The
ecological restoration of islands, or
island restoration, is the application of the principles of
ecological restoration to
islands and island groups. Islands, due to their isolation, are home to many of the world's
endemic species, as well as important breeding grounds for
seabirds and some
marine mammals. Their ecosystems are also very vulnerable to human
disturbance and particularly to
introduced species, due to their small size. Island groups such as
New Zealand and
Hawaii have undergone substantial
extinctions and losses of
habitat. Since the 1950s several organisations and government agencies around the world have worked to restore islands to their original states; New Zealand has used them to hold natural populations of species that would otherwise be unable to survive in the wild. The principal components of island restoration are the removal of introduced species and the reintroduction of native species.