Ministry of Tourism Hosts the UK Government

#TurksandCaicos, March 11, 2022 – The Ministry of Tourism will be hosting representatives from the UK Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) from the 2nd – 11th March 2022. The main purpose of the visit is to meet with local stakeholders to discuss Darwin Plus: Environment funding for the UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs).

Darwin Plus, also known as the Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund 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.

DEFRA representatives will engage with the Ministry of Tourism and Environment, Fisheries and Marine Affairs 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. Darwin Plus has funded applied conservation work on Caicos pine, Turks and Caicos rock iguanas, wetlands, coral reefs, and 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 Turks and Caicos Islands have benefitted enormously from Darwin Plus grants, some of which have helped save species and habitats from extinction and have further protected the livelihoods of Turks and Caicos Islanders. In our Beautiful by Nature islands, we depend wholly on the pristine environment and its escapist appeal to drive our tourism industry. Darwin Plus helps us balance the needs of our economy with those of nature and the environmental security of future generations”, said Honorable Minister Josephine Connolly.

The visit will include meetings with various TCIG 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.

Perhaps most importantly, it 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. This important visit gives Turks and Caicos Islands the opportunity to show how successful past grants have been and to identify adjustments that will be helpful in future conservation management to ensure that the natural environment is adequately protected for future generations.