How to remain beautiful by nature?

The strapline of the Turks and Caicos archipelago, one of UK Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, is “beautiful by nature” and it is easy to see why.

With vast expanse of natural habitat remaining, it is one of the places where EO Wilson’s Half-Earth hypothesis could work – putting aside half of the land and sea for nature.  Theoretically, Turks & Caicos is already on its way to the Convention on Biological Diversity target for at least 17% of land to be well managed for nature by 2020 (even though it is still not a signatory), with about 25% designated as National Park or Nature Reserve.

Yet, scratch the surface and there are problems.  The islands have only recently recovered politically from the upheaval associated with the UK suspending the Islands' self-government following allegations of ministerial corruption in 2009-12. 

Economically, this is an island dominated by tourism where revenues account for 85% of its GDP.  With no real income tax, stamp duty on development is a big deal and so there is tension on the need to generate funds through development while also protecting the natural environment which is the attraction for tourists.  This has been demonstrated by a previous government's decision to sell of land within National Parks for development.

So, it has been so refreshing to see our partner, the Turks & Caicos National Trust, develop a sustainable income model through charging for guided tours around its sites, including the fabulous Little Water Cay, home to the endemic, but endangered Rock Iguana. 

Male rock iguana on Little Water Cay - the subject of the Darwin Plus grant

To keep Turks & Caicos “beautiful by nature”, the government and NGOs like the National Trust will need to find ways to develop low impact sustainable tourism within the national parks and help realise the value of nature for the country’s economy.  This will take time and investment in protected area management.  This is why UK Government support through grants such as Defra’s Darwin Plus fund are so important. 

As was demonstrated at our launch on Friday of the "Save the Iguana Islands of Turks and Caicos" project (described below), these projects can bring international and local partners together and attract political support to provide targeted nature conservation action.  It was the same with European grants, such as BEST and MPASSE (from which Turks & Caicos has also benefited), yet once we leave the European Union, UK Overseas Territories will no longer be able to benefit from such funding. 

The RSPB remains committed to working with our partners on the six UK Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, and we trust that the UK Government will find ways to maintain and replace lost grant funding to provide the much-needed impetus to invest in the fabulous nature of territories for which we remain accountable.

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Below, Elizabeth Radford (RSPB’s Senior UK Overseas Territories Officer for the Caribbean), describes how UK Government grant has galvanised local and international partners to restore magical islands for the globally important Rock Iguana...

Male rock iguana in background with female in foreground

Cyclura carinata – the iconic Turks and Caicos Rock iguana has always been something of a media star in Turks and Caicos, a reptile that most Islanders are rightly proud of. Last Friday it was once again the centre of attention as a cross sector audience from tourism, nature, heritage, business and agricultured gathered to launch a new project focusing on its conservation.

Endemic to Turks and Caicos and a couple of island cays in the Bahamas, this magnificent lizard was once numerous across the islands.  Today it is classed as critically endangered as it has been reduced to less than 5% of its original range. This is due to a combination of development (trampling and severe habitat modification) and the introduction of predators, mainly cats who eat hatchlings and dogs who will attack iguanas of any size. Rats can also be a problem as they compete for the largely vegetarian food source and will predate eggs. The magnitude of this threat cannot be understated; in the 1970s 15,000 iguana were lost over five years from Pine Cay when hotel workers bought cats and dogs to the island.

Thanks to an international partnership and funding from Darwin Plus, a new project; “Saving the Iguana Islands of Turks and Caicos,” intends to help to secure this species on two island cays that hold 75% of the population. The first Little Water Cay is known locally as Iguana Island, is the premier wildlife tourism site of TCI and managed by the National Trust, the second Big Ambergris Cay, is a highly developed private island with more development planned.  The TCI National Trust, San Diego Zoo Global, RSPB and the TCI Departments of Environment and Coastal Resources and Agriculture will work together on developing biosecurity plans for these islands to prevent the (re) invention of predators. This is particularly critical for Big Ambergris Cay which does not yet have rats or cats on island. The responses of populations of iguanas and other reptiles to human impacts (visitor numbers and development) will also be monitored during the project – as will feral cat activity on Little Water Cay, to inform our understanding of the impacts of these threats for future management plans. Finally around 10 other offshore cays will be investigated for presence of rodents using a rapid rat detection methodology which will be developed through the project.

On Friday at the project launch, ministers (yes two!), boat operators, government officials, hoteliers, media outlets and conservationist all came out to support the partners.  It’s worth reflecting not only on the power of the Darwin Initiative to enable innovative conservation projects by providing finance, but also of its tremendous convening power,  bringing together international and local partners from different disciplines and across several  government departments. This is critical for project profile and future sustainability.  Thank you Darwin Plus; a crucial and central fund for global biodiversity conservation efforts in the UK Overseas Territories.