£150,000 Government boost for overseas wildlife protection
20 January 2009
New projects to protect rare plants and
wildlife in some of the world’s most remote places are being backed
by £150,000 from the Government, the Joint Nature Conservation
Committee (JNCC) announced today.
Schemes to aid plant conservation in the Turks
and Caicos Islands and a study into the decline of penguins in the
South Atlantic are among the work being funded by Defra in some of
Britain’s Overseas Territories.
Projects include:
- Investigating the decline of Tristan Da
Cunha’s rockhopper penguin, part of an overall seabird monitoring
project.
- Measuring and stopping the spread of invasive
non-native species.
- Identifying landscape and biodiversity
features at risk of disappearing.
- Developing local expertise.
Wildlife Minister Huw Irranca-Davies said:
“Plants like the endemic Turk Island prickly
pear and the sea lavender found in the Turks and Caicos
Islands are among the world’s rarest species. This extra
money will help to conserve important wildlife in some of the most
remote parts of the world where Britain can help protect the
natural heritage.”
Peter Bridgewater, Chair of JNCC
commented:
“Contributions towards projects such as these
help them become a reality, rather than being just on our ‘most
wanted’ list. It is gratifying to have Defra understand the
importance of this work in furthering our championing of
biodiversity worldwide.”
- ENDS -
Notes to Editors
- The threats to Overseas Territories include
climate change, and invasive non-native species. A wide range
of projects in these territories are currently ongoing, including a
study into how to protect some of the World’s rarest birds on
Tristan da Cunha.
- A full list of Overseas Territories can be
found at: http://www.jncc.gov.uk/page-4079
- The Joint Nature Conservation Committee
(JNCC) is the statutory adviser to Government on UK and
international nature conservation on behalf of the Council for
Nature Conservation and the Countryside, the Countryside Council
for Wales, Natural England and Scottish Natural Heritage. Its
work contributes to maintaining and enriching biological diversity,
conserving geological features and sustainaing natural
systems. Website: http://www.jncc.gov.uk/
- The main uses of the extra funding will
be:
- Environment undergraduate
studentship - The opportunity for a student, from the
Overseas Territories, to undertake a degree in Applied Ecology at
the University of Reading. This will be administered by the UK
Overseas Territories Association (comprised of representatives of
OT governments based in the UK - established to promote the
interests of the OTs and cooperation between them). The project
will have two main benefits; in developing the skills of an
individual working in the OTs, and addressing an OT research
priority.
- Vegetation mapping on Turks and
Caicos Islands (TCI) - This is a contribution to the TCI
government Department for Environment and Coastal Resources, to
develop baseline environmental information to feed into national
development planning. This information will include the
identification of important areas for endangered species and the
threats to their continued existence. The experiences gained from
this project could be used as a model by other Territories.
Preliminary work was undertaken last year at a stakeholder workshop
on the Islands, with JNCC as one of the participants.
Funding was also allocated to
support:
- Tristan Da Cunha seabird monitoring
project - A contribution to support the Tristan Da Cunha
government’s work to monitor their seabirds, which include the
critically endangered Tristan albatross and the endangered northern
rockhopper penguin, which has suffered catastrophic declines in
populations in recent years.
- A review of invasive species in the
Overseas Territories - This will help to identify
priorities and future work.
- A review of geological features in
the Overseas Territories - This work will help in
identifying those at most risk.
For further information and images to
accompany this release, please contact: Communications Team,
JNCC. Tel: 01733 866839 or e-mail communications@jncc.gov.uk