Effective communications on environmental resilience and security in a changing climate through biodiversity conservation in the UK Overseas Territories

The UK's Overseas Territories (UKOT's) are highly dependent on the natural environment for their economic and social wellbeing.

They are also reliant on limited infrastructure.

In the Caribbean in particular, this infrastructure, and human life, are vulnerable to both natural and anthropogenic hazards.

The natural environment is itself susceptible to damage from human activities - resulting in loss of value to the economy and reducing its ability to protect assets and human well-being.

Building upon work to date, carried out under Joint Nature Conservation Committee's (JNCC) Natural Capital in the Overseas Territories programme, and the current Conflict, Stability & Security Fund (CSSF) Disaster Resilience Project and Implementing Coral Reef Action Plans Project this project aims to: develop and disseminate, targeted messages and communications materials to inform key stakeholders of i. the role and value of the natural environment in providing environmental resilience; ii. the pressures upon the natural environment; and iii. the role stakeholders can play in protecting the natural environment.

This project will be executed on six (6) UKOTs within the Caribbean, namely within the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), British Virgin Islands (BVI) Cayman Islands (CI), Montserrat, Bermuda and Anguilla.

Climate change poses a serious threat to biodiversity and over the next few decades, may even surpass habitat destruction to become the leading global threat to life on earth (Bellard et al, 2012).

The UKOT's are considered to be particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change as they are Small Island Developing States (SIDS), often very low-lying islands and have over 80% of their populations living in the hurricane prone Caribbean and Western Atlantic.

It was estimated that in 2017 severe weather generating extreme winds, inland flooding from intense rainfall and storm surge resulted in damages estimated at £2 billion in the three most affected Territories.