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Enabling the People of Montserrat to Conserve the Centre Hills

Photo: Martin Hamilton

The Centre Hills viewed from Katy Hill, Montserrat

Montserrat’s Centre Hills are of global biodiversity importance, supporting many of the island’s key endemic species. The volcanic eruptions of 1995-97 destroyed almost all the forests of the southern hill ranges, resulting in the total loss of about 60% of Montserrat’s forest ecosystem. The Centre Hills now hold the largest intact forest area remaining on Montserrat. It is the last viable enclave for most of the island’s wildlife, including the critically endangered Montserrat Oriole (Icterus oberi), Montserrat Galliwasp (Dipoglossus montisserrati), and Mountain Chicken (Leptodactylus fallax). Little is known of the plant composition of the Centre Hills. The Centre Hills forests also provide essential environmental goods and services to the people of Montserrat. They are the main water catchment area on the island and provide protection from soil erosion, landslides and flooding during severe weather events.

This highly collaborative three year Darwin project will undertake a biodiversity assessment of the Centre Hills as well as a socio-economic survey of the uses made of biological resources. It will research the impact of alien invasives on forest ecology. Montserrat is also seeking to rebuild its economy following the volcanic catastrophe. The Government of Montserrat envisages nature tourism as a major future source of income and that the Centre Hills would need to play a key role in this.

Data collected from these assessments and consultation processes will inform a participatory management plan that conserves the environmental integrity of the Centre Hills, whilst also taking into account the needs and concerns of the wider Montserratian community. It will be based on the identification of zones for various management interventions: conservation, restoration and sustainable use. The training needs of Montserratians will be assessed and technical skills strengthened so they can take forward the management plan. Legislation will be progressed to support the designation of the Centre Hills as Montserrat’s first National Park. Awareness of the Centre Hills, and the benefits from conserving the area, will be raised at both the local and international level. Implementation of the management plan will be started.

Specific botanical activities/outputs include: the production of a vegetation map and a conservation checklist for the Centre Hills. With wider collecting (as time allows) the aim is to produce a conservation checklist and Red List for the whole island. Herbarium specimens will be held in duplicate at Kew until facilities are available in Montserrat to house a collection. DNA collections will be made of key species. Other activities include: the identification of single island endemics and other restricted range species and development of management plans to secure their future, including getting them into cultivation in a re-developed botanic garden; the identification of potential alien invasive plant threats; the provision of training in key botanical skills for Montserrat partners; and supporting the Montserrat National Trust to establish a new national botanic garden and develop its conservation and educational potential. Awareness of the importance of Montserrat’s biodiversity will be raised by producing a regular newsletter, Darwin Centre Hills Project Newsletter (Annex 1), writing newspaper articles and giving talks and radio interviews on the island.

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