A Guide to the Healthy Parks Healthy People Approach and Current Practices

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Managing biological pest invasions to keep
people and protected areas healthy
Biological invasions in terrestrial and aquatic
protected areas occur when animals, plants or
micro-organisms invade an area where they were
not previously present and then settle, reproduce,
spread and cause damage to biodiversity, human
livelihoods or health.
How can we best manage pest invasions in our
parks?
Different means of detecting biological invasions
and novel ways to prevent new invasions come
from experiences from around the world
including Mexico, Australia, Fiji, Palau and India.
Summary of session and discussion
Many invasive plants in protected areas are
causing problems but they can be controlled by
good management systems and they can have
benefits to biodiversity as well as people.
Good partnerships can make for healthy
ecosystems and healthy people. Partnerships with
industry, government, indigenous and local
communities can help deal with invasive species.
A program called ‘All together now!’ was
introduced on Norfolk Island to control invasive
predators. There had been a lack of effective
rodent control and this program, which involved
residents, created a more effective and
coordinated rodent and cat control program.
A good example of how pest control brought
positive outcomes to many sectors is the
Kayangel Atoll case study in Palau where the
eradication of invasive rodents and feral cats
protected habitats of the rare Palau Megapode
bird (Bekai megapode) and recovered the
ecosystem to its original state. The success of this
project relied on a solid foundation of community
support. The Kayangel community was part of
the research and local people have been trained
and are now implementing monitoring,
eradication and biosecurity activities.
Session manager
Geoffrey Howard, IUCN Global Invasive Species Coordinator,
USA
Session contributors
– Maria del Carmen, National Commission of Protected
Areas, Mexico - Impacts and management of Lion Fish in
protected areas in the Caribbean
– Judy Fisher, IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management,
Theme Leader Ecosystems And Invasive Species, Australia
- Partnerships with industry, government, indigenous and
community for best practice projects to enhance
biodiversity knowledge for management, ecosystem
services, and healthy environments incorporating an
ecosystem approach to invasive species
– Lolita Gibbons-Decherong, Palau - Safeguarding the rare
Kayangel Atoll ecosystem and livelihoods, Palau
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