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Kew's UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs) team recently returned from a successful launch of the Tropical Important Plant Areas project in the British Virgin Islands. Tropical Important Plant Areas (TIPAs) are target sites for plant and habitat conservation, identified by the presence of threatened species, threatened habitats and/or high botanical richness. Although TIPAs are not legal designations, they can inform the protection and management of sites for biodiversity conservation.

Citizens with an avid interest in environmental matters will be able to 'sea' their environmental reports using mobile technology. The first of its kind in Trinidad and Tobago, the Institute of Marine Affairs' new Integrated Environmental Incident Software Platform and mobile application, called the Lionfish SeaiTT, allows users to report environmental incidents with the touch of a button. The development of this mobile application was part of a 2014 Green Fund project entitled 'Control and Management of the Invasive Lionfish in Trinidad and Tobago' which aimed to raise awareness on the arrival of the marine invasive species, the lionfish, Pterios volitans, to the territorial waters around Trinidad and Tobago, and the imminent threat the species pose to domestic marine ecosystems.

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The public consultation period for the proposed legislation to manage invasive alien species will run from August 10th to September 7th 2021. The aim of the Invasive Alien Species Act 2021 is to allow actions to prevent the introduction and establishment of new pest species; and to allow for management of pests already present in Bermuda’s environment. Please review the information at: https://forum.gov.bm/en/projects/managing-problem-alien-invasive-species-1 and leave your comments and questions.

This searchable directory includes contact information and self-identified areas of individual expertise for NatureServe, NatureServe Canada, and our Network Programs in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. More than 80 NatureServe Network Programs collect and analyze data about the plants, animals, and ecologi­cal communities of the Western Hemisphere. They are the leading source of information on the precise locations and conditions of at-risk species and threatened ecosystems in their jurisdictions. NatureServe collects, curates, and distributes that information for use at regional, national, and international scales. Staff throughout the Network are experts in their fields, and include some of the most knowledgeable field biologists and conservation planners in their regions.

The Invasive Lionfish Web Portal, developed by the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute in partnership with NOAA, supports the management and control of lionfish in conservation areas along the Southeast coast of the U.S. and Caribbean.

Invasive alien species, such as the Giant African Snail, the Lionfish and rats, are threats and can impact negatively on small island developing states such as those in the Caribbean, which are widely recognized as biodiversity hotspots. Minister of Environment and National Beautification, Trevor Prescod, pointed this out today, as he delivered the feature address at the Regional Inception Workshop for the “Preventing Costs of Invasive Alien Species (IAS) in Barbados and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States” Project. The workshop will seek to finalize project work plans and budgets; to approve year one work plans and budgets and to understand the United Nations Environment Programme and Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International financial rules governing the project execution. It will also seek to understand monitoring and evaluation procedures and targets for the project, towards helping Barbados and other OECS countries manage and combat the adverse effects of IAS.

Doug Domenech, U.S. Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs this week announced $1,488,890 in fiscal year 2018 grants to combat invasive species and protect natural resources in the U.S. Territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as the freely associated states of the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau. "Invasive species in the islands are disruptive for both marine and terrestrial resources in the islands, which already face a delicate balance," said Assistant Secretary Domenech. "Secretary Zinke and I are pleased to help control and eradicate invasive species in the islands in order to protect public health, livelihoods, and fragile environments and economies."

To date no studies have been undertaken on the costs and benefits of IAS management in the Caribbean. This may partly explain why there has been negligible funding to combat the onslaught of these exotic species in the region. As a result it was decided to provide individuals involved in the UNEP-GEF Project, "Mitigating the Threats of Invasive Alien Species in the Insular Caribbean" with training and an opportunity to undertake Cost-Benefit Analyses (CBAs) on some selected IAS. The CBAs undertaken and reported in this publication clearly demonstrates that the benefits of managing IAS outweigh the costs.