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by pltm
(PLTM) - Efforts will be made to locate and find the status of threatened plant species in the BVI in a conservation bid.
This was announced following a recent workshop. This initiative, which will see the strengthening of knowledge, will be a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Natural Resources and Labour, the National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands and other international agencies.
Minister for Natural Resources, Labour and Immigration Hon. Vincent Wheatley is on record as saying that he hopes the BVI can serve as a biodiversity model worldwide.
“I anticipate that the sharing of information will be wide and will benefit our community and schools. As the minister responsible for the National Parks Trust, I pledge my continued support and anticipate that the partnership forged will serve as the springboard for future work, which highlights the diversity and richness of our Virgin Islands,” he stated.
According to a public missive, the workshop was the final step of a process that started in April of 2016 that aimed to identify Tropical Important Plant Areas (TIPAs) in the BVI as well as the identification and mapping of a network of 18 TIPAs across 13 islands of the BVI.
“The plant areas are a network of the most important sites for wild plants, fungi and threatened habitats identified internationally and nationally using the best available scientifically robust data,” the release stated.
It further added, “While the findings are informed suggestions, they inform the Government on conservation, protection and management of designated sites and they help to prevent the global loss of plant diversity, while fostering the role of plants as primary producers and providers of ecosystem infrastructure, products and services.”
It will also provide for a framework for Governments to ensure “the protection of at least 75 percent of the most important areas for plant diversity of each ecological region by 2020 with effective management in place for conserving plants and their genetic diversity,” the missive noted.
It was divulged that TIPAs “contribute to implementing practices that identify the causes of extinction of known threatened species and implementing prevention and conservation methods, particularly to the most threatened species to ensure their survival and sustainability.”
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