NZ island conservation success – In the News

New research championing New Zealand’s conservation approach to creating predator free islands has received wide media coverage.

Oceanites maorianus.jpg
The New Zealand storm-petrel, thought to be extinct, was saved by predator eradication on Little Barrie Island. Credit: Aviceda / Wikipedia

The study, published in PNAS, collated data from invasive mammal eradication projects on island around the globe. Examining 181 different islands, the researchers found 236 species – comprising almost 600 separate populations – had benefited from eradication projects.

“New Zealand is a world leader in island eradication, and this study also shows that we are leading the world in saving species from extinction using this conservation tool,” said University of Auckland Senior Lecturer in Biology and Statistics James Russell, co-author of the study, in a media release.

“Half the species populations found to have benefited from mammal eradications come from New Zealand.”

Read more about the research, including expert commentary, here.

Examples of coverage include:

Newshubs: NZ a world leader in pest eradication techniques
Radio New Zealand: New Zealand leads world in island conservation
BirdLife: Conservation Silver Bullet?
Otago Daily Times: Wiping out pests on islands crucial
Fly Rod and Reel: Conservation Silver Bullet?
PhysOrg: Conservation silver bullet: Invasive-mammal removal yields major biodiversity benefits
Newsweek: Eradicating Invasive Mammals Helps Native Island Species Thrive