United Kingdom Overseas Territories Research Articles

The United Nations' General Assembly High-Level Meeting on antimicrobial resistance: a joint statement from the Heads of Government and Chief Medical Officers of the United Kingdom's Overseas Territories.

The UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are small, often remote territories with historical and territorial links to the UK. They range from densely populated areas (Cayman, Bermuda, Gibraltar) to land with no permanent inhabitants (British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia). However, they are linked by ecosystem instability (the permacrisis) including antimicrobial resistance (AMR), climate change and biodiversity disruption. The Chief Medical Officers of the UKOTs met in June 2024 and were unanimous in their concerns about the threat of global AMR. They have issued this statement on their hopes and expectations for the United Nations' General Assembly High-Level Meeting, in September 2024. These may be summarized by the hope of achieving united and sustained global political will to reduce the threat of AMR by equitable access to treatments, prevention of AMR by sanitation and accurate diagnostics, and education in health care and the public.

Process evaluation of implementation of the early stages of a whole systems approach to obesity in a small Island.

The small Atlantic island of St Helena is a United Kingdom Overseas Territory (UKOT) with a high prevalence of childhood obesity (over a quarter of 4-5 and 10-11 year olds) and, anecdotally, adulthood obesity and its associated health detriments. St Helena have taken a whole systems approach to obesity (WSAO) to address the issue. A WSAO recognises the factors that impact obesity as a complex system and requires a 'health in all policies' approach. UK academic and public health technical support was provided to the local St Helena delivery team. This process evaluation sought to explore the early stages of the WSAO implementation and implications for the transferability of the approach to other small island developing states and UKOT. Data was collected via eight semi-structured interviews, paper based and online surveys, and document analysis. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The analysis identified three factors which aided the first phase of WSAO implementation: (1) senior leaders support for the approach; (2) the academic support provided to establish and develop the approach; and (3) effective adaptation of UK Government resources to suit the local context. Key challenges of early implementation included: maintaining and broadening stakeholder engagement; limited local workforce capacity and baseline knowledge related to obesity and systems thinking; and limited capacity for support from the UK-based academic team due to contract terms and COVID-19 restrictions. Early stages of implementation of a WSAO in a UKOT can be successful when using UK's resources as a guide and adapting them to a small island context. All participants recommended other small islands adopt this approach. Continued senior support, dedicated leadership, and comprehensive community engagement is needed to progress implementation and provide the foundation for long-term impact. Small island developing states considering adopting a WSAO should consider political will, senior level buy-in and support, funding, and local workforce knowledge and capacity to enable the best chances of successful and sustainable implementation.

Horizon scanning for potential invasive non‐native species across the United Kingdom Overseas Territories

AbstractInvasive non‐native species (INNS) are recognized as a major threat to island biodiversity, ecosystems, and economies globally. Preventing high‐risk INNS from being introduced is the most cost‐effective way to avoid their adverse impacts. We applied a horizon scanning approach to identify potentially INNS in the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (OTs), ranging from Antarctica to the Caribbean, and from the Pacific to the Atlantic. High‐risk species were identified according to their potential for arrival, establishment, and likely impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem function, economies, and human health. Across OTs, 231 taxa were included on high‐risk lists. The highest ranking species were the Asian green mussel (Perna viridis), little fire ant (Wasmannia auropunctata), brown rat (Rattus norvegicus), and mesquite tree (Prosopis juliflora). Shipping containers were identified as the introduction pathway associated with the most species. The shared high‐risk species and pathways identified provide a guide for other remote islands and archipelagos to focus ongoing biosecurity and surveillance aimed at preventing future incursions.

Integrated Marine Management in the United Kingdom Overseas Territories

Like many small island communities, the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are directly dependent on their marine resources for a range of ecosystem services, such as income generation, subsistence, leisure, recreation and wellbeing. Healthy marine ecosystems also play a broader role in climate regulation, coastal resilience and habitat provision. With Blue Belt Programme assistance, the UKOTs are developing enhanced protection and sustainable management strategies for their marine environments, using an Integrated Marine Management (IMM) approach. This coordinates cross-sectoral planning and management to carefully balance marine conservation and sustainable use of resources in order to minimize socio-cultural and economic impacts to the local community. We describe the IMM approach taken in two UKOT case studies. In Ascension Island, a conservation planning and resource management process was initiated with an objective to protect at least 50% of Ascension’s waters from commercial fishing, resulting in the designation of one of the largest Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Southern Atlantic. In St Helena, a new licensing framework for marine developments was developed within an existing sustainable use MPA. From these two approaches, we highlight aspects of the process, lessons learned and recommendations that may be useful for other small islands planning to implement IMM, particularly regarding the importance of effective stakeholder engagement, coordination across different governance scales, and long-term financial resources.

Climate Mitigation through Biological Conservation: Extensive and Valuable Blue Carbon Natural Capital in Tristan da Cunha's Giant Marine Protected Zone.

Simple SummarySolving biodiversity loss and climate change are part of the same problem; intact natural habitats can provide powerful and efficient climate mitigation if protected. Beyond the land (forests), there is little appreciation of just how important ocean nature is to climate mitigation. Carbon captured, stored and the rate at which it is buried (sequestration) by marine organisms is called blue carbon. We measured how much blue carbon occurs around the remote islands and seamounts of the Tristan da Cunha archipelago Marine Protected Zone (MPZ). We estimated that there are 300 tonnes of carbon (tC) captured in seaweed biomass each year, a proportion of which will sink and become a part of the long-term sediment carbon store. In deeper water we found a standing stock of ~2.3 million tC in the shallowest 1000 m depths, of which equivalent to 0.8 million t of carbon dioxide has the potential to be sequestered. At current carbon prices, and were it to attract blue carbon credits, £24 million worth of blue carbon can potentially be sequestered from the standing stock of this small United Kingdom Overseas Territory. This standing stock is protected and growth could, therefore, generate an additional £3.5 million worth of sequestered carbon a year, making it an unrecognized major component of the local economy. The economic return on this example MPZ probably ranks highly amongst climate mitigation schemes. The message is that placing meaningful protection to carbon-rich natural habitats can massively help society fight climate change and biodiversity loss. Nations who provide this protection should be fairly compensated, particularly where it comes at the detriment of other economic uses of marine habitats.Carbon-rich habitats can provide powerful climate mitigation if meaningful protection is put in place. We attempted to quantify this around the Tristan da Cunha archipelago Marine Protected Area. Its shallows (<1000 m depth) are varied and productive. The 5.4 km2 of kelp stores ~60 tonnes of carbon (tC) and may export ~240 tC into surrounding depths. In deep-waters we analysed seabed data collected from three research cruises, including seabed mapping, camera imagery, seabed oceanography and benthic samples from mini-Agassiz trawl. Rich biological assemblages on seamounts significantly differed to the islands and carbon storage had complex drivers. We estimate ~2.3 million tC are stored in benthic biodiversity of waters <1000 m, which includes >0.22 million tC that can be sequestered (the proportion of the carbon captured that is expected to become buried in sediment or locked away in skeletal tissue for at least 100 years). Much of this carbon is captured by cold-water coral reefs as a mixture of inorganic (largely calcium carbonate) and organic compounds. As part of its 2020 Marine Protection Strategy, these deep-water reef systems are now protected by a full bottom-trawling ban throughout Tristan da Cunha and representative no take areas on its seamounts. This small United Kingdom Overseas Territory’s reef systems represent approximately 0.8 Mt CO2 equivalent sequestered carbon; valued at >£24 Million GBP (at the UN shadow price of carbon). Annual productivity of this protected standing stock generates an estimated £3 million worth of sequestered carbon a year, making it an unrecognized and potentially major component of the economy of small island nations like Tristan da Cunha. Conservation of near intact habitats are expected to provide strong climate and biodiversity returns, which are exemplified by this MPA.

Pulling Back the Blue Curtain: A Pelagic Monitoring Program for the Blue Belt

Ocean health is fundamental to human prosperity. However, fisheries exploitation, industrialization and climate change imperil our oceans. Marine protected areas (MPAs) have been established in coastal habitats since the 1970s and the ongoing monitoring of these MPAs has shown their general ecological and economic value. Demonstrable benefits can include biodiversity conservation, fisheries enhancement and climate resilience. Since the 2000s, large scale MPAs (LSMPAs) are increasingly established, with new parks including extensive areas of pelagic habitat. Seminal was the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) MPA created in 2010. In 2016, the United Kingdom Government established the Blue Belt Programme to provide long-term protection of the marine environment across the United Kingdom Overseas Territories and LSMPAs have now been established or designated in a number of these territories. However, empirical data for the Blue Belt LSMPAs are needed to test their effectiveness in conserving pelagic species and to allow managers to monitor and assess the LSMPAs based on the best available evidence. This Perspective presents current advances in video-based monitoring of pelagic wildlife and provides examples of key ecological insights gained from their use that are relevant to LSMPA planning and management. We present a case study from the BIOT MPA and finally generalize with respect to key learning’s that will support planning and monitoring of LSMPAs within the Blue Belt Programme.

Life History and Ecology of Bluenose Warehou (Hyperoglyphe antarctica, Centrolophidae) in the Southern Atlantic

Bluenose warehou (Hyperoglyphe antarctica) is a popular commercial fish in Australia and New Zealand, but its biology and ecology are very poorly known in other regions where it is found. We present here the first life history data for this species from the south Atlantic, focusing upon the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the United Kingdom Overseas Territory (UKOT) of Tristan da Cunha (TdC). Here, bluenose is known from several seamounts and island margins, typically occurring in waters between 200 and 1,000 m depth and is the target species of trawl and longline fishery operating since 1997. We use a suite of methods to describe important life history parameters, including length-weight and age-length relationships and size at recruitment, as well as examining commercial longline survey data to uncover habitat preferences of bluenose. This work has formed an important part of the United Kingdom government’s Blue Belt Program in TdC. It has underpinned the development of the first stock assessment for this species in the Atlantic, as well as a range of improved conservation measures for some of the more vulnerable species that occur in these areas, including seabirds and cold-water corals.

Rapid Least Concern: towards automating Red List assessments.

BackgroundThe IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM (hereafter the Red List) is an important global resource for conservation that supports conservation planning, safeguarding critical habitat and monitoring biodiversity change (Rodrigues et al. 2006). However, a major shortcoming of the Red List is that most of the world's described species have not yet been assessed and published on the Red List (Bachman et al. 2019Eisenhauer et al. 2019). Conservation efforts can be better supported if the Red List is expanded to achieve greater coverage of mega-diverse groups of organisms such as plants, fungi and invertebrates. There is, therefore, an urgent need to speed up the Red List assessment and documentation workflow.One reason for this lack of species coverage is that a manual and relatively time-consuming procedure is usually employed to assess and document species. A recent update of Red List documentation standards (IUCN 2013) reduced the data requirements for publishing non-threatened or 'Least Concern' species on the Red List. The majority of the required fields for Least Concern plant species can be found in existing open-access data sources or can be easily calculated. There is an opportunity to consolidate these data and analyses into a simple application to fast-track the publication of Least Concern assessments for plants. There could be as many as 250,000 species of plants (60%) likely to be categorised as Least Concern (Bachman et al. 2019), for which automatically generated assessments could considerably reduce the outlay of time and valuable resources for Red Listing, allowing attention and resources to be dedicated to the assessment of those species most likely to be threatened.New informationWe present a web application, Rapid Least Concern, that addresses the challenge of accelerating the generation and documentation of Least Concern Red List assessments. Rapid Least Concern utilises open-source datasets, such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and Plants of the World Online (POWO) through a simple web interface. Initially, the application is intended for use on plants, but it could be extended to other groups, depending on the availability of equivalent datasets for these groups.Rapid Least Concern users can assess a single species or upload a list of species that are assessed in a batch operation. The batch operation can either utilise georeferenced occurrence data from GBIF or occurrence data provided by the user. The output includes a series of CSV files and a point map file that meet the minimum data requirements for a Least Concern Red List assessment (IUCN 2013). The CSV files are compliant with the IUCN Red List SIS Connect system that transfers the data files to the IUCN database and, pending quality control checks and review, publication on the Red List.We outline the knowledge gap this application aims to fill and describe how the application works. We demonstrate a use-case for Rapid Least Concern as part of an ongoing initiative to complete a global Red List assessment of all native species for the United Kingdom Overseas Territory of Bermuda.

Bathymetric and geological maps from the British Antarctic Survey

Since my 2012 feature about British Antarctic Survey (BAS) geological maps, the survey has continued to produce a series of ad hoc maps highlighting the results of their ongoing research, often in collaboration with their international colleagues. Not only has BAS added to their geological mapping series with James Ross Island off the Antarctic Peninsula, they have also produced a map of the bedrock topography of the entire continent, together with two bathymetric and geological settings sheets of the seas to the north of Antarctica. The first oceanographic map focuses on the South Sandwich Islands, some of the most remote United Kingdom overseas territories, roughly 700 km south‐east of South Georgia. Finally, the Drake Passage sheet shows the sea bed morphology from the Falklands and Tierra del Fuego to the South Shetland Islands just off the Antarctic Peninsula, spanning 70–50°W in longitude and 52–63°S in latitude. Below 60° south, all international territorial claims have been frozen by the Antarctic Treaty, which has demilitarized the entire continent since 1961 and ensured it remains untainted by mineral exploration and which has now expanded to a membership of over 50 nations.

Pitcairn

Pitcairn Peter Clegg The islands of Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno (commonly known as Pitcairn) make up a single territory, the last remaining United Kingdom Overseas Territory (ukot) in the Pacific Ocean. But much of the period under review (1 July 2017–30 June 2018) was concerned with Pitcairn's relationship with the European Union (EU), which has been highly advantageous to the territory. However, a long shadow has been cast over these relations due to the upcoming departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Brexit), which was officially scheduled for 29 March 2019. Pitcairn is an Overseas Country and Territory (oct) of the European Union. octs are not part of the European Union and thus are not directly subject to EU law, but they do have associate status and thus receive various forms of assistance from Brussels. As a consequence, the limited resources of the Pitcairn Island Council were focused on securing as much EU funding as possible before Brexit, while also lobbying London to ensure the territory's interests were safeguarded in the longer term. A crucial meeting for Pitcairn was the European Union Overseas Countries and Territories Ministerial Conference held in Brussels between 20 and 23 February 2018. A range of issues were discussed, including climate change, sustainable energy, and biodiversity, and what EU funding could best support initiatives in these areas (octa 2018). The highlight for Pitcairn was the signing of a European Development Fund (edf)–11 Focal Sector agreement, worth €2.35 mil-lion (us$2.72 million), to upgrade the island's medical center and to support several tourism-related activities, including "improving accessibility to Pitcairn, specifically by developing the Bounty Bay and Tedside landings and improving on-shore facilities" and "constructing a shelter and information centre for tourists and other visitors" (European Commission 2018a). A further €480,000 (us$556,000) was allocated under the EU's Pacific Regional Funding to cover two-thirds of the preliminary budgeted cost of the introduction of solar-powered renewable energy to Pitcairn (Pitcairn Miscellany 2018b). Because of the frequent time lag in getting EU funds disbursed, Pitcairn also benefitted from some edf-10 money during the period under review. For example, a number of local road improvement projects were undertaken through the European Union's integre (Territories Initiative for Regional Management of the Environment) program (Pitcairn Miscellany 2017a). integre also supported a glass recycling project, whereby [End Page 219] empty glass bottles were recycled into souvenirs for the tourist market (Pitcairn Miscellany 2017b). The projects linked into integre's focus on building resilience and sustainable development in the Pacific octs in the face of climate change. In addition, funds from edf-10 paid for a new goods shed (Pitcairn Miscellany 2017a). The importance of these funds was made clear in July 2017, when Pitcairn Islands Councillor Leslie Jaques gave evidence to the House of Lords Select Committee on the European Union on the likely impacts of Brexit. He noted that the European Union provides "a significant amount" of funding—accounting for about 30 percent of Pitcairn's overall budget (House of Lords 2017, 6). He also explained the importance of being part of a regional envelope of funding, which helps to facilitate cooperation with French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna, and New Caledonia. Pitcairn gains benefits in other respects too; the European Union is one of Pitcairn's largest markets for its honey exports, and the free movement of Pitcairners to French Polynesia, and particularly Tahiti, for medical treatment is crucial. As a consequence, Pitcairn has much to lose from Brexit, and Jaques did not mince words during his time with the House of Lords committee. He said that the loss of EU funding and freedom of movement to other European Union territories would be "catastrophic"; he went on to say that "we trust in the [Brexit] process and we hope for the best" (House of Lords 2017, 19). Jaques also cautioned that "we do not know [who will fill the funding gap], which is a concern" (House of Lords 2017, 6). So far the UK government has not given any reassurances that it will make good any shortfalls in support. More generally, there is...

First quantification of subtidal community structure at Tristan da Cunha Islands in the remote South Atlantic: from kelp forests to the deep sea.

Tristan da Cunha Islands, an archipelago of four rocky volcanic islands situated in the South Atlantic Ocean and part of the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), present a rare example of a relatively unimpacted temperate marine ecosystem. We conducted the first quantitative surveys of nearshore kelp forests, offshore pelagic waters and deep sea habitats. Kelp forests had very low biodiversity and species richness, but high biomass and abundance of those species present. Spatial variation in assemblage structure for both nearshore fish and invertebrates/algae was greatest between the three northern islands and the southern island of Gough, where sea temperatures were on average 3-4o colder. Despite a lobster fishery that provides the bulk of the income to the Tristan islands, lobster abundance and biomass are comparable to or greater than many Marine Protected Areas in other parts of the world. Pelagic camera surveys documented a rich biodiversity offshore, including large numbers of juvenile blue sharks, Prionace glauca. Species richness and abundance in the deep sea is positively related to hard rocky substrate and biogenic habitats such as sea pens, crinoids, whip corals, and gorgonians were present at 40% of the deep camera deployments. We observed distinct differences in the deep fish community above and below ~750 m depth. Concurrent oceanographic sampling showed a discontinuity in temperature and salinity at this depth. While currently healthy, Tristan’s marine ecosystem is not without potential threats: shipping traffic leading to wrecks and species introductions, pressure to increase fishing effort beyond sustainable levels and the impacts of climate change all could potentially increase in the coming years. The United Kingdom has committed to protection of marine environments across the UKOTs, including Tristan da Cunha and these results can be used to inform future management decisions as well as provide a baseline against which future monitoring can be based.

Constitutional Status of Montserrat as United Kingdom Overseas Territory

The article explores that partnership as a form of relations between Britain and the Overseas Territoriesis of various and nominal nature. The political and territorial relations between the UK and the overseasterritory under consideration are examined is the paper as a unitary federalism elements. Having examinedthe provisions of the Constitution of Montserrat, 2010 in the part of the Governor of the status of theregulation, the Cabinet, the Legislature, it is emphasized that a special place in the constitutional systemof government of Montserrat is taken by a representative of the British Crown in view of the powers whichwill subject to the established by the Constitution to make key decisions in the sphere of the island internalpolicy (convening the Cabinet, its resignation, the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly, law-makingfunction and others). This provides mechanisms to prevent the concentration of powers in the jurisdictionof the Governor. In particular, a significant role in the formation and implementation of the constitutionalcourse is assigned to the Prime Minister and the Legislative Assembly the recommendations of which aresubject to implementation in ordinary conditions. The theses are formulated on the advisability of furtherregulation of the competence of local public authorities in Montserrat and Governor, respectively, specifyingthe content and procedure for organizing and conducting the proceedings based on a considerationof questions on the resignation of the Cabinet, early dissolution of the Legislative Assembly, clarify thecriteria for such decisions, the coordination of positions on the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly.The paper studies the question on the Cabinet of Montserrat in the UK Cabinet by including membersof cabinet representing particular territories. Besides, the article mentions submitting by the LegislativeAssembly to UK House of Commons data on its opinion on draft laws relating to the entire Kingdom andsubmitting by the House of Commons the drafts related to the interests of the Commonwealth to the overseasterritories. The paper specifies the advisability of further regulation in the Constitution as to organizingand holding consultations with public authorities of overseas territory on the matters concerning theirinterests, referendum mechanisms for the people of islands to participate in the decision-making processof public nature, including the early termination of certain categories of officials.

Brexit and the Overseas Territories: Repercussions for the Periphery

There are 14 United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), of which nine are associated with the European Union (EU) via the Overseas Association Decision adopted by the EU in 2013. Gibraltar, meanwhile, is part of the EU under Article 355(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU. Only the citizens of Gibraltar were able to vote in the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU, but the consequences for all are potentially very significant. The UKOTs benefit currently from economic and environmental cooperation, as well as development assistance and policy dialogue. The article considers briefly the growth of the relationship between the UKOTs and the EU, before setting out the key aspects of the relationship which the territories are keen to maintain. The second half of the article focuses on the (minor) role the UKOTs played in the referendum debate, and what might happen to the present levels of cooperation as the UK disengages from the EU.

The biodiversity of the United Kingdom’s Overseas Territories: a stock take of species occurrence and assessment of key knowledge gaps

Limited financial resources for conservation and growing environmental problems make it vital to base conservation on sound scientific evidence. Small islands hold a disproportionately large amount of the worlds threatened biodiversity but it is among the least well-documented. This paper reports on the most extensive collation and synthesis of biodiversity data to date for the 14 United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs). A process of literature review and consultation produced 65,259 species records, including 32,216 native species of which 1549 were endemic to a single UKOT. The extent of knowledge of species occurrence varied both between islands and taxonomic groups. It was higher for vertebrates and vascular plants than small bodied invertebrates and non-vascular and for non-Caribbean compared to Caribbean islands, a difference that largely reflects knowledge of invertebrates. Global Red List assessments exist for 2606 species and document 111 of endemic species, 75 % of those assessed, and 291, 12 % of non-endemics, as globally threatened. Using the data to estimate true species richness suggests a further 70,000 native species, including 1800 single island endemics, remain to be documented suggesting the UKOTs as a whole may support over 100,000 native species including 3300 single island endemics.

The Commonwealth Caribbean and Europe: The End of the Affair?

The institutional relationship between the Commonwealth Caribbean and the European Union (EU) dates back to the mid-1970s, when the Lomé Convention was signed. The agreement was seen as a high water mark in First–Third World relations. However, since then the bond has come under concerted pressure. The consequence is that today the particularism that underpinned relations for so long has almost vanished and the EU is beginning to treat the Caribbean like any other relatively marginal region of the world. The article evaluates the reasons for this change, in particular: the scrapping of the trade protocols; the erosion of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) preference due to free trade agreements signed by the EU; the refocusing of EU development policy towards the least developed countries; and the split in the ACP group with the creation of an ill-designed regional Economic Partnership Agreement. The article places these changes into starker relief by assessing briefly the deepening links between the United Kingdom Overseas Territories and the EU. However, as the article highlights, this link will neither reboot nor sustain the more important Commonwealth Caribbean–EU relationship.

Prioritizing islands for the eradication of invasive vertebrates in the United Kingdom overseas territories.

Invasive alien species are one of the primary threats to native biodiversity on islands worldwide. Consequently, eradicating invasive species from islands has become a mainstream conservation practice. Deciding which islands have the highest priority for eradication is of strategic importance to allocate limited resources to achieve maximum conservation benefit. Previous island prioritizations focused either on a narrow set of native species or on a small geographic area. We devised a prioritization approach that incorporates all threatened native terrestrial vertebrates and all invasive terrestrial vertebrates occurring on 11 U.K. overseas territories, which comprise over 2000 islands ranging from the sub-Antarctic to the tropics. Our approach includes eradication feasibility and distinguishes between the potential and realistic conservation value of an eradication, which reflects the benefit that would accrue following eradication of either all invasive species or only those species for which eradication techniques currently exist. We identified the top 25 priority islands for invasive species eradication that together would benefit extant populations of 155 native species including 45 globally threatened species. The 5 most valuable islands included the 2 World Heritage islands Gough (South Atlantic) and Henderson (South Pacific) that feature unique seabird colonies, and Anegada, Little Cayman, and Guana Island in the Caribbean that feature a unique reptile fauna. This prioritization can be rapidly repeated if new information or techniques become available, and the approach could be replicated elsewhere in the world.

Plant Conservation Challenges in the Bahama Archipelago

The Bahamian archipelago has a rich flora with 89 endemic species. An international symposium held at Nassau in October 2012 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the publication of the “Flora of the Bahama Archipelago” provided a forum to discuss plant conservation issues on these islands. This article builds on conclusions from this symposium and results from joint plant conservation research projects among the authors. The two main conservation challenges for these islands are: (1) environmental uncertainties derived from global warming and associated sea level changes and (2) the need for increased plant conservation awareness among the predominant urban population of the archipelago. Legal tools and biodiversity international agreements in place for The Commonwealth of the Bahamas can facilitate mechanisms for effective plant conservation. Further legal developments need to be established in The United Kingdom Overseas Territory of The Turks and Caicos Islands. There is an urgent need to redevelop the Botanic Garden of Nassau and designate it as the national botanic garden of The Bahamas. Further research related to the taxonomy, biology, conservation status, and distribution of the endemic species is urgently needed. Research initiatives pertinent to the detrimental effect and biology of invasive species are also lacking. The heterogeneous environments and uneven distribution of human populations across the archipelago are major challenges for conservation. Finally because of the political and economic status of The Bahamas and The Turks and Caicos, conservation agencies from the archipelago do not have easy access to international or British/European Union funds for global conservation initiatives.

Coral reefs of the United Kingdom overseas territories

Coral reefs of the United Kingdom overseas territories

The United Kingdom Overseas Territories: Reform and Renewal?

In recent months the UK Overseas Territories have made the news headlines. In January, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that it can hear a case brought by Mauritius against the UK’s unilate...

Geological maps from the British Antarctic Survey

In a bold move the British Antarctic Survey has published the naturally fragmentary results of their ongoing geological mapping and research programme in the Antarctic Peninsula and offshore islands, plus South Georgia. The later is classified as a United Kingdom overseas territory, along with the volcanically active South Sandwich Islands just north of 60 degrees south. Beyond this latitude to the South Pole all territorial claims have been frozen by the Antarctic treaty, which built upon the International Geophysical Year of 1957 and came into force in 1961. Since then this monumental achievement, developed during the height of the cold war, has succeeded in keeping Antarctica demilitarized, including banning the disposal of nuclear waste, and untainted by mineral exploration. In 1998 this treaty was renewed for a further fifty years and extended to cover the impact of tourism. Although geological research had been conducted since the pioneering days of Shackleton, Scott and Amundsen, the original 1908 territorial claim was backed up by a continuing presence since 1943, and the Falklands Islands Dependencies Survey was renamed the British Antarctic Survey in 1962 to chime with the spirit of purely scientific research entailed by this treaty which has now expanded to a membership of nearly fifty nations.