I3N Project Overview for The Bahamas

1
I3N Project Overview for The Bahamas

• The Bahamas Environment, Science and Technology
  (BEST) Commission
  
• October 2002

2
Project Goals

• Ultimate goal of project was to develop an
  inventory of invasive species information in The
  Bahamas.
  
• The I3N project ties in with goals of the
  Biodiversity Subcommittee of the BEST
  Commission.
  
• These goals include to recommend policy,
  legislation, mechanisms and other measures to
  facilitate the control of invasive species.

3
Project Goals contd.

• For the Bahamas I3N Project, invasives were
  defined as
  
• Alien species that become established in a
  new environment, then proliferate and spread in
  ways that are destructive to native ecosystems,
  human health, and ultimately human welfare.
  (Definition is taken from the Global Invasive
  Species Programme (GISP). )

4
Project Description

• The project was the responsibility of an I3N
  Working Group.
  
• The Working Group consisted of representatives
  from the Biodiversity Subcommittee of the BEST
  Commission and the Research Unit of the College
  of The Bahamas.
• This group was responsible for data collection
  and entry as well as conducting workshops and
  public consultations.

5
Project Activities

• I3N Working Group conducted a number of
  activities including
  
• A workshop on invasive plant species in The
  Bahamas, November 2001.
  
• A public lecture on invasive animal species in
  The Bahamas, December 5th, 2001.
  
• A newspaper article on the concept of invasion
  and invasive species in general.
  

6
Project Activities contd.

• Interviews and visits of three major islands (New
  Providence, Grand Bahama and Abaco) to gather
  data for catalogs, March August 2002.
  
• Literature search and search of permits and
  licenses for importing plants and animals, March
  August 2002.
  
• Public workshops on invasive species, October
  December 2002.

7
Problems Encountered

• Invasion as a new concept.
• No current databases or compilations of
  information on invasives to build on. Project was
  the first of its kind.
  
• Inability to present some catalogs in I3N
  Cataloguer format due to difficulties encountered
  with software. Used Microsoft Access instead.

8
Benefits of the I3N Project

• Increased awareness on the issue of invasives.
• Databases now exist, though small, on main
  invasives in the country.
  
• Project has enabled development of a new project
  to develop a national invasive species strategy
  for The Bahamas funding is provided by the
  British Government.