Biodiversity workshop to help prioritise local conservation efforts

An upcoming biodiversity strategy workshop will bring together local public, private and non-profit stakeholders to develop a unifying vision and strategic priorities for biodiversity in the UK Overseas Territories including the Cayman Islands.

The Cayman Islands Department of Environment (DoE) is leading the workshop in collaboration with visiting representatives from the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). JNCC is the public body that advises the UK Government and devolved administrations on UK-wide and international nature conservation.

DoE Director Gina Ebanks-Petrie explained the JNCC has a long history of supporting local biodiversity action and coordinating opportunities for conservation across the UK Overseas Territories.

“This workshop comes at an opportune time, following the introduction of natural capital accounting to the Cayman Islands, and coinciding with efforts to develop a national Climate Change Policy and an increased call from the local community to safeguard the ecosystem services our unique species and habitats have provided to our people for centuries,” she said. “By bringing together local and international stakeholders, this workshop will help develop a unifying vision and strategic priorities for biodiversity to support our national conservation goals, and identify funding gaps that can be filled by Darwin Plus grant schemes.”

Invitees to the workshop include representatives from more than 15 public, private and non-profit organisations.

During their visit the UK team, which includes a representative from the UK Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) which manages the Darwin Plus fund, will be visiting a number of the local projects benefiting from UK Darwin Plus funding. These include Blue Iguana Conservation (BIC), the DoE’s sea turtle programme which is assessing the likely effects of climate change on Cayman’s wild sea turtles, and a Darwin Plus Local grant to a local naturalist working to preserve endangered endemic orchids.

For further information on the work of the Department of Environment please visit www.doe.ky