The Ministry of Tourism and Environment says it will be hosting representatives from the UK’s Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) from 2nd – 11th March. The main purpose of the visit is to meet with local stakeholders to discuss the Darwin Plus: Environment funding for the UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs).
Tourism and Environment Minister, Honourable Josephine Connolly, noted the importance of the Darwin Plus programme.
While in the TCI, DEFRA representatives will engage with the ministry to determine how well the Darwin Fund is fulfilling its purpose and whether it is required to make necessary adjustments to the programme to better serve overseas territories and the UK.
DEFRA is the UK agency responsible for funding and ultimately deciding what is funded through the Darwin Plus programme. The ministry says that it has funded applied conservation work on the Caicos pine; the Turks and Caicos rock iguanas; wetlands and coral reefs; other species and habitats; and has developed capacity in management tools such as marine spatial planning, natural capital accounting, and fisheries science, in the Turks & Caicos Islands.
The visit will include meetings with various government departments, including the Department of Environment and Coastal Resource (DECR), the Energy and Utilities Commission, the Department of Planning, and the Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources (DFMR).
A trip to South Caicos will include a visit to sites of historical and ecological importance as well as to the local fishing community. The team will also travel to North and Middle Caicos for a tour featuring visits to sites where conservation work has been supported by Darwin Plus and previous DEFRA funding initiatives.
The ministry says that most importantly, this visit will bring together both conservation management staff and on-the-ground conservation team members in DECR with the UK Department responsible for managing the funding, to assess the efficacy of funding and how best to address environmental challenges and how the funds are accessed.
Darwin Plus is also known as the Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund and provides funding for a total of fourteen (14) UKOTs’ environmental projects, as well as fellowships for nationals of UKOT’s to bolster technical and scientific expertise and broaden knowledge and experience of environmental projects.
