Environmental Audit CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by Nigel Haywood, Commissioner of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
The territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands has no resident population. It is managed by an appointed Government (GSGSSI), based in Stanley in the Falkland Islands. Oversight of the Government comes through the Polar Regions Department in the Overseas Territories Directorate of the FCO, but day-to-day management of the Territory, including environmental issues, rests with GSGSSI.
The Commissioner has overall responsibility for the management of the Territory and of the GSGSSI team, which has four full-time staff (including an Environment Officer) based in Stanley and three Government Officers, who work on rotation on South Georgia. There is a strong environmental element to the small Government team, with four of the seven full-time staff having a PhD in biological or environmental science.
Environmental issues are a high priority in all of GSGSSI’s work. South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands are home to an incredible abundance and diversity of both marine and terrestrial wildlife, including globally significant populations of seabirds and marine mammals. The presence of such diverse and abundant wildlife means that environmental protection is at the heart of all activities in the territory. Fisheries, which provide the main source of income to the territory, are amongst the best managed and most highly regulated in the world and this has been recognised by MSC certification of the Patagonian toothfish and mackerel icefish fisheries as well as part of the krill fishery. We continually strive to improve our fisheries management and have been pioneers in introducing environmentally sensitive fishing practices. Tourism is also carefully managed and monitored, with a limited number of sites accessible to visitors.
GSGSSI supported the establishment of the South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute (SAERI). The Chief Executive is a board member. GSGSSI provides some financial support, and has used its offices to establish a PhD studentship. We plan to use SAERI more extensively for logistical and coordination work as its capacities develop.
Legislation
Developing robust legislation is essential to underpin sound environmental management. In 2010 we enacted the Wildlife and Protected Areas Ordinance, which gives full protection to the native wildlife of the territory. It also enables the declaration of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Specially Protected Areas. In February 2012 the Marine Protected Areas was enacted, creating a large (1 million km 2) sustainable use MPA, which will shortly be strengthened by additional protection.
Further legislation will be developed in the course of the next two years. Whilst particular focus will be on administration of justice, other areas of environmental legislation (notably marine pollution and terrestrial Specially Protected Areas) will be addressed. Legislation is drafted by the Attorney General’s Chambers in the Falkland Islands. Lack of capacity is an issue, and we are considering farming drafting out to the UK.
Funding and Support from the UK Government
Links to UK Government departments are particularly important as a small team cannot have suitable expertise in all areas. In SGSSI we are fortunate to be able to call on expertise at the British Antarctic Survey, who have a long history of scientific research on and around South Georgia. GSGSSI staff are in regular contact with the Polar Regions Department in the FCO and links with DEFRA are facilitated through a JNCC point of contact, Anton Wolfaardt, who is based in Stanley. This post is part-funded by the South Atlantic OTs and partly by DEFRA. Dr Wolfaardt was originally appointed as co-ordinator for activities in the South Atlantic territories in support of the Agreement on Albatross and Petrels (ACAP), but has since taken on a broader role. Unfortunately he will be leaving post later this year, though we hope that his post will be retained.
The establishment of Darwin Plus is a step forward in that it combines funds previously available under OTEP and Darwin, however there is a considerable amount of high priority environmental work that is not funded. For example, in South Georgia an eradication of introduced reindeer is being funded from GSGSSI reserves, whilst a rodent eradication is being undertaken by a charitable trust (South Georgia Heritage Trust, SGHT). In the case of the reindeer eradication an application to Darwin was rejected. DEFRA have provided some funds towards the rat eradication and we understand the SGHT have recently secured some Darwin Plus funding to support the eradication of mice.
Further financial support from the UK Government would be of great benefit to SGSSI, priority areas include work on marine and terrestrial biodiversity to underpin our desire to see the Convention on Biological Diversity extended to the territory; work on invasive mammals and plants, including monitoring the recovery of the native wildlife after eradications; and work in support of our commitments to the ACAP.
Value of Natural Resources and Ecosystem Services
No formal assessment has been undertaken of the value of natural resources and ecosystem services, although in collaboration with United Nations Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Centre and funded by the Darwin Challenge fund, such an assessment is currently underway. However, in a place like South Georgia, where environmental considerations are central to all activities, outcomes of such analyses may not be particularly applicable.
Accountability
The GSGSSI team are accountable to the Commissioner and to the Overseas Territories Directorate in the FCO. GSGSSI organises an annual stakeholder meeting at which environmental issues are openly discussed. Any major projects are subject to expert and stakeholder review to ensure best practice is adopted.
18 April 2013