Harnessing island–ocean connections to maximize marine benefits of island conservation

Islands  support  unique  plants,  animals,  and  human societies found nowhere else on the Earth. Local and global stressors threaten the persistence of island ecosystems, with invasive species being among the most damaging, yet solvable, stressors. While the threat of invasive terrestrial mammals on island flora and fauna is well recognized, recent studies have begun to illustrate their extended and destructive impacts on adjacent marine environments.

Buyers of Ian Gowrie-Smith’s private atoll in Papua New Guinea must show care for the islands and maintain conservation activities, but will anyone cough up? Each of the 21 islands is ringed by powder-white sand and capped with jungle, teeming with butterflies, tropical orchids and PNG’s fab