INS 8-5 - Island resilience: engaging Pacific Island countries and territories on modern biological control techniques

Invasive species are the greatest driver of native biodiversity loss on islands. Once established, invasive weeds, pests, and diseases can also alter the composition of forests, increase fire susceptibility, and reduce a forest’s ability to store carbon, buffer severe weather, keep soil moist, accelerate water infiltration, and hold topsoil. Invasive species degrade the resilience of forests, yet protecting forests is a critically-important climate resilience strategy. In Hawaii and Pacific island countries and territories, there is a renewed interest in modern biological control as the only sustainable, landscape-scale tool that can mitigate the negative impacts of harmful pests and weeds.