26th August 2022 – The National Trust for the Cayman Islands (NTCI) has recently been awarded Darwin Plus R10 funding to undertake a three-year project on Grand Cayman, in partnership with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), to assist in preserving endemic threatened wildlife populations through effective protected area management.

The pressures on Grand Cayman’s natural environment remains high, and populations of endemic wildlife are largely restricted to within protected areas. This Darwin-funded project will strengthen on-island capacity to support effective management of these key sites through staff development, community engagement and a trained volunteer/student network, ensuring that the legacy of the grant work goes on far longer than the duration of funding.

Blue Iguana Conservation Manager and lead author of the grant, Mr. Luke Harding said, “We are extremely excited to have been successful with this application and now have a unique opportunity to develop staff, volunteers and students through training to help them play an essential role in the protection of these important wildlife areas and increase the expertise and experience for future roles and positions on Island.”

The essential research and monitoring proposed throughout the three-year grant will fill knowledge gaps, including key endemic wildlife population sizes, threats, habitat use and establishing sustainable invasive species management, to target actions and outcomes that effectively safeguard these important wildlife areas for species, such as the iconic Cayman parrot and Grand Cayman blue iguana.

“Our protected areas, such as the Colliers Wilderness Reserve and Salina Reserve, provide vital habitat for so many important species and we need to better understand these areas and how species use them to ensure we can expand and protect these important areas and others like them across our islands”, says Luke Harding, Blue Iguana Conservation Manager.

The project commenced on 1 April 2022. Further information and updates will be shared throughout the grant when applicable.

IMAGE: Annette Gunn