The Department of Environment was recently represented at a 5-day Seed Conservation workshop for the UK Caribbean Overseas Territories workshop held in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The October 21 – 25 workshop hosted by the Royal Botanical Gardens KEW (RGB KEW) and the Department of Environment and Maritime Affairs (DEMA), Turks and Caicos, formed part of a Darwin funded Seed Conservation Project where the aim is to produce high quality seed collections of native plant species for the UK Caribbean OTs. Collections made will be housed, both at the Caribbean territory and the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership in the UK, under controlled conditions for long term storage benefits.
Anguilla was represented by Ms Sharmer Fleming, Coordinator of Environment and Sustainable Development and Mr Calvin Andre Samuel, Deputy Director- Strategic Research Programmes.
This project is a collaborative one between the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership, KEW Gardens and the UK Caribbean Overseas Territories and the Environment officials highlight that native plant species and agricultural land races will constitute the future of seed banking on Anguilla.
Areas covered included seed banking, its role in conservation; and the science and practicality behind seed collection. Additionally, several of the 40 Turks and Caicos cays, formed the outdoor classroom where participants developed skills in seed collecting, herbarium specimen collection, seed processing for storage and the role of a native plants nursery.
Each OT will be equipped with, seed collecting, banking and storage equipment for developing a local seed bank, while specialized training is provided for each territory to develop a seedbanking programme.
In the project context of Anguilla, the Department of Environment (DOE) will focus on developing a species priority list, that is, a combination of threatened, endangered, species and those identified by RBG KEW. The DoE will also further enhance the already established national ecosystem database. The project will ensure that Anguillians conserve and continue to be able to utilise the unique floral diversity, with a view to move towards initiating and highlighting the benefits of biodiversity and biotechnology.
For more information, please feel free to contact us on tel: (264) 497-0217. The Department of Environment wishes to thank you the public for your continual support as we endeavor on our approach to sustain our natural environment.
– Press Release
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
