Overseas Territories Biodiversity Strategy workshop 

#TurksandCaicos, August 24, 2022  – This week the Ministry for Tourism and the Environment is joined by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) who is hosting high-level stakeholder meetings and a two-day workshop, with stakeholders from the private and public sectors, to inform the UK Overseas Territories Biodiversity Strategy.  

 The TCI has already completed the Environmental Strategy, looking at how we manage our natural resources taking into account our usage as well as climate change resilience, which is currently being reviewed by the Government. The UK Overseas Territories (OT) Biodiversity Strategy, first developed in 2009, is now being updated and refreshed, with the aim of building collaboration and consensus to deliver both the UK Government and OT Governments’ priorities for biodiversity and nature conservation.  Through the facilitation of the JNCC, this strategy aims to deliver the biodiversity and nature conservation priorities of both the UK Government and the Governments of the UKOTs, and the process will inform investment decisions of funding available exclusively to governments and organisations based in the UKOTs.   

 “It is vital that the strategy be guided by stakeholders such as yourselves, and our strategic priorities and vision for our biodiversity. Collaborative engagement will assist with guiding future, more detailed, discussions, and will be critical to shaping the direction of a new UK Overseas Territories’ Biodiversity Strategy and associated investment“, said Hon. Minister Josephine Connolly, at the first day of the workshop on Wednesday. 

 In June 2022, the UK Government and the Governments of the UK Overseas Territories agreed to work together to update the UK Overseas Territories Biodiversity Strategy. Accordingly, the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands Government and the Department of Environment and Coastal Resources (DECR) is running the 2-day consultation workshop, on Providenciales to inform, in particular the priorities of the Darwin Plus programme, and the structure of the new Darwin Plus Local funding tier that will be available exclusively to governments and organisations based in the UKOTs. The process, facilitated by JNCC, will include a series of questionnaires, remote and on-island consultations, and in-depth discussions with key stakeholders over the next 18 months. 

 Details and Goals of the Stakeholder Workshop

 The stakeholder consultation workshop will: