In Fiji we have every reason to be proud of our natural heritage. Who else has the amazing crested iguana? Who can claim the beautiful red-throated lorikeet? And most Pacific islands don't even have one species of frog. We have two.
But in order to keep hold of this wildlife, we need to work closely with other island nations to share knowledge and skills that have already been used to bring species back from the brink of being lost forever from this world.
Earlier this month, conservation workers from across the Pacific region came together to discuss the best ways to tackle the challenges facing island plants and animals.
The Island Species-Led Action course was hosted in Fiji from July 6-15 and was run by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, a UK-based charity that is at the heart of a remarkable network of experts throughout the world.
The course was run in partnership with the National Trust of Fiji and the University of the South Pacific.
There were participants from Fiji, Samoa, Tuvalu, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, PNG and the Philippines.
And presenters with conservation experience from islands such as Mauritius, the Seychelles, The Cook Islands, and French Polynesia.
So it is no surprise that of all the lessons learnt throughout the course, it was the importance of collaboration that was at the forefront of everybody's minds as they returned home.
So what examples can we learn from in an age when island species are disappearing at a much faster rate than their continental cousins?
The Indian Ocean island of Mauritius has the dubious honour of being the location of the most famous extinction of all time. Through a combination of over-hunting and introduced predators the poor dodo was lost less than 100 years after it was first described.
Yet it is Mauritius that provides a number of more modern tales to inspire hope for our own endangered species.
Professor Carl Jones, who has led Durrell's work on the island, explained how even the smallest populations can bounce back by applying the right conservation techniques.
In 1974, the Mauritius kestrel was the rarest bird in the world, with only four individuals known to exist in the wild. Yet intensive action in captivity and in the wild has helped the population to rise to over 600 today.
"With help from many experts, we developed a number of techniques to raise the population size as soon as we could.
"We perfected skills in captive breeding, manipulation of wild nests, and control of the introduced animals that have become serious predators of the young birds.
"It took time, but the Mauritius kestrel was saved because we weren't afraid to seek the help of others outside of our own team."
And the achievements in Mauritius and the rest of the world can show the way for a local relative of the kestrel.
Professor Jones said: "Through learning from each others' successes and through our mistakes, species such as the exceptionally rare and beautiful Fiji peregrine falcon can experience a similar recovery."
Look at the back of a $5 note, and you will see the striking image of a crested iguana. Unique to Fiji, the iguana has disappeared from almost all of its former range. Now it clings to just a few small islands.
They are threatened by the loss of their dry forest habitat and the presence of introduced predators such as cats, rats and mongooses. And hope for the future of the species may lie in re-establishing populations on other islands that are now free from these invasive species.
Again, lessons can be learnt from Mauritius about the value of translocating reptiles to predator-free islands.
A number of unique reptile species clung to existence on small islands off the coast of Mauritius, having been wiped out on the main island.
They include Durrell's night gecko, a small lizard named after Gerald Durrell, the late author and naturalist who established the organisation that now bears his name.
Experts from Durrell and the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation first controlled the alien species from other islands, before moving a few of these lizards to their new homes.
The scheme has been a great success, with the new populations quickly establishing themselves.
"Not only have we increased the survival chances of these species by reducing the risk to vulnerable populations, but we have seen the restoration of whole ecosystems by replacing the lost pieces of the jigsaw," said Dr Nik Cole, who leads the project."
A translocation of crested iguanas from their one stronghold of Yadua Taba to other islands is planned, and Dr Cole's work provides hope that this will herald a bright future for the species.
It is not just for the sake of the species themselves that conservation action is required, according to one of the most respected experts on Pacific biodiversity.
Professor Randolph Thaman of the University of the South Pacific told participants in the ISLA course that the plants, animals and natural systems of the South Pacific are the most important economic resource available to its people, and effective protection will lessen the effect of climate and environmental changes.
And, according to Professor Thaman, the human crews of these "island arks" need a refresher course.
"If we can maintain and reclaim our traditional knowledge and practices, we will have a living pension fund that is free from inflation, trade deterioration, and the uncertainties of governments, pension-fund collapses and economic breakdown."
"Over the last 50 years we have been trying to develop in a way that is not suitable to the South Pacific and not sustainable. We must not forget that for "poor" nations we have incredible wealth" Professor Thaman said.
"Our traditional understanding of the value of our natural resource has supported us for centuries. And in the 21st Century, these resources still provide most of our income, revenue and foreign exchange.
"And healthy ecosystems will not only provide us with food and essential materials should the worst climate forecasts come true, but act as a buffer to drastically reduce the impact of major events like El Ni±o."
The sense of partnership that was such a strong feature of the course will continue long into the future.
Participants in Durrell's training courses have access to the expertise of former trainees.
The Graduate Network enables members to seek advice through the internet from some of the 1700 conservation professionals from more than 120 countries who have been trained by Durrell.
Jone Niukula, from the National Trust of Fiji, himself a former Durrell trainee, outlined the value of the network.
"We can see that the most successful conservation projects build on knowledge from others. Being able to draw on the combined experience of so many conservationists means that our attempts to save our own wildlife has a much greater chance of succeeding too."
Whilst it may be the modern world that poses so many threats to our unique species, it seems that it may be the combination of modern technology and traditional knowledge that holds the key to their future.
