What all islands have in common is that they are isolated from the mainland. That creates a unique environment, with species of animals and plants that may be very different from their counterparts on the mainland. Island ecosystems are fragile and easily disturbed by the combined threats of introduced species and diseases, habitat loss, and the cascading impacts of climate change. While islands make up a small amount of Earth’s land mass, they are disproportionately vulnerable to biodiversity loss.

A keystone project in the Pacific region is our Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program, which operates the Keauhou and Maui Bird Conservation Centers. These centers are devoted to rebuilding sustainable populations of critically endangered Hawaiian forest birds, and developing programs to reintroduce them back into nature.