Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas, A.C.

What Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas, A.C. does

Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas, A.C. (GECI) is a Mexico-based nonprofit civil association founded in 2000 that specializes in the conservation and restoration of Mexican island ecosystems. The organization functions as an executing arm for island conservation, collaborating extensively with Mexican federal agencies — notably CONANP, SEMARNAT, SEMAR, PROFEPA, CONABIO, and INAH — as well as with international academic institutions, NGOs, and island fishing communities. GECI has restored 39+ Mexican islands, eradicating 58-60 populations of invasive mammals (cats, goats, rats, mice) across approximately 59,422 hectares and benefiting 28 mammal, 42 reptile, 49 bird, and 87 plant endemic species.

GECI's core service offerings include invasive species eradication (using aerial baiting, trapping, and biosecurity protocols), native species recovery programs (notably the binational Black-footed Albatross translocation from Midway Atoll to Guadalupe Island), long-term ecological monitoring and scientific research, and environmental education through documentaries and printed materials. The organization's proprietary technology includes the NERD (Numerical Estimation of Rodenticide Density) algorithm developed by its in-house data science team to optimize real-time aerial rodenticide distribution from helicopters during eradication missions. GECI operates two solar-powered offices in Ensenada (headquarters) and La Paz, Baja California Sur, and employs approximately 100 specialists, scientists, and technicians.

As a nonprofit, GECI generates no commercial revenue from product sales. Its operations are funded through grants and contributions from Mexican federal government agencies, international foundations (including the Whitley Fund for Nature and Conservation Leadership Programme), and private donors. The organization holds Donataria Autorizada tax-deductible charity status and RENIECYT/CONACYT accreditation. Its work has been recognized with the AEON Midori Prize for Biological Diversity (2016, first Mexican recipient), the Whitley Award (2023), the National Geographic/Buffett Leadership in Conservation award (2024), and the UN World Restoration Flagship Initiative designation (2025).

Name

Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas, A.C.

Legal name

Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas, A.C.

Website

https://islas.org.mx

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas, A.C. (GECI) is a Mexican nonprofit founded in 2000 that restores island ecosystems by eradicating invasive mammals, translocating endangered seabirds, and monitoring biodiversity, primarily serving Mexican federal agencies and international conservation partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Island Conservation and Restoration Services

NAICS

Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190)

akta.pro primary industry

Biodiversity & Habitat Conservation (BPAGAGAA)

Keywords

• Island conservation services
• Invasive species eradication
• Ecosystem restoration services
• Seabird translocation
• Environmental research programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Ensenada

HQ country

Mexico

HQ region

Latin America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Funding and Grants: Financial support from various national and international donors, both private and public. GECI collaborates extensively with Mexican federal government agencies including SEMAR, SEMARNAT, CONANP, CONABIO, and INECC for conservation projects.
2. International Foundation Support: Support from international foundations and organizations for conservation work, including the Whitley Fund for Nature, Conservation Leadership Programme, and other environmental organizations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

GECI is a Mexican nonprofit civil association that delivers island ecosystem conservation and restoration services for Mexican islands, including invasive mammal eradication, native species recovery, seabird translocation, island biosecurity, ecological monitoring, and environmental education. The organization operates as an executing arm for federal conservation priorities in Mexican Insular Territory, working across the Pacific, Gulf of California, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean regions.

Product overview

GECI is a non-profit conservation organization (association civile) focused on the conservation, restoration, and scientific study of Mexican islands. Rather than a technology product company, GECI offers conservation services including invasive species eradication from islands, ecosystem restoration programs, long-term ecological monitoring, island biosecurity protocols, and scientific research. Key offerings include their invasive mammal eradication program (60 populations removed from 39 islands), the NERD algorithm for optimizing aerial rodenticide distribution, seabird translocation projects like the Black-footed Albatross program, and environmental education materials including documentaries and scientific publications. GECI works with government agencies, local communities, and international partners to restore island ecosystems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Conservation and Restoration of Mexican Islands
• Invasive Species Eradication

Quantifiable outcome

• 59,422 hectares restored benefiting endemic species including 28 mammals, 42 reptiles, 49 birds, and 87 plants
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, flagship and minor.

• Procuraduría Federal de Protección al Ambiente (PROFEPA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 July 2025Convenio de concertación to strengthen environmental protection, combining technical, scientific and operational capacities for conservation and restoration of Mexican islands. Includes technical training, knowledge exchange, risk mapping, monitoring, environmental education, biosecurity, logistics, surveillance strengthening, and conservation best practices.
• Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas (CONANP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term collaboration (2019-2024 agreement) to implement research, training, environmental education and restoration projects in federal Natural Protected Areas within Mexican Insular Territory. Joint work in Biosphere Reserves including Isla Guadalupe, with Conanp recognizing GECI's commitment, work and joint results over 18+ years.
• Pacific Rim Conservation (USA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBinational collaboration to rescue black-footed albatross from Midway Atoll, Hawaii, to establish a new nesting colony at Guadalupe Island Biosphere Reserve. Led the translocation effort using cross-fostering techniques with Laysan albatross as adoptive parents.
• Secretaría de Marina - Armada de México (SEMAR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInvaluable support for logistics to execute major restoration projects in Isla Guadalupe including use of large ships with helipad and hangar, transport of personnel and equipment. Maritime logistics support critical for island conservation operations.
• Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (SEMARNAT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal ministry providing policy framework and program support for island conservation and restoration activities across Mexico's protected territories.
• Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (CONABIO)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on invasive species management including development of Mexico's official list of Invasive Exotic Species and recent incursion tracking. Joint work on GEF Invasoras project.
• United States Fish and Wildlife ServicemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on invasive plant control program at Farallón del Sureste Island, California, USA. Support for biosecurity and invasive species management on US islands.
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerGECI's island restoration work recognized as a UN World Restoration Flagship Initiative, receiving UN support for restoration efforts across 60+ Mexican islands as part of global ocean restoration.
• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint announcement of GECI-led Mexican island restoration as one of the first World Restoration Flagship Initiatives for 2025, part of UN Ocean Conference.
• Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Ecological Restoration Project at the Cuicuilco Archaeological Zone (ZAC) including specialized greenhouse with 7,500 native plant species for regional reforestation. Joint project with UNAM, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias de la Tierra, and Universidad Autónoma de Chapingo.
• Local Fishing CooperativesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with social and fishing organizations for sustainable development and environmental learning projects with island communities integrated by fishermen and their families.
• Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic collaboration on research projects including impact studies on Socorro Island grasshopper, seabird studies, and ecological research across Mexican islands.
• Science Magazine / AAASminorOthersFeatured coverage of black-footed albatross translocation project demonstrating international scientific recognition of GECI's conservation work.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Conservación de Ecosistemas Isleños A.C. (Conabio-affiliated): Mexican academic and policy ecosystem housed under CONABIO focused on island biodiversity inventories. Comparable peer working on Mexican insular territory with overlapping scientific and policy networks, though primarily a research/governmental coordination body rather than an executing NGO like GECI.

Direct peers

• Island Conservation: The leading global NGO dedicated exclusively to preventing extinctions by removing invasive species from islands. Closest direct peer to GECI in mission (island restoration), methods (invasive mammal eradication, seabird recovery), and operational profile, with both organizations collaborating on albatross translocation and biosecurity work.
• Pacific Rim Conservation: US-based nonprofit specializing in seabird translocation and predator-proof enclosures on Hawaiian and Pacific islands. GECI's existing binational partner on the black-footed albatross translocation from Midway Atoll to Guadalupe Island, making it a directly comparable peer in seabird restoration methodology.
• Island Conservation Society: Seychelles-based NGO focused on conservation and restoration of islands in the Western Indian Ocean. Directly comparable to GECI in mission (island ecosystem restoration, invasive species management, endemic species recovery) and serves a similar role as an executing arm for national conservation policy in its geography.

Broad incumbents

• Fauna & Flora International (FFI): One of the world's oldest conservation NGOs with active island biodiversity and invasive species programs globally. Comparable as a broad-incumbent international NGO with technical capacity and donor relationships relevant to GECI's program design and international fundraising.
• Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS): Large US-based conservation organization operating field programs across marine and island ecosystems. Comparable in organizational scale and federal/international grant management, though with a much broader geographic and species mandate than GECI's island focus.
• Conservation International (CI): Global conservation NGO with active island, marine, and biodiversity hotspot programs including Latin America. Comparable as a broad incumbent operating at the scale and with the donor access relevant to GECI's international funding strategy and UN-aligned programs.
• Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust: Jersey-based international conservation organization with a long-standing island restoration program (e.g., round-island reserves, Mauritius kestrel, pink pigeon recovery). Highly relevant peer due to its island specialization, though broader in scope and larger in fundraising scale than GECI.
• BirdLife International: Global partnership of national bird-conservation organizations with active seabird, albatross, and island-endemic bird programs that overlap with GECI's seabird recovery work. Acts as an umbrella and policy/advocacy layer for organizations like GECI operating at the island-species level.
• The Nature Conservancy (Mexico): Global conservation organization with an active Mexico program covering marine, coastal, and island-adjacent ecosystems. Comparable peer as a similarly large, US-headquartered NGO operating in Mexico with overlapping donor base and government engagement.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/IslasGECI
• GitHubgithub.com/IslasGECI
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UChCwUNW27D50Bwh27U0lpfg
• Facebookfacebook.com/IslasGECI
• Instagraminstagram.com/islasgeci
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/islasgeci

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas, A.C.