It's Earth Day---Woohoo!
- Islands To Highlands Crew
- Apr 22
- 8 min read
Updated: Apr 22
Ready to support the people on the front lines protecting Mother Earth?
Why we support the Island Conservation Team.
When we started this business, it was very important for us to 'share the aloha' and to help support an organization that helps protect the environment. Our brand is all about the adventurers at heart and those who love to travel and see this wonderful world. If we were going to put our efforts, dollars and our customers' donations to a group that does that, then we wanted to donate to one that actually was in the field doing the work, raising real-time awareness, educating the public and was highly rated by all the watch dog groups who oversee non-profit and charitable organizations. For us, Island Conservation checks all those boxes and we have enjoyed supporting them ever since!
Island Conservation does some amazing things around the world and we would like to help celebrate Earth Day & Month by showcasing one of their most recent achievements and to show where you can go to donate to their cause.
We need to preserve those remote and out-of-the-way islands now...
Island Conservation is on the front lines working with local communities governments and NGOs to holistically restore island ecosystems. Many of the places Island Conservation helps are not on our travel radar which makes it even more vital that we spread the word and get the funds to the places needed. Island Conservation has therefore focused its efforts on islands with species categorized as Critically Endangered and Endangered on the IUCN's Red List.
Island Conservation removes a primary threat to healthy island ecosystems--invasive species--and then they accelerate the return of native plants and animals using innovative methods. The results are dramatic! They've restored hundreds of island ecosystems using this nature-based solution across the globe and seen incredible benefits – enhanced coral health, thriving biodiversity, increased climate change resilience, growing forests, sustainable communities and more. Their small, but mighty team of island restoration specialists are dedicated to fixing a solvable problem.
Their latest effort out in the Pacific Ocean on the Marshall Islands...
Yes, it's Earth Day...again (in Bill Murray's voice). So, let's showcase one effort Island Conservation is doing to change the game so we can have many more Earth Day celebrations to come.
The Marshall Islands span approximately 70 square miles. Yet, they boast an impressive 106 bird species, showcasing remarkable biodiversity for such a small territory. To put this into perspective, the density of bird species in the Marshall Islands is about 1.51 species per square mile. This is notably high compared to many other regions, especially considering the islands' remote location and limited land area.
The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) is home to some of the most remote atolls in the North Pacific, if not the world. Characterized by their low elevation and unique composition, the three Island-Ocean Connection Challenge (IOCC) projects located in RMI—Jemo, Bikar, and Bokak—offer key opportunities to demonstrate what low-lying coral atolls stand to gain from holistic ecosystem restoration.
Here is the skinny from Island Conservation on the Marshall Islands...
The Marshall Islands are home to some of the world’s most pristine coral atoll ecosystems—and now, they’re legally protected. Powered by the Island-Ocean Connection Challenge (IOCC), we began our work in partnership with the government and local communities to restore and re-wild remote atolls in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). And as of this year, two of our key sites—Bikar and Bokak Atolls—are officially part of a new marine sanctuary!
Covering 18,500 square miles around the Bikar and Bokak atolls, this sanctuary is home to some of the most pristine marine ecosystems on Earth. The protection of these areas not only preserves their natural beauty but also highlights the Marshall Islands’ commitment to environmental stewardship.
By limiting and regulating human activities in the region, RMI creates a safe haven for vulnerable species that could be impacted by fishing, drilling, and other extractive practices. And Bikar and Bokak are perfect for this kind of protection—key nesting sites for Green Sea Turtles, the surrounding reefs are also prime feeding and breeding ground for deep-sea sharks, giant clams, and parrotfish, all of which are crucial for maintaining the health of the reef.
This bold step evinces the commitment of RMI’s government to protect and nourish their precious ecosystems, making them a world leader in conservation. And it also contributes meaningfully to 30×30, a global initiative that aims to protect 30% of Earth’s land and ocean in the form of sanctuaries just like this one by 2030.
The IOCC, a collaborative effort involving NGOs, governments, scientists, and local communities, aims to restore and re-wild island-ocean ecosystems from ridge to reef. Our projects on Bikar and Bokak are now part of the legacy of a massive marine sanctuary larger than the country of Switzerland. This commitment signals a bright future for the Pacific, along with the animals, people, and ecosystems that depend on it.
All the land of RMI’s atolls is composed of fossilized coral. This feature marks these atolls as unique from most other land on our planet: rather than being built up by geological processes such as volcanic activity and plate tectonics, coral atolls are strictly biological.
Coral atolls form when fringing reefs outlive the volcanic islands they once encircled. Thriving in the shallow waters of lagoons, these reefs act like living superorganisms, growing, shrinking, and changing based on environmental conditions.
While this means that everything under the surface of the water is in constant flux, there are not any geologic processes occurring to build up elevation on land. In fact, the entire country’s average elevation is only 7 feet, or just over 2 meters, which means rising sea levels pose a serious existential threat to the people and ecosystems that depend on the land to survive.
Nonetheless, these islands have survived massive transformations in sea level in the millions of years they have existed. The fact that these reefs extend thousands of meters below sea level suggests that coral, growing on top of itself, has built them up over time to counteract a gradual subsidence of the underlying volcanic basalt—accounting for their endurance even as their original volcanic islands eroded away.
Above the surf, plants and animals also keep erosion at bay. Seabirds, bringing key nutrients from the sea to the land in the form of their guano, enrich soil for plants such as Pisonia and Heliotropium to lock their roots into the land.
Storms and waves, which are often thought of as sources of erosion, can also perform the opposite function. Breaking off pieces of coral from the reef, the ocean can add this sediment to existing land, extending the coastline.
But all of these processes depend on the overall health and wellbeing of the island ecosystems that support them. And the delicate balance between land and sea that sustains these communities is currently under threat by a damaging invasive species: rats. Rats predate on baby crabs, seabird eggs, and turtle hatchlings, interrupting the flow of nutrients through the ecosystem and imperiling these low-lying islands. But there’s hope: IOCC partners are working together to holistically restore these islands by removing invasive species and accelerating the return of native plants and animals, securing their futures for generations to come.
IOCC partners are performing similar work on Bikar Atoll, one of the smallest atolls in the Marshalls, located north of Jemo. Along with Bokak Atoll, Bikar may be one of the only remaining semi-arid atoll ecosystems left in the world undisturbed by human habitation. Its three larger islands, Jabwelo, Almani, and Bikar, are composed partially of dry heliotropium landscapes and partially of humid Pisonia forest. The Pisonia forests may be the most intact of their kind in the world, with old-growth trees providing plentiful shelter to birds and hermit crabs.
Bikar’s sheltered lagoon makes it, like Jemo, an important breeding site for Green Sea Turtles, which are similarly vulnerable to invasive rats. Teeming with seabirds, such as Black Noddies, Masked Boobies, and White Terns, Bikar also offers refuge for migratory birds. The IUCN-listed threatened Bristle-Thighed Curlew, which breeds in Alaska, flies down to the North Pacific during winter, along with the Pacific Golden Plover.
In addition to providing a seasonal home for migratory birds and a year-round home for seabirds, Bikar Atoll also fosters unique, delicate corals with abundant fish populations. The pass where its lagoon empties into the sea allows pelagic fish such as sharks and tuna to hunt and mix with shallow-water reef fish such as the Two-spot Red Snapper, Humpback Red Snapper, Leopard Grouper, and Humphead Parrot fish.
The people of the Marshall Islands know that their home is under severe threat from climate change impacts such as extreme weather and rising sea levels. Removing invasive mammals is an important first step in the restoration of these three very important ecosystems. Marshallese organizations (the RMI Ministry for Environment and Commerce, the Marshall Islands Conservation Society, and the Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority) are partnering with international bodies (Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme – Pacific Regional Invasive Species Management Support Service – PRISMSS, New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Island Conservation, and OneReef) to realize their vision of thriving, vibrant, resilient atolls.
Want to learn more? Island Conservation's newsletter goes out twice a month with educational content as well as the latest and greatest environmental news on their website at www.islandconservation.org.
Islands To Highlands would like to give our deepest gratitude to the Island Conservation Team for all their efforts worldwide in protecting our environment. We love what they do and their approach to getting things done---from the team in the field to the ones behind the scenes getting the word out about all this. It may look like a dream job to work in such a wonderful setting, but when you have to roll your sleeves up and do the daily grind of conservation, it can be very tough work. The adverse conditions and long-term dedication to seeing projects through to completion goes mainly unseen by most of us.
We also would like to do a special shout-out and thanks to Bren Ram and Island Conservation for all the photos and info they supplied.
Island Conservation's mission is to restore islands for nature and people worldwide. Islands are special places that provide outsized returns on our conservation investments. It’s really a message of hope for the future. The Marshall Islands is just one of the places that Island Conservation is planting its flag to help in the ongoing war against biodiversity loss.
Island Conservation is headquartered in Santa Cruz, CA with field offices in Chile, Ecuador, Hawaii, New Zealand, Palau, and Puerto Rico. Since their founding in 1994, Island Conservation and their partners have successfully restored 65+ islands worldwide, benefiting 1218 populations of 504+ species and subspecies! Island Conservation is dedicating their efforts to saving these wonderful islands and they love getting their hands dirty for the cause. They need your help, so go check out what they do and how you can support their immediate efforts!
Go check out their latest efforts and donate now:
Island Conservation
P.O. Box 80709
City of Industry, CA 91716-8415 USA
Ph: (831) 515-7314
Email: info@islandconservation.org
Other Ways To Donate
There are several ways to donate to this important cause and it's super easy! For every item you purchase with us, Islands To Highlands will donate a portion to Island Conservation. You can also donate directly to Island Conservation by visiting their website at www.islandconservation.org/donate-to-island-conservation/ or reach out via email at giving@islandconservation.org
Organizations like this always need your help so please share their story and reach out directly to them to see how you can contribute. Mahalo!
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Sunset in the Marshall Islands from the IC Team...niiiiice!
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