HC 846 Sustainability in the Overseas Territories

Written evidence submitted by Environmental Management Directorate, St Helena Government.

1. Executive summary:

 

Her Majesty’s Government (HMG) has developed a more-coordinated approach to environmental management in the United Kingdom’s Overseas Territories (UKOTs) since 2008 with (Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) playing a more prominent role. The cross-Whitehall approach appears to be extending to other HMG departments.

One size does not fit all in the UKOTs as although there are similarities, there are a number of differences in scale, location, isolation, population etc. that have significant impacts on conservation on each UKOT.

St Helena welcomes and has benefitted from UK government funding and technical support and this has made a significant difference for nature conservation and environmental management in general on the island.

St Helena is host to some of the largest number of endemics (relative to UK and relative to some of the other OTs) and has one of the smallest populations. This inevitably means that the island cannot manage and address all of the threats to biodiversity with existing human and financial constraints.

Because of the scale of St Helena (and UKOTs) there is likely to be a continued requirement for financial and technical support. The short term nature of project funding is not always the most cost-effective or sustainable way of supporting. A longer-term programme approach to support might be a potential alternative.

There are a number of recommendations in this submission that are relatively minor changes that would enhance existing activities and opportunities.

2. Brief introduction into the submitter

 

Tara Pelembe has a background in environment and nature conservation. She is currently on loan to the St Helena Government for two years from the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) to set up an environmental management directorate and mainstream environment on island.

This submission highlights the areas that the inquiry will examine in bold and provides a response underneath each area.

3. The extent to which UK Government strategy on the UKOTs embodies the principles of sustainable development and appropriately trades-off environmental protection, social development and economic growth;

 

The UK Government White Paper 2012 appears to embody the principles of sustainable development with explicit focus on economy, society and the environment – the three pillars of sustainable development. How, and if, this translates into reality and actual support in each of the territories will become clearer over time.

On St Helena

· The Department for International Development (DFID) has committed £250 million to the construction of an airport to stimulate economic growth. This is linked to funding to support economic development while the airport is being built.

· A new Environmental Management Directorate [1] has been created to take forward mainstreaming of the environment across the island.

· The Sustainable Development Plan [2] has 3 National Goals – one focussing on economic growth, the other on social development and a third on environmental management.

Recommendation: Regular (c. 2 yearly) reports on progress (against agreed indictors) of sustainable development in the UKOTs might be a good tool for picking up on whether UK and OT governments are delivering and whether trade-offs are appropriate.

Recommendation: In 1999 when the White Paper – Partnership and Prosperity was produced, to ensure the environment was given appropriate profile within UK and OT governments, the Environment Charters were produced. These had commitments for both the UK and OT Governments against which progress could be monitored. There are differences of opinions on how effective the Environment Charters were but they did provide a basis for securing support and resources and also covered the wider environmental management, which appears to have a lower profile than conservation, biodiversity protection and climate change. It is therefore recommended that a charter or something similar is developed between UK and OT governments outlining in more detail the nature of agreed environmental commitments.

4. How the UK Government is fulfilling its responsibilities to protect biodiversity in the UKOTs;

 

The UK Government has recently (April 2008) created an Overseas Territories Biodiversity Strategy [1] . This strategy provides a framework for cross Whitehall input into biodiversity in the UKOTs, and establishes a mechanism for implementing this.

From an EMD perspective the main manifestations of this are

· Funding: the creation of the new Darwin plus which combines all previous HMG funding sources for OT biodiversity conservation.

· Support: In particular the ability to write to HMG officers for advice and support around a range of areas, the invertebrate identification service that FERA (the Food and Environment Research Agency) provides, the technical and advisory support provided by Royal Botanical Gardens Kew and JNCC.

Recommendation: Links into Multilateral environmental agreement processes need to be specifically tailored to UKOT situation and capacity, with adequate interpretation and time being given if meaningful input is required.

Recommendation: Increased and improved access to a wider range of support for a range of environmental areas, that is available within relatively short spaces of time. Currently this is delivered for St Helena via a call-down contract.

5. How the UK Government is helping the UKOTs adapt to the impact of climate change;

 

The UK Meteorological Office has a memorandum of Understanding with the St Helena Government to fund the running of a recording station on the island and provide technical training, information and support. The data generated can provide the foundation for our work around climate change.

JNCC has produced a suite of materials on climate change in the UKOTs [1] . These provide a good foundation for climate change adaptation and mitigation policy.

On St Helena

· There is a target to develop a climate change (adaptation and mitigation) policy in the next year. In the development of the policy, we are likely to look to UK government to tap into expertise and advice on the policy development.

Recommendation: Although there has been support to some general work on climate change in the UKOTs and to specific developments of climate change strategies in the Caribbean, St Helena has not really benefitted from these. St Helena still requires a comprehensive study to determine what predicted climate change impacts will be, so that we can incorporate recommended adaptation and mitigation measures into policy and planning.

6. Whether the recommendations in our 2008 Report, Halting biodiversity loss, on safeguarding biodiversity and practising joined-up government to further conservation have been implemented;

 

This section outlines each recommendation of the report in italic. Underneath each recommendation is a statement on progress of implementation from an EMD perspective.

The Government has a clear moral and legal duty to help protect the biodiversity of the UK Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, where it is the eleventh hour for many species. We are extremely concerned that recommendations that we have made in the past that would have helped to protect the environment of the Overseas Territories have been ignored. The Government must:

adopt a truly joined-up approach to environmental protection the UKOTs and Crown Dependencies, by bringing together all relevant departments including the FCO, MoJ, DfID, DEFRA, DCMS and MoD with the governments of the UKOTs.

The Overseas Territories Biodiversity Group has been created to provide the linkages suggested in the recommendation. The UK Overseas Territories Association provides the OT representation on the group.

make better use of the Inter-Departmental Group on biodiversity

Not sure of the status of this group

to provide more oversight and support for the development and implementation of effective environmental protection policy in the UKOTs, and expand the Group to include other relevant departments;

On St Helena JNCC have supported the creation of an environmental management Directorate and associated policy and legislation through secondment of a staff member and funding for data management and research.

JNCC and the St Helena Government (SHG) Environmental Management Directorate (EMD) also partner on a Darwin funded marine mapping project.

DFID have supported this through their Technical Cooperation budget to St Helena providing funding for the following roles:

· Director of environmental management

· Environment Risk Advisor/Trainer

· Terrestrial Conservation Advisor/Trainer

· ‘Call-down’ support for specialist technical advice

What about JNCC/ DEFRA funding support for training courses and small projects.

have DEFRA assume joint responsibility for the UKOTs, and reflect this in future spending settlements;

DEFRA lead on the UK Overseas Territories Biodiversity group (OTBG), and lead on the recently created ‘Darwin Plus’ project funding which provides a cross Whitehall (DEFRA, DFID, FCO) combined approach to funding biodiversity and environment projects in the UK Overseas Territories.

address the dire lack of funds and information for environmental protection in the UKOTs.

Darwin funding, and OTEP funding – now replaced by the new Darwin Plus fund, provide external (HMG) streams of funding for biodiversity and environmental work on St Helena. Projects that have been funded by HMG since 2008 are outlined in Annex 1. There is also an important environmental component to the Airport.

An ecosystem assessment should be conducted in partnership with each UKOT in order to provide the baseline environmental data required and to outline the effective response options needed to halt biodiversity loss.

An ecosystem assessment has not been carried out on St Helena, however there have been a number of funded baseline data projects including a comprehensive plant survey, and the current (Darwin funded) marine mapping project.

With leadership, and a relatively small sum of money, the incredible biodiversity found in our overseas territories can be safeguarded into the future. One of the most important contributions that the Government could make to slowing the catastrophic global biodiversity loss currently occurring would be to accept its responsibilities and to provide more support for the UK Overseas Territories in this area.

Recommendation: Biodiversity protection is/has to be a collaboration between the UKOT and UK governments. Funding is an important and vital component of this collaboration as are other areas of technical and advisory support. OT governments, like any government has competing priorities, and limited human and financial resources. Constraints often mean that all of the activities required to halt biodiversity loss are not able to be implemented. The short term nature of project and application driven funding does not enable long-term and sustainable planning and implementation. It is recommended that a long-term, programme approach to funding is considered as an alternative.

Recommendation: OTBG needs to have a clear process for ensuring that ‘on the ground’ OT issues are a key part of discussions.

Recommendation: Whitehall departments that have committed to inputting into OT environment should have a named lead officer with that responsibility explicitly built into their job profile. These should then be communicated to Overseas Territories governments and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).

7. Whether UK Government strategy on the UKOTs is consistent with the conclusions and commitments on protecting biodiversity reached at the recent United Nations Rio+20 conference;

 

· No comment on this section.

8. How weaknesses in civil society and governance in the UKOTs impact on conservation; and

 

· Civil Society on St Helena makes a significant positive impact and contribution to conservation and environment in general.

· The St Helena National Trust (SHNT) works on a number of projects (outlined above) and contributes to raising awareness and inputting into and questioning government decisions on the environment. The SHNT is however dependent on project funding and its strength as an institution can change as and when project cycles start and finish. One of their internationally recognised long-term success stories is the Millennium Forest – an endemic plant restoration project.

· St Helena Active Participation in Enterprise (SHAPE) is a social enterprise that provides employment for St Helena’s vulnerable and disabled. There is a focus on ‘green’ activities and SHAPE has become the islands first paper recycler, they also use wool, recycle clothes to paper etc.

· St Helena Nature Conservation Group (SNCG) - Is a voluntary organisation that undertakes conservation and awareness raising activities focussed primarily on the terrestrial environment

· Other NGO and Civil Society organisations on the island undertake conservation work periodically – these include New Horizons (the islands youth organisation) uniformed organisations like Scouts and Guides, Church and religious groups, etc.

· In addition to providing annual funding for some NGO’s St Helena Government has recently created a community grants scheme for all civil society groups.

· Private Sector: A number of private sector businesses are moving towards a ‘green’ and social consciousness. ‘Green guidelines for businesses’ are being developed and a matching accreditation system will be introduced.

· Governance: St Helena is going through a public sector modernisation process, and there are anticipated changes in structure, ways of working etc. The key is to the provision of long term continuity in approach to ensure long term sustainability and support for conservation and the environment. Currently this comes through

· Sustainable Development Plan [1] : Effective management of the environment is one of St Helena’s 3 National Goals

· Sustainable Economic Development plan [2] : The core focus of economic development is tourism and the drive is to develop a ‘green brand’ for St Helena

· National Environmental Management Plan [3] : Outlines a blueprint for environmental management for the next 10 years.

· Land Development Control Plan [4] : Embeds Environmental Impact Assessment requirements into planning and outlines boundaries for National Conservation Areas.

9. How the introduction of ‘Marine Protected Areas’ could safeguard the marine environment in the uninhabited territories.

 

This is not directly relevant to St Helena. However on St Helena we are in the process of undertaking preparatory work to be able to provide an evidence-base for the proposed designation of inshore Marine Protected Areas. This work is being funded through a Darwin Project (DEFRA).

10. General conclusion

 

HMG has developed a more-coordinated approach to environmental management in the UKOTs since 2008 with DEFRA playing a more prominent role. The cross-Whitehall approach appears to be extending to other HMG departments.

One size does not fit all in the UKOTs as although there are similarities, there are a number of differences in scale, location, isolation, population etc. that have significant impacts on conservation on each OT.

St Helena has benefits from UK government funding and technical support and this has made a significant difference for nature conservation and environmental management in general on the island.

St Helena is host to some of the largest number of endemics (relative to UK and relative to some of the other OTs) and has one of the smallest populations. This inevitably means that the island cannot manage and address all of the threats to biodiversity with existing human and financial constraints.

Because of the scale of St Helena (and UKOTs) there is likely to be a continued requirement for financial and technical support. The short term nature of project funding is not always the most cost-effective or sustainable way of supporting. A longer-term programme approach to support might be a potential alternative.

There are a number of recommendations in this submission that are relatively minor changes that would enhance existing activities and opportunities.
Annex 1: HMG funded projects on St Helena since 2008:

This section outlines the project title and the lead partner organisations.

2008

Overseas Territories Environment Programme (OTEP) STH501: Supporting Critical Species Recovery and Horticultural Needs on St Helena – Agriculture and Natural Resources Directorate (ANRD)

OTEP STH502: Heart Shaped Waterfall - public access and amenities, St Helena– St Helena National Trust (SHNT)

Department for International Development (DFID): Mitigation for the impacts on the Wirebird population on St Helena (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds - RSPB, ANRD and SHNT).

2009

OTEP STH601: Illustrated field guides to the flora of St Helena – St Helena Nature Conservation Group (SNCG)

2010

Flagship Species Fund (FSF): St Helena Gumwood Project SHNT

Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC): Pheasant Tail Fern control Programme

JNCC: Bastard Gumwood Recovery Project –

Darwin Scoping: Laying the foundation for invertebrate conservation on St Helena – Buglife, SHNT,

Darwin: Increasing local capacity to conserve St Helena’s threatened native biodiversity - SHNT

2011

OTEP STH 801: Creating a mechanised recycling facility at SHAPE- St Helena's Active Participation in Enterprise - SHAPE

OTEP STH 803: Restoration of a functioning Bastard Gumwood population on St Helena– ANRD

OTEP STH 805: Securing the endemic Wirebird population through invasive predator control – SHNT

JNCC: Marine diploma: JNCC has supported 1 person to attend a Marine Biology Diploma course from June 2011 to January 2012 - ANRD

JNCC: Bastard Gumwood Recovery Project –

2012

Darwin: Mapping St Helena’s marine biodiversity to create a Marine Management Plan – JNCC, EMD.

Darwin: Laying the foundations for invertebrate conservation on St Helena- Buglife, SHNT, EMD.

JNCC: JNCC has supported 1 staff member to undertake a NEBOSH Environmental Diploma course - EMD

JNCC: development of a co -ordinated spatial data management system, St Helena

JNCC: Seabird monitoring training: JNCC has supported 2 staff to attend seabird monitoring and ringing training on Ascension Island - EMD

Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO): Interpretation Centre for Diana’s Peak National Park.

30 November 2012