Fauna & Flora expands conservation efforts across the Caribbean

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Vashti Ramsey-Casimir, (left) Programme Manager, Antigua and Barbuda Arica Hill, Caribbean Lead
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By Kisean Joseph

[email protected]

The international wildlife conservation charity, Fauna & Flora (FF), is strengthening its presence in the Caribbean. With its regional headquarters in Antigua and Barbuda, where it has been operating since 1995, it serves as a hub for biodiversity protection efforts across multiple islands.

The organization is now expanding its partnerships and scope of work to address critical environmental challenges in the region. Vashti Ramsey-Casimir, Program Manager for Antigua and Barbuda, highlighted their long-standing collaboration with the Environmental Awareness Group (EAG).

“We’ve been supporting their work on Redonda and on the offshore islands, specifically in the areas of invasive species management, recovery of endangered species such as the Antigua racer snake, doing ecological and biodiversity monitoring, fundraising, capacity building … all of these different things,” said Ramsey.

The organization has seen significant success in its conservation efforts. “We’ve had net increases in terms of vegetation biomass, garnering international and local support, whether it be technical support or financial support,” Ramsey-Casimir noted. “We’ve also had just an increase in a lot of the species that we monitor, like the seabirds and the leatherback and the hawksbill turtles.”

However, operating in the Caribbean presents unique challenges. Arica Hill, Caribbean lead of FF, pointed out the economic realities of conservation work in the region: “While $100,000 will go pretty far in even Nicaragua which is quite close by, or in Cambodia – it doesn’t quite go as far in the Caribbean because of our unique economic situations.”

To attempt to address the challenges, FF is encouraging public involvement in conservation efforts through its locally-led services and collaboration with government agencies, across multiple nations which include St Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, St Lucia, Dominica and Grenada.

Looking ahead to 2025, the organization is focusing on sustainable financing mechanisms and expanding its governmental partnerships. “We are looking at strengthening our partnerships that we currently do have and working as well to expand those relationships,” added Ramsey-Casimir. The organization is particularly focused on developing sustainable funding for the Redonda Ecosystem Reserve and strengthening ties with the government of Antigua and Barbuda.

Hill spoke of the importance of their re-wilding efforts in building climate resilience: “Our re-wilding efforts really focus on how we are helping countries and islands to be resilient to climate change because once these islands’ biodiversity is restored, they are better able to withstand the impacts of climate change.”

“The successes that we are able to see in conservation is a collaborative effort,” Hill said. “It is yes, us as an international NGO being able to support in some ways, but in many ways, we have really great support from government agencies and excellent capability on the part of NGOs who can do some of the critical work.”

Hill highlighted the need to support organizations such as EAG, BarbudanGO, and the National Parks Authority. She encouraged volunteering, assisting with data collection, and fundraising to help these groups.

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