The UK's DFID has put out the attached call for proposals to develop a CC program for all OTs based on the success of the ECACC
program. The project manager (technical matters) will be Christine Roehrer in DFID Overseas Territories Department.

The Director of the DECR, Mr. Wesley Clerveaux, is pleased to annoucen the successful completion of the CARIBSAVE Climate Change Risk Atlas (CCCRA) Phase I. Links to electronic copies of the final drafts of the ‘CCCRA Country Profile’ and the ‘Summary Document’ for Turks & Caicos Islands are given.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has confirmed that small, low-lying coastal developing states like the Turks & Caicos Islands are the most vulnerable to global climate change, and accompanying sea level rise. Responding to climate change risks (adaptation) is therefore important and demands the attention of all key stakeholders.

The Department of Environment and Coastal Resources (DECR) will conduct series of field activities in support to the International Migratory Bird Day which is celebrated during the second week of October.This activity will be done hand-in-hand with the collection of target plant species in connection with the DECR’s joint project on Seed Collection with UK’s Royal Botanic Garden Kew Millennium Seed bank project and JNCC’s Rescue and Collection of Endemic and Endangered Plant Species project.

In an effort to make the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) enjoyable to live in (free from worries that our love ones may be poisoned or may touch dangerous plants), the Department of Environment & Coastal Resources have conducted a research on poisonous and injurious plants in the Territory, and have discovered that many of the familiar ornamental plants in our backyards, public places and parks, hotels and restaurants, and schools which are imported are considered dangerous and poisonous. This is of serious concern to the Department, and the DECR will run a series of press releases to inform and sensitize the public of the potential harmful effects of some of these imported plants.
The first in the series is Nerium oleander L. (N. indicum Mill.) that belongs to family Apocynaceae. It is known by the different names such as Adelfa, Alhelí Extranjero, Laurier Rose, Oleander, ‘Oliwa, ‘Oleana, ‘Olinana, Rosa Laurel, Rose Bay, Rosa Francesa.

For more details, please click the Acrobat Adobe logo.

A bird spotted at Mangrove Cay located within the Princess Alexandra Nature Reserve has stirred discussions among professional members of the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds (SCSCB).

The UK's Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) has approved two (2) project proposals from the DECR, (1) Nassau grouper assessment and (2) Endemic and endangered plant species collection.

For more information, please contact the DECR.

The Department of Environment and Coastal Resources (DECR)is coordinating the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CBEF) and the International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD).
The activities the following:
1. Bird monitoring/bird watching/eco-walk
2. Mangrove (red mangrove) planting
3. Poster Making & slogan contest for students
4.Photo contest - (must be taken in the wetlands)

For more details, please contact the DECR and look for Dr. Eric F. Salamanca (Coordinator) at Telephone 941-5122 or send an email to ericfsalamanca@gmail.com.

WANTED DEAD NOT ALIVE

The RBG Kew had secured froms from OTEP to digitise all the plant material held at Kew. For more information please click the link below.
http://dps.plants.ox.ac.uk/bol/tci

The Department of Environment and Coastal Resources (DECR) would like to remind the general public and companies that applications and renewals for operating commercially within the National Parks, Turks and Caicos Islands begin on June 01st 2010. All operators are reminded to ensure that their establishment/Vessels are licensed for the upcoming season July 1st, 2010.

An ordinance to protect the Marine Environment by minimising intentional and negligent discharges of pollutants into the marine environment of the Turks and Caicos Isladns (TCI).

Felicia, the nesting female hawksbill, was found dead on Fish Cay and had been brought to Amdeep Sanghera by a fisherman on the afternoon of Monday August 10, 2009. Her data suggests she may have been there since Saturday August 08, 2009.

The annual Junior Park Warden programme hosted by the Department of Environment and Coastal Resources (DECR), sponsored by the Pine Cay Project, is designed to encourage a greater appreciation for the environment within the youth of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

A follow up consultative meeting on Invasive Species/Importation of Plant Products into the TCI took place on July 21, 2009 at the National Environmental Centre, Provdienciales, TCI.

A TCI Rock Iguana that was previously housed at the Crab Tree Corner Park in Grand Turk had escaped for some time due to the temporary closure and ultimate restructuring of the parks in Grand Turk.

On June 11-12th, 2009 nine DECR officers in Provo were trained by Dr. Glenn Gerber, renowned Iguana expert, on the basic aspects of Iguana monitoring.

The Provo Sailing Club has officially moved their club into the Bight Park on Sunday June 14, 2009.