Search the SPREP Catalogue

House sparrows (Passer domesticus) compete with native bird species, consume crops, and are vectors for diseases in areas where they have been introduced. Sparrow eradication attempts aimed at eliminating these negative effects highlight the importance of deploying multiple alternative methods to remove individuals while maintaining the remaining population naïve to techniques. House sparrow eradication was attempted from Robinson Crusoe Island, Chile, in the austral winter of 2012 using an experimental approach sequencing passive multi-catch traps, passive single-catch traps, and then active multi-catch methods, and finally active single-catch methods. In parallel, multiple detection methods were employed and local stakeholders were engaged. The majority of removals were via passive trapping, and individuals were successfully targeted with active methods (mist nets and shooting). Automated acoustic recording, point counts and camera traps declined in power to detect individual sparrows as the population size decreased; however, we continued to detect sparrows at all population densities using visual observations, underscoring the importance of local residents’ participation in monitoring. Four surviving sparrows were known to persist at the conclusion of eff orts in 2012. Given the lack of formal biosecurity measures within the Juan Fernández archipelago, reinvasion is possible. A local network of citizen observers is the best tool available to detect house sparrows at low density, however ongoing, dedicated eradication funding does not exist. Opportunistic removals via shooting have been possible from 2013–2016, but elusive individual sparrows were seen during a small number of days each year suggesting remnant group(s) exist in yet unknown forest locations.

This plan sets out the operational detail, logistics and framework for a planned eradication of introduced Pacific rats from Late Island (1,731ha) in the Kingdom of Tonga. The method for the eradication is the delivery of grain-based bait containing the anticoagulant brodifacoum, into every potential rodent territory on the island. This will be done during the driest part of the year when rodents are potentially most vulnerable due to lower relative availability of natural food supplies. Because of the island’s size and complex topography, the bait will be applied aerially using a helicopter with an underslung bait spreading bucket. Aerial application has been successful in eradicating rodents from many islands around the world, and the logistics and methodology are based upon similar successful operations. Mitigation measures will be required for key non-target species, especially the Friendly-ground dove. Monitoring of rodents and native species before and after the operation will be required to assess the success and effect of the operation.

The inextricable links between climate change and sustainable development have been increasingly recognised over the past decade. In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)1 concluded with very high confidence that climate change would impede the ability of many nations to achieve sustainable development by mid-century and become a security risk that would steadily intensify, particularly under greater warming scenarios. Article 4.8 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) lists several groups of countries that merit particular consideration for assistance to adapt to climate change “especially: (a) small island countries, (b) countries with low-lying coastal areas, c) countries with areas prone to natural disasters.” Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have characteristics which make them particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, sea level rise (SLR) and extreme events, including: relative isolation, small land masses, concentrations of population and infrastructure in coastal areas, limited economic base and dependency on natural resources, combined with limited financial, technical and institutional capacity for adaptation.2

The nations of CARICOM16 in the Caribbean together with Pacific island countries contribute less than 1% to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (approx. 0.33%17 and 0.03%18 respectively), yet these countries are expected to be among the earliest and most impacted by climate change in the coming decades and are least able to adapt to climate change impacts. These nations’ relative isolation, small land masses, their concentrations of population and infrastructure in coastal areas, limited economic base and dependency on natural resources, combined with limited financial, technical and institutional capacity all exacerbates their vulnerability to extreme events and climate change impacts. Stabilising global GHG emissions and obtaining greater support for adaptation strategies are fundamental priorities for the Caribbean Basin and Pacific island countries. CARICOM leaders recently unveiled their collective position that global warming should be held to no more than 1.5°C19 and continue to develop a Climate Change Strategic Plan. The Pacific island countries have expressed their priorities for addressing climate change regionally through the Pacific Leaders’ Call to Action on Climate Change20 and the Pacific Islands Framework for Action on Climate Change 2006-2015.21