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Van-KIRAP Communications Strategy - August 2022

SPREP Publications, Climate Change Resilience

Available Online

Howlett, Nick

The Vanuatu Klaemet Infomesen blong Redy, Adapt mo Protekt (VanKIRAP) project supports the Government of Vanuatu to institute a paradigm shift towards the standardised and mainstreamed use of science-based climate information, at multiple timescales to support resilient development pathways in Vanuatu.

Going to scale: reviewing where weve been and where we need to go in invasive vertebrate eradications

Available Online

Hagen, E.

Holmes, N.

Howald, G.

Keitt, B.

Poiani, K.

We are on the edge of the sixth mass extinction on Earth. Islands represent ca. 5% of the earths land area yet are home to 61% of extinctions in the past 500 years, and currently support 39% of critically endangered species. Invasive species are a leading cause of extinction and endangerment on islands. Invasive vertebrates, particularly mammals, are among some of the most damaging invasive species on islands. Eradicating invasive mammals is an increasingly utilised conservation tool. Nevertheless, conservation intervention needs greatly outstrip the island restoration communitys capacity. There are thousands of islands where invasive vertebrates are driving species toward extinction. So, how can the effort be matched to the scale of the problem? One approach is to improve outreach and communications to increase the resources available for projects. There are great stories; but these need to be told compellingly and repeatedly. Increasing social acceptance and support for invasive species eradications will reduce project costs associated with stakeholder engagement. Broadening the funding base can be accomplished by building stronger cost benefit valuations as well as engaging funders of climate change, marine conservation, human wellbeing, and food security. Furthermore, it is important to build upon existing partnerships to create or grow coalitions that can access these resources as part of broader, holistic efforts to address multiple conservation issues.

Trialling gene drives to control invasive species: what, where and how?

Available Online

Alphey, L.

Campbell, K.

Edgington, M.

Harvey-Samuel, T.

The control of invasive species would be enhanced through the addition of novel, more effective and sustainable pest management methods. One control option yet to be trialled in the field is to deploy transgene-based Gene Drives: technologies which force the inheritance of a genetic construct through the gene pool of a wild population, suppressing it or replacing it with a less harmful form. There is considerable interest in applying gene drives to currently intractable invasives across a broad taxonomic range. However, not all species will make efficient or safe targets for these technologies. Additionally, the safety and efficacy of these systems will vary according to where they are deployed, the specific molecular design chosen, and how these factors interact with the ecology of the target pest. Given the transformative but also controversial nature of gene drives, it is imperative that their first field trials are able to successfully demonstrate that they can be used safely and efficiently. Here, we discuss how to maximise the probability of this outcome through considering three important questions: What types of invasive species should we use to trial gene drives? Where should we be trialling them? and How should these trials be conducted? In particular, we focus on the ecological, genetic and geographic features of small, isolated islands which make them ideal locations for these initial trials. A case study of an island invasive that is deemed highly appropriate for gene drive intervention, and for which gene drive development is currently underway (Mus musculus), is used to further explore these concepts

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