Invasive vertebrate eradications on islands as a tool for implementing global Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

SummaryThe United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development sets a framework of universal Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to address challenges to society and the planet. Island invasive species eradications have well-documented benefits that clearly align with biodiversity conservation-related SDGs, yet the value of this conservation action for socioeconomic benefits is less clear. We examine the potential for island invasive vertebrate eradications to have ecological and socioeconomic benefits. Specifically, we examine: (1) how SDGs may have been achieved through past eradications; and (2) how planned future eradications align with SDGs and associated targets. We found invasive vertebrate eradication to align with 13 SDGs and 42 associated targets encompassing marine and terrestrial biodiversity conservation, promotion of local and global partnerships, economic development, climate change mitigation, human health and sanitation and sustainable production and consumption. Past eradications on 794 islands aligned with a median of 17 targets (range 13–38) by island. Potential future eradications on 292 highly biodiverse islands could align with a median of 25 SDG targets (range 15–39) by island. This analysis enables the global community to explicitly describe the contributions that invasive vertebrate management on islands can make towards implementing the global sustainable development agenda.

Do Invasive Mammal Eradications from Islands Support Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation?

“…Deployed at scales from individual islands to island nations, it is increasingly necessary given global transport mechanisms [15]. Once established, IAS eradication (Table 1), particularly mammals, has proven to be an effective strategy for many islands around the globe, successfully eliminating threats in a discrete time frame, with demonstrable benefits to native species and ecosystems [62,[67][68][69] and linkages to socioeconomic benefits for island communities [70]. To date, 88% of the more than 1500 known invasive vertebrate eradications undertaken on nearly 1000 islands worldwide were successful [71].…”

“…Associated improvements in water quality, including intact terrestrial and marine floral and faunal communities, can help to attract tourists with associated economic benefits. Thus, IAS eradications can simultaneously promote sustainable food production and consumption systems, improve human health and water quality, generate employment and opportunities for climate change mitigation [70].…”

“…In addition to the potential of invasive mammal eradications for enhancing climate adaptation and resilience, there is also evidence from multiple ecosystems that removing invasive mammals can help mitigate climate change (Tables 1 and 3) by promoting carbon sequestration [70,146]. Estimates of invasive mammal impacts on terrestrial carbon sequestration include a recent study's calculation that by uprooting soil, feral pigs (Sus scrofa), most of which are invasive, release 4.9 million metric tons (MMT) of CO 2 per year globally (equivalent to 1.1 million passenger vehicles) [118].…”

“…For example, in marine systems, seabird-derived nutrients, which are only present in large quantities around is-lands that lack invasive rats, may improve recovery of tropical coral reefs following marine heatwaves [144] (see Section 3.1). In terrestrial systems, invasive herbivore eradication is linked to reduced erosion rates and the regeneration of native vegetation that can enhance carbon sequestration [70,146] (see Section 3.3). Finally, several studies highlight the potential of invasive mammal eradications to provide new refugia for threatened species such as seabirds, particularly if islands are prioritized for eradications that are less susceptible to future sea-level rise [140,167,177,178] (see Section 3.2).…”

The Promise of Genetics and Genomics for Improving Invasive Mammal Management on Islands

“…Hosting disproportionately high levels of biodiversity and endemicity relative to their area (∼15% of all terrestrial species on ∼5.5% of terrestrial surface area; Kier et al, 2009), islands account for 61% of all documented extinctions since 1500 CE (Tershy et al, 2015). In addition to biodiversity loss, invasive species contribute to the critically endangered conservation status of insular flora and fauna, and can directly and indirectly affect island economies, livelihoods, food security, human and non-human community health, infrastructure and culture (Tershy et al, 2015;Russell et al, 2017;de Wit et al, 2020).…”