Even in the remote, idyllic Cook Islands of the south Pacific, island ecosystems need active conservation to prevent damage from invasive species, global warming, and other threats. Seacology has worked with communities there for two decades, from our first project promoting ecotourism at an inland lake, to our recent partnership to strengthen the world’s largest multi-use marine reserve. Another recently concluded project is helping local youth prepare for well paying jobs while protecting the habitat of a threatened endemic bird.

Mangaia is the country’s second largest island. It is home to lush forests that provide a habitat for the tanga’eo, or Mangaia kingfisher, and many other vulnerable species. As is often the case on islands, invasive species pose a major threat to these birds. Chief among them is the common myna, introduced from Asia, which have taken over many of the burrows that the kingfishers nest in and disrupted their reproductive cycle.

The government is supporting an effort to remove the invasive birds, but the other pressures on their habitat, including logging, remain. So we partnered with the island’s communities to protect more than 4,500 acres of forest. The local people agreed to monitor the area, enforcing regulations and preventing cutting of the trees that the birds nest in.