New funding will progress the New Island Restoration Programme in the South Atlantic

A Black-browed Albatross pair on New Island, photograph by Ian Strange

New Island is a nature reserve in the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)* that supports populations of ACAP-listed Black-browed Albatrosses Thalassarche melanophris and White-chinned Petrels Procellaria aequinoctialis as well as large numbers of Slender-billed Prions Pachyptila belcheri.  The New Island Restoration Programme is working towards the eradication from the island of four different invasive species: feral cats, Black Rats, House Mice and European Rabbits.

The small population of Vulnerable White-chinned Petrels on New Island will benefit once the introduced mammals are gone

New funding from Darwin Plus now “gives the means to start an ambitious programme of work from 2025 to 2029 to conserve New Island, restore the whole island ecosystem, and make it a safe place for species such as Slender-billed Prions”.

Read about the new grant here.  Read more about the island here.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 03 March 2026

*A dispute exists between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (Islas Georgias del Sur y Islas Sandwich del Sur) and the surrounding maritime areas.