Islands harbor 20 percent of all bird, reptile, and plant species, even though they encompass only 3 percent of the world’s land surface area. Unfortunately, extinction rates are also exponentially greater on islands: 95 percent of bird extinctions worldwide, 90 percent of reptiles, 69 percent of mammals, and 68 percent of plants. Most of these extinctions are caused by invasive species, such as feral goats, cats, and rats.
The over 100 islands of the Gulf of California and Pacific coast of Baja California exemplify the biological value of island ecosystems, as well as the threats they face. These islands act as reproductive and nesting grounds for numerous species of seabirds. They also harbor 50 percent more endemic species per square mile than the Galapagos Islands. However, introduced invasive species threaten the balance of these ecosystems.
Conservación de Islas (GECI) , is a Mexican nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing extinctions and protecting insular ecosystems in Mexico through the removal of invasive species, outreach to local communities, and the development of public policies aimed at protecting Mexico’s islands.
Conservación de Islas, in partnership with the Mexican government and various Mexican and international institutions, successfully achieved the removal of 48 invasive mammal populations from 31 islands of Northwest Mexico. Their efforts protected 147 endemic taxa—23 mammals, 34 reptiles, 21 birds, and 69 plants—as well as 227 seabird breeding colonies. Through these actions, an area of 50,743 hectares was restored, 10 percent of Mexico’s insular territory.
Conservación de Islas was instrumental in the establishment of Guadalupe Island as a Biosphere Reserve, an area of terrestrial and coastal ecosystems promoting solutions to reconcile the conservation of biodiversity with sustainable use. Conservación de Islas is also working with Mexico’s National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) to legally protect all other islands in the Pacific side of the Baja California Peninsula. The current trajectory and pace could allow the eradication of invasive vertebrates from all of Mexican islands by the year 2025, a strategic goal that has global relevance for biodiversity.