Problem

Threatened island habitats

Nature:

Islands are experiencing increasing demands from growing populations, exacerbating the familiar land degradation problems of the mainland. Islands seem particularly susceptible to species loss. The introduction of species, particularly on remote oceanic islands has caused a tremendous loss of species. Hawaii and the Galapogos islands are prime examples of islands suffering from invasions and introductions.

The demand for commodities and the advent of refrigeration has lead to the establishment of plantations in place of the natural flora. Islands become degraded when they lose their mangroves and coral reefs which protect them from storms and soil erosion. Mining particularly for phosphates has done great damage to islands especially in the West Indian ocean and pacific.

Military activity has caused the degradation of many islands, many to the extent that the local populations have had to leave. Bomb damage, construction of air strips, military infrastructure and most poignantly the testing of nuclear and other destructive weapons, has virtually destroyed many islands.

Islands or island groups, which often have high rates of endemicity, face particularly high levels of threat to their flora. Indeed, seven of the top ten areas listed on the IUCN 1997 Red List for plants, according to percentage of threatened flora are islands: St. Helena, Mauritius, Seychelles, Jamaica, French Polynesia, Pitcairn, and Réunion.

Incidence:

Easter Island was once covered in a now extinct palm species, lost within the last 1000 years. The Madeira islands had extensive tree cover until the Portuguese arrived in the fifteenth century. In the Galapogos, the red quinine Chinchona auccirubra is threatening the native flora and fauna over large areas. The list of islands where man (both aboriginal and European colonists) have affected the native flora and fauna is a long one. Introduced reindeer, sheep and rabbits have done great damage to the island tussuck grasses of New Zealand, S. Georgia, Kerguelen island and other islands of the southern oceans and the south Atlantic. Livestock and fuelwood collection has decimated many island forests.

Aggravates:
Threatened island species
Threatened species of Dromaius
Threatened species of Geochelone
Threatened species of Nasua nelsoni
Threatened species of Xenicus lyalli
Threatened species of Chaetodon litus
Threatened species of Ducula whartoni
Threatened species of Mergus australis
Threatened species of Fregata andrewsi
Threatened species of Orthalicus reses
Threatened species of Lewinia muelleri
Threatened species of Amychus candezei
Threatened species of Nestor productus
Threatened species of Procyon pygmaeus
Threatened species of Gerygone modesta
Threatened species of Eudyptes robustus
Threatened species of Crotalus unicolor
Threatened species of Petroica traversi
Threatened species of Micrarionta gabbi
Threatened species of Dicrostonyx exsul
Threatened species of Zosterops natalis
Threatened species of Chelodina mccordi
Threatened species of Micrarionta facta
Threatened species of Deinacrida rugosa
Threatened species of Alsophis rijersmai
Threatened species of Cygnus sumnerensis
Threatened species of Urocyon littoralis
Threatened species of Casarea dussumieri
Threatened species of Sphenodon guntheri
Threatened species of Phelsuma guentheri
Threatened species of Ctenotus lancelini
Threatened species of Megalaperyx didinus
Threatened species of Sminthopsis aitkeni
Threatened species of Micrarionta opuntia
Threatened species of Neotoma martinensis
Threatened species of Deinacrida carinata
Threatened species of Mycotrupes pedester
Threatened species of Micrarionta feralis
Threatened species of Cyanoramphus cookii
Threatened species of Xenicus gilviventris
Threatened species of Gallirallus modestus
Threatened species of Nactus serpensinsula
Threatened species of Crateromys australis
Threatened species of Gallicolumba kubaryi
Threatened species of Pterodroma axillaris
Threatened species of Coenocorypha pusilla
Threatened species of Rattus tawitawiensis
Threatened species of Gallirallus wakensis
Threatened species of Dryococelus australis
Threatened species of Sus scrofa riukiuanus
Threatened species of Anagotus stephenensis
Threatened species of Phalacrocorax onslowi
Threatened species of Leiolopisma telfairii
Threatened species of Oligosoma lichenigera
Threatened species of Gerygone albofrontata
Threatened species of Cyclura nubila lewisi
Threatened species of Bostrichthys aruensis
Threatened species of Phalacrocorax colensoi
Threatened species of Pteropus phaeocephalus
Threatened species of Polposipus herculeanus
Threatened species of Bolyeria multocarinata
Threatened species of Marmota vancouverensis
Threatened species of Haematopus meadewaldoi
Threatened species of Zosterops tephropleurus
Threatened species of Phalacrocorax campbelli
Threatened species of Ramphotyphlops exocoeti
Threatened species of Hoplodactylus stephensi
Threatened species of Phalacrocorax ranfurlyi
Threatened species of Haematopus chathamensis
Threatened species of Castor canadensis phaeus
Threatened species of Martes melampus tsuensis
Threatened species of Ptilinopus rarotongensis
Threatened species of Tachycnemis seychellensis
Threatened species of Aprasia rostrata rostrata
Threatened species of Cyclura cychlura figginsi
Threatened species of Phalacrocorax chalconotus
Threatened species of Epicrates monensis granti
Threatened species of Dipodomys microps alfredi
Threatened species of Cyclura cychlura cychlura
Threatened species of Cyclura nubila caymanensis
Threatened species of Phalacrocorax featherstoni
Threatened species of Microtus townsendii cowani
Threatened species of Epicrates monensis monensis
Threatened species of Clethrionomys gapperi solus
Threatened species of Microtus oeconomus sitkensis
Threatened species of Peromyscus polionotus phasma
Threatened species of Microtus abbreviatus fisheri
Threatened species of Macropus robustus isabellinus
Threatened species of Glaucomys sabrinus griseifrons
Threatened species of Odocoileus hemionus cerrosensis
Threatened species of Haematopus unicolor chathamensis
Threatened species of Dicrostonyx unalascensis unalascensis
Related UN Sustainable Development Goals:
GOAL 10: Reduced InequalityGOAL 15: Life on Land
Problem Type:
D: Detailed problems
Date of last update
04.10.2020 – 22:48 CEST