Press Release: Staggering Recovery of Plants and Seabirds on Marshallese Islands Just One Year After Rat Removal
Press Release
Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands—Native forests are recovering, and seabird populations are soaring on Bikar Atoll and Jemo Islet in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) thanks to a successful campaign to remove damaging, invasive rats in 2024. This is a significant step toward realizing the vision of resilient thriving native ecosystems, oceans, and communities.
The forest floor in 2024, contrasted with 2025. Native Pisona seedlings rebound one year after restoration! Photo credit: Island Conservation
A recent trip to the islands by conservationists from Island Conservation, the Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority, Ministry of Natural Resources and Commerce, and community members from Utrik Atoll confirmed the 2024 restoration campaign to remove invasive rats was successful. The team found native seabird populations rebounding, restoring the vital nutrient connections between land and sea. Nutrients from seabird guano boost soil fertility which is beneficial for native plant populations and enrich the surrounding reefs resulting in more fish, and—ultimately—greater climate resilience for communities.
“After only one year, the transformation is dramatic. A colony of 2000 Sooty Terns, where there was previously none, were feeding hundreds of chicks,” said Island Conservation Project Manager Paul Jacques. “We also counted 1000’s of native Pisonia grandis tree seedlings across just 60 12m monitored plots on the forest floor—in 2024 we found zero. Native forests are crucial for seabird nesting and are critical to carbon absorption and the island’s ecological health.”
The Republic of the Marshall Islands is leading the way in community-directed conservation by combining terrestrial restoration with marine protection. The ecological gains on land are permanently safeguarded within its expansive Marine Protected Area (MPA), established in January 2025. Spanning 48,000 square kilometers (18,500 square miles), the MPA includes the waters surrounding Bikar Atoll, where the restored terrestrial ecosystems will enrich marine habitats through nutrient runoff.
The rare corals in these waters, and the fish communities they support, are expected to thrive. This integrated approach delivers outsized biodiversity benefits, demonstrating how land and sea conservation--when strategically linked--can amplify resilience and ecological impact.
This success is very meaningful to the people of neighboring atolls and island communities, such as the residents of Likiep, who have used Jemo to gather natural resources for generations. In recent years, these resources dramatically declined due to invasive rats, making Jemo Islet unusable. Thanks to this restoration effort, Jemo can now support key life-sustaining crops for nearby island communities.
Sooty Terns, a species rarely seen on Bikar previously, teem over the newly-restored landscape alongside other species, including Red-Footed Boobies. Photo credit: Paul Jacques
This success sets a powerful precedent for future restoration efforts throughout the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Feasibility assessments are underway for Bokak Atoll, a semi-arid ecosystem similar to Bikar. Bokak also lies within the Marine Protected Area. All three of these projects in RMI—Jemo, Bikar, and Bokak—are united by their membership in the Island-Ocean Connection Challenge, a volunteer collective created by Island Conservation, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Re:Wild to restore and rewild 40 globally significant island-ocean ecosystems by 2030.
“Our Marshallese friends continue to add restored, pest-free islands to their list of achievements,” Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) Invasive Species Adviser David Moverley commented. “Participating in the first rat removal workshop in Tonga ten years ago allowed them early on to achieve successful eradications on small islands by themselves. Now with modern technology and expert technical support from our partner Island Conservation, they are really pushing the boundaries and people are starting to realize the treasures that abound within the Marshall Islands and the opportunities that they present.”
A colony of thousands of Sooty Terns raises their young on Bikar Atoll. Photo Credit: Paul Jacques
Media Assets:
Photos and B-roll video: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gK2XpoJxU6K5_4Kjcz9zGu7FehiCcbFQ?usp=sharing
Interviews available upon request.
Media Contacts:
Sally Esposito, Senior Communications Director, Island Conservation sally.esposito@islandconservation.org
About the Project:
The Republic of the Marshall Islands led the initiative to restore Bikar and Jemo through the Ministry of Natural Resources and Commerce, the Marshall Islands Environmental Protection Authority, and the Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority. Part of the Island-Ocean Connection Challenge, this project was enabled by IOCC partners at the Pacific Regional Invasive Species Management Support Service (PRISMSS) under the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) with Island Conservation providing technical expertise. The New Zealand Foreign Affairs & Trade and UK International Development provided funding for this work.
About the collaborators:
Conservationists trek along the beach on Bikar while birds soar above them. Photo credit: Shaun Wolfe
Island Conservation's mission is to restore islands for nature and people worldwide. We are a United States-based 501(c)(3) charitable organization with a globally distributed team—often made up of local islanders who bring deep knowledge and connection to the places where we work. Together, we collaborate with local communities, government management agencies, and conservation organizations to holistically restore islands by bringing back biodiversity, the foundation of all healthy ecosystems. We do this by removing a primary threat (introduced, damaging invasive species) and accelerating the return of native plants and animals. We utilize innovative technology and techniques to work more efficiently and showcase the many benefits of holistically restored islands for biodiversity, climate resilience, ocean health, and sustainable development across the globe. Visit us at islandconservation.org.
About PRISMSS: The Pacific Regional Invasive Species Management Support Service (PRISMSS) is a coordinating mechanism designed to facilitate the scaling up of operational management of invasive species in the Pacific. PRISMSS, which is led by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) brings together experts to provide support within the Pacific region with a focus on protection of indigenous biodiversity and ecosystem function. As a service provider, PRISMSS provides a comprehensive suite of support services in a cohesive, effective, efficient, and accessible manner to Pacific Island countries and territories.
Restoring Island Resilience (RIR): The PRISMSS - Restoring Island Resilience (RIR) is a New Zealand-PRISMSS collaboration project that aims to improve Pacific Island Countries and territories livelihoods and resilience to climate change by reducing the impact of invasive species on natural and agricultural ecosystems through the six PRISMSS programmes.
