What is it about?
Island ecosystems are biodiversity-rich, but face an alarming level of exposure to global change. We found that by 2050, climate change will be the dominant threat for 65% of islands; 22% will be affected primarily by land-use change; and 13% will face greater threats from biological invasions. We call for these ecosystems to be incorporated into global biodiversity conservation strategies and for their protection to be strengthened.
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Why is it important?
Although they account for just 7% of the Earth’s land surface, island ecosystems harbour almost 20% of the world’s biodiversity. From sea-level rise to biological invasions, islands are facing multiple pressures associated with ongoing global change, and yet they are still overlooked in global biodiversity conservation strategies. We combined several existing datasets with original modelling to develop threat layers at the island level for the world’s islands, and produced projections for 2050.
Perspectives
This article was a collaborative work from the RIVAGE group composed of an international team of 14 researchers. We all gathered 2 weeks a year in Montpellier at Cesab for amazing workshops (in terms of productivity, scientific talks, human relationships, and food) and we ended up with very nice scientific projects, which made me very happy of our group!
Clara Marino
Fondation pour la Recherche sur la Biodiversite
Working on this article showed me what collaborative science truly is. We had an excellent group of active and enthusiastic collaborators, and everyone contributed meaningfully, leading to great scientific results. I hope to be able to reproduce this research model in my future projects.
Gabriel Henrique de Oliveira Caetano
It has been a true pleasure to work with such a fantastic and friendly team on this publication. The project has been a great example of what can be achieved through meaningful collaboration, integrating diverse expertise and researchers at different career stages. The in-person meetings were a definitive highlight, fostering a supportive and welcoming atmosphere throughout the project.
Adrienne Etard
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Global threat exposure of islands in a changing world, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, July 2026, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2534106123.
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