Successful rodent eradication on 13 islets of Wallis: a major breakthrough for biodiversity and ecosystem health.
After 3 years of preparation and several weeks of intense fieldwork, the Territorial Environmental Service, supported by the organization Island Conservation, successfully completed the manual rat eradication on 2 islets (Nukuhi’one and Kaviki) and drone-assisted rat eradication on 7 islets (Nukufotu, Nukula’ela’e, Nukuloa, Luaniva, Fugalei, Nuku’afo, and Nukufeta’u) between October and November 2022, bringing the total number of rat-free islets in Wallis to 13, covering an area of 75 hectares.
This ambitious project was made possible thanks to the support of the territory authorities, especially the customary authorities, and the dedication of the involved team. Despite changing weather conditions, more than 500 drone flights were carried out to successfully achieve this unprecedented rat eradication. Additionally, the coastlines of the islets were manually treated by the Environmental Service to ensure maximum effectiveness.
The outcome of these successful operations was presented to the customary authorities of the Territory in May 2023. After the elimination of introduced predators, significant environmental benefits are expected. These include the planned revitalization of forests and crops, an anticipated increase in bird populations, and a better chance of survival for turtles. In general, these measures should also improve the overall health conditions of the islets. To preserve these results and ensure that the islets remain rat-free, the Environmental Service calls on the population of the territory to follow good biosecurity practices!
Discover the video created by SPREP on the action taken:
- https://brb.sprep.org/content/wallis-and-futuna-drone-based-rat-removal
or
- Reinforcing inter-island biosecurity and deratting the islets of Wallis and Futuna - YouTube
