UK overseas wildlife 'needs protection'

By Alasdair CrossProducer, Costing the Earth

If you want to see the Giant Earwig of St Helena you may already be too late.

Fancy sniffing a pretty yellow Arlihau flower in the wild? You'll have to hurry down to Pitcairn Island as there are only six plants left.

The common thread linking these endangered species is that they are residents of UK Overseas Territories.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has reported that 94% of unique British species live outside the UK - and some urgently need protection.

The RSPB report concerns 14 territories - relics of empire scattered from the South Pacific to the Mediterranean.

Prime Minister David Cameron has said that the Overseas Territories provide, "an important opportunity to set world standards in our stewardship of the extraordinary natural environments we have inherited".

With the report showing that 85% of our critically endangered species live in these territories, the RSPB is asking for increased spending to meet the Prime Minister's ambitions.

The Turks and Caicos Islands, 250km (150 miles) to the east of Cuba, are home to unique species such as the Barking Gecko, the Turks and Caicos Rock Iguana and the Pygmy Boa Constrictor.

Continued

Public call on Government to save British humming birds, albatrosses and whales

Call to save UK's hummingbirds, albatrosses and whales
December 2011: The British Government needs to step up and honour its responsibilities to the UK Overseas Territories, which contain more than 85 per cent of the UK 's globally threatened species.

The Overseas Territories are home to an assortment of species, from penguins to parrots and hummingbirds and from seabirds to whales. Their unique environments are home to hundreds of species found nowhere else, a third of the world's albatrosses and the largest and most pristine coral atoll on earth, the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean.

'People care about these territories – and they want action'Nearly 17,000 pledges for action have been handed to Henry Bellingham MP, Minister for the Overseas Territories in response to the Government's ongoing consultation on the Overseas Territories.

Representatives from the RSPB gave Mr Bellingham an image of a yellow-nosed albatross - one of the 33 bird species in the UK Overseas Territories threatened by extinction - made up of the names of supporters who have added their voice.

The Government is currently consulting on a new strategy for Overseas Territories. Results of the consultation will eventually feed into a White Paper and the RSPB hopes the Government will step up to the environmental challenges faced by the Territories.

'It's possible to save hundreds of British species from extinction'Dr Tim Stowe, the RSPB's director of international operations, said: ‘These pledges are a clear demonstration that people care about Overseas Territories and want the Government to take action.

‘We are urging the Government to consider its 2020 biodiversity obligations and commit to developing and implementing its Overseas Territories Biodiversity Strategy in the upcoming White Paper. This could save hundreds of British species from the threat of global extinction, but will need a proactive programme of work with dedicated staff and a much larger percentage of the biodiversity budget than the 0.1 per cent currently allocated - that's just ten pence in every £100 of conservation spending.'

All 14 territories, mostly made up of island groups, are a treasure trove of spectacular species, some of which are found nowhere else on Earth, but hundreds of them are sliding towards extinction.

'Time is running out'Although the Overseas Territories occupy an area of land far smaller than the UK mainland, their wildlife value is immeasurably more significant. A major driver of the economies for the islands is tourism, and wildlife and the natural environment are major attractions.

Wildlife on Overseas Territories face several threats, but non-native species, fisheries, habitat degradation and climate change are the factors affecting the greatest number of species.

Dr Stowe added: ‘We must take care of our islands and the exceptional species that live on them. We welcome the UK Government's new approach to the Territories, and hope it will fulfil this promising new engagement by developing its Overseas Territories Biodiversity Strategy.

‘Three hundred and fifteen species in the Overseas Territories face extinction. Their survival is in our hands - but time is running out.'

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/overseas-territories2011.html#cr