Creating offshore island sanctuaries for endangered species: The New Zealand experience

Regional and national efforts to preserve biodiversity are frequently thwarted by adverse factors that can be difficult to control. A common example is where introduced predatory or competitive species have come to dominate a particular biogeographical region. Such a situation may necessitate the creation of new protected areas in locales that can be made secure for local endangered species. In New Zealand, this has meant an emphasis on offshore islands. Selected small islands are being laboriously cleansed of introduced mammals and appropriately revegetated (if necessary), following which they become recipients of declining and endangered native species, especially endemics. The early results of this effort show promise; this is particularly true on the island of Tiritiri Matangi, which is here used as a case study. Not all species can be moved, however, and the long-term prospects for many species native to the three main islands remain uncertain. As available habitats shrink in countries throughout the world, the miniaturization of nature, as reflected in New Zealand's offshore islands of biopreservation, may in the future become a commonplace approach to threatened species preservation.