69% of the breeding seabirds in California and Western Mexico.