Accordian to a recent post on Guardian.co.uk, quoting Colin Clubbe, head of conservation at Kew Gardens, plant life in the Cayman Islands, Turks & Caicos Islands, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, and Montserrat is threatened by over-development and climate change. He explains, ‘Conservation is one of biggest challenges for these islands. But effective conservation is impossible if the government of these Territories or other countries do not support the protection of habitats for endemic and native flora and fauna. There is a strong element of short term thinking by governments in many of these islands and globally. Effective conservation has to be a central part of government policy and development strategy.
‘When I say short-term thinking is an issue on many islands, you can see it in the lack of control surrounding development, the building of tourist hotels, and roads and the effect this has on nature. Even a small impact on habitats can still be significant for plants and animals, especially critically endangered ones. The fragmentation of habitats, such as by roads can lead to the extinction of species….
‘While tourism is one of the biggest sources of revenue for many of these communities, many governments do not take into consideration the fact that tourists come to look at the natural beauty. The development of the islands needs to be balanced by the protection of the wild places and the setting up of nature reserves. Governments are slowly moving to do this but perhaps not quickly enough. Tourism has exploded on these islands in the last thirty years with some devastating effects.
‘While tourism is one of the biggest sources of revenue for many of these communities, many governments do not take into consideration the fact that tourists come to look at the natural beauty. The development of the islands needs to be balanced by the protection of the wild places and the setting up of nature reserves. Governments are slowly moving to do this but perhaps not quickly enough. Tourism has exploded on these islands in the last thirty years with some devastating effects.
‘I think it is very important to encourage civic pride, to make people proud of where they live, and their local biodiversity; this helps save species. We have held naming competitions for plants which currently only have Latin names, wanting people to come up with local names. This makes people enthusiastic about saving species and making sure they are looked after.’
He concludes, ‘It is true to say that islands reflect what’s happening in a wider environment around the world. These extreme climate events are becoming more frequent and conserving native biodiversity is becoming increasingly challenging.’
Read his full statement at Guardian.co.uk.
