The RSPB has an active programme in Britain’s Caribbean overseas territories to save globally-threatened species from extinction and to protect important sites for nature. The charity often works with local branches of the National Trusts in the region, including the Cayman Islands, and sees land purchase as an effective tool until better development control measures are in place and enforced to protect important habitat.

The RSPB said it has initially focused on the Cayman Islands because of its important habitat biodiversity, with several globally threatened species and very high levels of endemic flora and fauna but a low proportion of protected land. The RSPB is already working in partnership with the National Trust, which has an active land acquisition strategy, and local
legislation allows the RSPB to buy land.

This parcel of land adjacent to the Salina Reserve, where some 500 blue iguanas are now living, came on the market at an opportune moment, the Trust stated in a release. The acquisition will help buffer the reserve from increasing development pressure and road construction.

“Ill-considered development, sometimes carried out without legally required approval, destroys Grand Cayman blue iguana habitat and increases contact with non-native predators, such as feral cats, and competitors like the invasive green iguana. Because of the spatial nature of these threats, this new protected area provides a highly effective, much-needed and complementary conservation solution,” the Trust said.

The land is also home to several endemic trees, such as the endangered Ironwood and the national tree, the silver thatch, and unique plants, such as the critically-endangered Grand Cayman false foxglove. The National Conservation Council recently issued an interim directive to protect this flower ahead of a full species conservation plan.

This newly acquired land will be a gateway to a larger land acquisition within the Salina Reserve to further safeguard the island’s unique species, the Trust said, adding that it will incorporate the plot into the existing reserve. With the support of RSPB, National Trust members and the general public, the Trust and RSPB said they hoped that this joint land purchase will be the start of an exciting new chapter for land conservation in the UK’s territories.

This project has been financed by co-funding from the Rainforest Trust and through gifts to the Conservation Action Fund and the SAVES Challenge.