Island Travel: June 2007 Archives
HELP SAVE THE WORLD'S ISLANDS WITH THE TOP TEN ISLAND SAVING TIPS
-- With vacation season upon us, the time for island preservation is NOW! --
As the summer travel season approaches, many vacationers are dreaming of the islands. But before you slap on your floral prints and step aboard your plane, consider: Just how stable might your island destination be? Seacology, the world's premier non-profit organization focused on preserving island environments and cultures, has drawn up its Top Ten Island Saving Tips for travelers who want to help save the world's islands.
Be they Caribbean jewels, exotic dots in the South Pacific, or obscure landmasses far out at sea, islands are among the world's most fragile environments. Over the past 400 years, more than 50% of all plant and animal extinctions - including an astonishing 90% of all bird species extinctions - have occurred on islands. Indeed, no less than 72% of all plant and animal extinctions recorded in the U.S. have occurred in Hawaii, whose islands taken together account for less than two-tenths of one percent of our nation's land area.
In other words, the time to get concerned about island preservation is NOW!
