Photo by Rod Long
The UK government and all 14 Overseas Territories have united behind a joint biodiversity strategy for the first time, setting out an ambitious framework to halt and reverse biodiversity loss across territories spanning from the Antarctic to the Caribbean.
The territories are home to 94% of the UK’s unique species and host over 40,000 recorded species, including 1,851 found nowhere else on earth. The strategy aims to protect species including emperor penguins, green turtles, and the mountain chicken frog—which resides in Montserrat and is 40 times larger than its European counterparts.
The territories support every one of Earth’s major ecosystems, from coral reefs and rainforests to polar tundra, including the second largest green turtle rookery in the Atlantic Ocean on Ascension Island and a quarter of the world’s penguins.
Nature Minister Mary Creagh stated: “We are blessed with remarkable wildlife in our Overseas Territories from the polar landscapes of British Antarctica to the cloud forests of St Helena – there are thousands of species that cannot be found anywhere else. However, this precious biodiversity is under threat from global warming and it is our duty to protect it.”
Minister for the Overseas Territories Stephen Doughty emphasised that “with many of the territories positioned on the front lines of the climate crisis, we are absolutely committed to preserving and protecting these habitats into the future.”
John Cortes, Environment Minister for Gibraltar, described the strategy as “the result of tremendous collaborative work by many people, in the OTs and in the UK, and of many years of study into our unique biodiversity. It is an example to others of what can be achieved by working together even if scattered across the globe.”
The strategy is built around six overarching goals including strengthening management and regulatory frameworks, enhancing environmental resilience, championing the benefits of nature, reconnecting people with nature, developing skills and talent, and maximising opportunities for funding and collaboration. It will be reviewed by UKOT ministers every three years to ensure it remains fit for purpose.
The framework is backed by the UK Darwin Plus Fund, which recently allocated around £5 million to projects restoring nature in the UK Overseas Territories.
Dr David Cooper, chair of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, noted that “this new Biodiversity Strategy will strengthen support for implementation of multilateral environmental agreements, enhance sharing scientific expertise, and foster cross-territory relationships, ensuring these globally important ecosystems continue to thrive and support local economies.”
Protecting the nature of the UKOTs is vital to the way of life of their residents, many of whom work in nature-dependent sectors like tourism and fishing. Safeguarding these ecosystems also preserves benefits for climate resilience, such as the sand dunes of Anguilla which protect communities from storm surges, or the Cayman mangroves which store carbon.
The strategy forms part of a wider effort by the UK Government to restore nature, including the international commitment to protect 30% of land and seas for nature by 2030. The 14 territories covered include Anguilla, Ascension, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, St Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, Tristan da Cunha, and Turks and Caicos Islands.