Impacts of invasive species

THE effects of invasive species and extreme climate events take a greater toll on Pacific peoples because of the vulnerable circumstances of our biodiversity, says World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WFF) Pacific program director Mark Drew during the Awareness Workshop Fiji on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and the new Deal for Nature last week Thursday.

Having previously worked in the Cook Islands and the Marshal Islands, Mr Drew said one of the aspects that attracted him to the Pacific and working in small island developing states was the unique relationship people and communities have to their lands, rivers and oceans.

“With that also comes a lot of vulnerabilities, for example, if you have invasive species that are brought in accidentally or intentionally, that can really have impacts on the whole suite of other organisms and food chains,” he said.

“Small island developing states have particularly vulnerable circumstances around them related to biodiversity.”

Mr Drew, who was recently appointed regional director, has spent time working as a conservationist in the Cook Islands and the Marshal Islands with the WFF. Before taking up his current post, he served as the Cambodia country program conservation director.

He has a long history of work in conservation with respect to focuses on fresh water and terrestrial food production systems in Asia, Oceania, California, North America and the Caribbean.