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Darwin Initiative Assessment of the Coastal Biodiversity of Anegada, British Virgin Islands

Photo: Colin Clubbe

Inflorescence of the critically endangered endemic tree Acacia anegadensis (Leguminosae)

Anegada, one of the largest unspoilt islands in the Caribbean (area: 32 km²; coastline 48.3 km; population 250), is under extreme development pressure. It hosts a globally important coral reef system (area > 60 km²), and regionally significant nesting and foraging populations of endangered marine turtles, is of regional importance to birds and supports globally important endemic plants. The main objective of this highly collaborative three year project is to carry out a detailed assessment of the coastal biodiversity of Anegada leading to a Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) and the creation of the capacity for its future monitoring. This involves: 1) Integrated scientific documentation and monitoring of three important taxa (marine turtles, plants and birds); 2) Institutional strengthening and capacity building; and 3) Environmental awareness for the general public and key stakeholder groups.

It will only be through a locally developed BAP with a legacy of increased local implementation capacity and enhanced public awareness that sustainable development will be attained on this island of such critical importance for biodiversity. These activities will also help enable the British Virgin Islands (BVI) to meet its commitments to the Convention on Biological Diversity and to implement the targets of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation.

Major botanical outputs of this project are:

·        The development of a vegetation map and characterisation of the constituent plant communities

·        A conservation checklist for the island including a full red-listing assessment of all taxa leading to the publication of a Red List for Anegada

·        A collecting programme of herbarium specimens of the plants of Anegada and DNA collections for key species

·        The establishment of a herbarium at the J.R. O’Neal Botanic Garden on Tortola to house a national reference collection which will be started by the repatriation of a duplicate set of herbarium specimens collected during this project and currently stored in the Kew Herbarium

·        Continued support for the re-development of the nursery at the J.R. O’Neal Botanic Garden on Tortola to enable the development of an Anegada threatened plants display

·        Support for the continued development of botanical skills for National Parks Trust staff by providing training workshops and field experience

·        Provision of training for and to start a seed collecting programme

Kew has produced awareness raising materials including a series of conservation posters (BVI Conservation Poster Series - see Annex 1) highlighting key endemic and invasive species and an exhibition 'Caught in Time' (Annex 2) at Wakehurst Place as well as two exhibits for the Chelsea Flower Show - 'Treasured Islands' (Annex 3) and 'Message in a Bottle' (Annex 4). We contribute to the regular production of a dedicated project newsletter Darwin Anegada (four issues to date - see Annex 5) and articles for local newspapers.

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