|
Results Project Report: New Island Falkland Islands- A South Atlantic Wildlife Sanctuary for Conservation Management download pdf (6.67MB) Forum News 31 article: Completion of the New Island Reserve Management Plan Purpose The problems that this project seeks to address are: - Insufficient knowledge of biodiversity status on New Island Reserve.
- Insufficient strategic planning and definition of priorities for action and research in the reserve.
- Need to assess and monitor the impact of introduced species on biodiversity, particularly on globally threatened species.
- Need to assess impact of tourist visitors and plan the development of further tourist use of the site.
- Need to improve conditions and information for visitors, to keep the attractiveness and value of the reserve as a tourist destination and as an environmental education facility.
- Need to control introduced species.
- Need to reduce accidental mortality of nocturnal seabirds.
- Need to make a contribution to general efforts for monitoring threatened species and evaluating the effectiveness of conservation measures being applied in the region.
The project will directly contribute to capacity building (for nature reserve management) of the trust and the trustees of the New Island South Conservation Trust, several of which are Falkland Islanders. Through improvement of the facilities for visitors, the project will directly benefit visitors of the reserve (including, in the future, pupils of local schools and other local students), and will indirectly benefit the Falkland Islands through the facilitation of the development of environmentally based tourism of high quality and standards. Falkland citizens will also benefit from the improved preservation of exceptional biodiversity values in the Falkland Islands. New Island is the only example in the Falklands, demonstrating in a practical way, how conservation management has effectively recovered land from spoliation by farming methods. In Islands where over 95% of the land, in West Falklands and 60% on East Falkland is under private ownership, such living examples are an important aspect of conservation in the Falklands which is overlooked, yet offers an incentive to other land owners to follow the same methods. New Island South Nature Reserve is, by invitation, regularly visited by military people servicing in the Falklands, who will benefit from improved visitors' facilities. The improved conservation of biodiversity values of world importance will benefit the global community. Tourists from a wide range of countries will enjoy improved access and contact to such biodiversity. The project will: - Build capacity within the New Island South Conservation Trust (NISCT) for the management of the New Island Reserve.
- Substantially increase knowledge on the most significant terrestrially based threats to the biodiversity of the reserve, and provide a plan for tackling those threats.
- Substantially increase the knowledge of New Island's biodiversity and its status, allowing its future monitoring, detection of new threats and assessment of effectiveness of management.
- Improve the conditions and information available to visitors of the reserve.
- Improve the environmental management of the reserve through the development of actions such as the control of introduced threats and the dismantlement of fences
Outputs The main outputs will be: A published Management Plan for New Island Nature Reserve including: - A complete inventory of the vertebrate fauna of the reserve, including detailed data on distribution and abundance of most species, with a focus on globally threatened taxa
- An assessment of the current impact of four introduced mammal species on the biodiversity of the reserve, establishing baseline for future comparisons; an assessment of the effectiveness of experimental control measures based on successful experiments in the French sub Antarctic.
- Recommendations regarding the strategy to be adopted in relation to introduced pests.
- Baseline data on the distribution and cover of the introduced European gorse
- An assessment of the impact of visitors to the reserve, including their effects in relation to bird disturbance and erosion of the paths.
- Recommendations on the numbers of visitors allowed per area and season, and definition of closed areas.
- Recommendations on priorities for research on the island.
- A monitoring and evaluation plan for the reserve.
Eradication of gorse from all areas away from the settlement. - 10 km of fences remaining on the reserve (posing a hazard to nocturnal birds) dismantled.
Visitor's centre built, equipped and fully operational. - Further information materials for visitors published (this could be a summary of the most important aspects of the management plan).
- Published report on the population dynamics and diet and survival of the black-browed albatross nesting on New Island, as a contribution to the wider efforts to monitor and conserve this species in the South Atlantic.
Legacy Documentation produced as a result of this project will make a contribution to raise environmental awareness (particularly articles in the local press, such as Penguin News, and information provided in the NISCT web site). The visitors' centre, once operational, will have the potential to be used for environmental education, but that will only happen after the conclusion of the present phase of the project. Work will continue after the end of the grant period by several means: Partnerships with individual researchers or research groups and institutions will continue, as it has been normal practice on New Island over several years. Revenues from the tourist visitor fees (expected to increase as a result of improved facilities provided through the current project) will continue to be channelled for the management of the reserve. NISCT will carry on fund-raising from several potential donors to complement its revenues and enable it to carry on with the application of the Management Plan of the reserve. The Management Plan itself will include guidelines for future action, identify priorities, and will outline a strategy for the medium to long-term action of the Trust and the Reserve. Objectives New Island is an Important Bird Area (IBA), hosting the largest seabird colony in the Falkland Islands, and significant populations of several globally threatened species. Through this project, New Island South Conservation Trust will complete a Management Plan for the reserve and start its implementation. Important activities will include: - Completion of a biodiversity inventory and continued monitoring of globally-threatened species,
- The assessment of the impact of four species of alien mammals on bird populations and experimental control of mammals,
- Control of introduced plants
- The assessment of the impact of the current tourist activities and implementation of regulations,
- Dismantling of old fences and other hazardous structures,
- Regulation and prioritization of research activities,
- Implementation of a monitoring and evaluation plan,
- Construction of a visitor's center. The visitor's centre will be built by reconstructing one of the most important historical buildings in the Falkland Islands, the Barnard's Building (the origins of which go back to Captain Charles Barnard, who was marooned on New Island in 1812-1813).
Contributions to Local Strategies and Action Plans A Conservation & Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan for the Falkland Islandsis under preparation; its completion is expected by April 2005. This project will contribute to the implementation of this strategy in the following priority areas: - Sustainable use of resources (by promoting sustainable tourism)
- Gaining a better understanding of the Falkland Islands' natural environment (for example, by doing a biodiversity inventory and studying interactions with invasive species, by monitoring the population dynamics of globally threatened species, by improving visitor's facilities and documentation that can be used by local students)
- Improving the natural environment of the Falkland Islands through targeted action on the ground (for example, trough control of invasive species, through removal of disused fences, by improving the management of this National Nature Reserve and regulating human activities in it)
- The project is also in line with the recently adopted (by FI Government in March 2004) Falkland Islands Structure Plan (SP). In particular, the Key Aim of the SP is supported by 4 key objectives, of which one is of relevance Safeguarding the health of our air, water, soil and ecosystems.
Contributions to UK Overseas Territories Environment Charters This project will contribute to the implementation of the Environment Charter of the Falkland Islands by supporting the Falkland Islands Government fulfilling the following commitments: Ensuring the protection and restoration of key habitats, species and landscape features through legislation and appropriate management structures and mechanisms, including a protected areas policy, and attempt the control and eradication of invasive species. Implement effectively obligations under the Multilateral Environmental Agreements already extended to the Falkland Islands and work towards the extension of other relevant agreements. Review the range, quality and availability of baseline data for natural resources and biodiversity. Encourage teaching within schools to promote the value of our local environment (natural and built) and to explain its role within the regional and global environment. Promote publications that spread awareness of the special features of the environment in the Falkland Islands; promote within the Falkland Islands the guiding principles set out above.The project will contribute to the following Commitments of the UK Government: Help build capacity to support and implement integrated environmental management which is consistent with the Falkland Islands' own plans for sustainable development. Use the existing Environment Fund for the Overseas Territories, and promote access to other sources of public funding, for projects of lasting benefit to the Falkland Islands' environment. Contributions to Multilateral Environmental Agreements Convention on Biological Diversity (not yet extended to the Falklands, but most likely will soon be, given that the territory has indicated an interest in having ratification extended to it and there are few obstacles to this extension) This project will enable NISCT to help meet future obligations under the CBD: i.e. Article 7a,b,c,d - Identification and monitoring of biodiversity paying particular attention to those requiring urgent conservation measures and those which offer the greatest potential for sustainable use, identify processes and categories of activities which have or are likely to have adverse impacts on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, and monitor their effects through sampling and other techniques Article 8a,b,d,f, h, i Establish a system of protected areas, develop guidelines for the management of protected areas, manage biological resources, rehabilitate and restore degraded ecosystems, control or eradicate those alien species that threaten ecosystems Article 10 b Adopt measures relating to the use of biological resources to avoid or minimize adverse impacts on biological diversity Article 12 b Promote and encourage research that contributes to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity Article 13 a Public education and awareness Convention on Migratory Species, specifically the daughter Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP).(Signed by the UK, including Falkland Islands, April 2004)This project is highly relevant in the context of the ACAP agreement, namely through the research and monitoring of the populations of black-browed albatross, white-chinned petrel and thin-billed prion, and the study of the possible impacts of introduced predatory mammals. Under Article 3 (general conservation measures) of ACAP, signatories are required to:initiate or support research into the effective conservation of albatrosses and petrels,develop and maintain programmes to raise awareness and understanding of albatross and petrel conservation issues,exchange information and results from albatross and petrel, and other relevant, conservation programmes. Under Article 4 (capacity building) of ACAP, the following measures are required:this Agreement requires assistance to be provided to some Range States, including through research, training or monitoring for implementation of conservation measures for albatrosses and petrels and their habitats, for the management of those habitats as well as for the establishment or improvement of scientific and administrative institutions for the implementation of this Agreement The Action Plan that forms Annex 2 of ACAP notes: Parties shall seek to undertake research and monitoring in order to fulfil the requirements of Article 3, both at sea and on land. Where appropriate, they shall do so co-operatively, and shall seek to facilitate the development of improved research and monitoring techniques Wider Significance The published Management Plan will be a document of interest to protected areas elsewhere in the Falklands and in other OT, particularly (but not exclusively) to small reserves under private management where resources available and approaches to be used are likely to be similar. Assessments of the impacts of introduced mammals and of tourist activities will use methodologies that have a great potential to be replicated elsewhere; the same is true for measures to control mammal populations. The results of such studies will be available in the published management plan, in the New Island South website (www.newislandtrust.com) and the most significant outputs will also be published as scientific papers in international ecological or taxon specific journals. This project will contribute to the broad goal of conserving global biodiversity by conducting activities that will benefit globally threatened species that occur in the New Island Reserve. Monitoring activities will also focus mostly on globally threatened species, providing assessments of population trends for species that are indicators of the state and trends of the Southern Ocean ecosystem. In particular, the development of the current study on population dynamics of black-browed albatross will complement and help to evaluate the effectiveness of work carried out by Falklands Conservation, FIG, and other states and organizations in the region of the Patagonian Shelf to reduce fisheries induced seabird mortality (a major threat to the biodiversity in the region). Results One of the main outputs of this project, a description of New Island and its management plan is available as a pdf file: New Island, Falkland Islands. A South Atlantic Wildlife Sanctuary for conservation management
WARNING: this is an 81-page full-colour document (6832 KB) which may take a long time to download. Other Information Funded by FCO/DFID Overseas Territories Environment Programme, 2005 Project No. FAL 201
|
