National Parks and Botanic Gardens: a Caribbean case study

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National Parks and Botanic Gardens a Caribbean
case study Colin Clubbe (RBG Kew, UK) Joseph
Smith-Abbott (BVI National Parks Trust, British
Virgin Islands)
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British Virgin Islands

• Eastern portion of the Virgin Islands group
• Archipelago of 36 islands (15 inhabited)
• UK Overseas Territory
• Centre of Caribbean Biodiversity Hotspot

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Puerto Rican Bank

• A geographical, biological and geological
  province
• Continuous land mass 14,000 yrs ago when sea
  levels 100m lower than present
• Endemism at PR level, or single/multiple island
  level

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BVI National Parks Trust

• Established 1961 to preserve the natural beauty
  and historic features of the Territory
• A Statutory Body
• Manages 17 National Parks marine and
  terrestrial, including the botanic garden.

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JR ONeal Botanic Garden

• 1985 established on site of old Agricultural
  Station run by Botanic Society
• 2002 transferred to full management by National
  Parks Trust
• Managed as a National Park, with a greater
  conservation role

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Refocusing Collections Policy

• Greater focus on indigenous flora
• Aim to get all endemics/ threatened species into
  cultivation
• Establish recovery programmes as necessary

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Field Work Lead

• Biodiversity information gathering
• Conservation assessments
• The botanic garden showcasing the work of the
  National Parks Trust and in situ conservation

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National Red List

• Red listing workshop held
• Red list categories assigned
• Biodiversity infrastructure needs identified

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Herbarium Established

• Reference collection being established
• Duplicates at Kew and Smithsonian

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Specimens
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Data Repatriation

• Senna polyphylla var. neglecta
• Known from 1913 herbarium specimen
• Rediscovered 2003 2 individuals

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Invasive Species
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• Need to engage the landscape industry

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Seed Collecting

• Training workshop held
• Local seed bank established
• Duplicates in Kews Millennium Seed Bank
• Herbarium vouchers collected

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Field Guides
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Training

• In-Territory workshops
• Training courses at Kew (www.kew.org/education)
• Staff exchange

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Awareness Raising
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Threatened plants of the British Virgin Islands
Poke-me-boy (Acacia anegadensis)
Rondell Smith of the BVINPT beside a mature
poke-me-boy tree at flamingo ponds.
Acacia anegadensis, a spiny tree in the bean
family, naturally occurs on the island of Anegada
and nowhere else on Earth.
It is Critically Endangered, the highest level of
threat, using the redlisting criteria of IUCN-The
World Conservation Union.
Actual size of flowers
Although it is quite common on Anegada, threats
from development and grazing by livestock could
lead to the extinction of this species.
Botanists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in
England and the British Virgin Islands National
Parks Trust are working together to identify and
conserve threatened plant species like
poke-me-boy.
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Establishing New Protected Areas
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Botanic Gardens on Islands

• Need for integrated biodiversity infrastructure
• Ideally placed to lead on conservation
  initiatives in situ and ex situ
• Powerful education and awareness raising role
• Deliver the objectives of the Global Strategy for
  Plant Conservation