Safeguarding biodiversity

Facilitated by: Laura Bambini, laura.bambini@rspb.org.uk, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (UK), Kirsty Swinnerton (TBC) and Lyndon John, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

Purpose: The purpose of this ‘workposium’ is to showcase the work done on island biosecurity across the Caribbean, and to share experiences and discuss challenges faced. Participants will work together to identify incursion pathways, barriers to good biosecurity, and scope out opportunities, new collaborations and partnerships.

Overview: Invasive species are one of the biggest threats faced by Caribbean biodiversity, and many countries and territories in the region are working to combat this threat, including in Guadeloupe and Martinique. With a growing tourism sector, increasing global shipping, and climate change, this threat is expected to increase. An opportunity to share information and experiences, and to foster greater linkages and collaboration within the Caribbean will facilitate implementing biosecurity across shared pathways (e.g. inter-island ferries and container ships) as well as in-country.

Objectives:

• Provide a general introduction to the principles of island biosecurity
• Improve delegates’ understanding of risks, pathways and mitigation
• Provide guidance for developing biosecurity plans and measures in the Caribbean

Session Structure: The session will begin with submitted presentations to showcase biosecurity initiatives across the Caribbean. This will be followed by a workshop session to identify common incursion pathways and barriers to implementing good biosecurity, and an opportunity for participants to assess the biosecurity needs and opportunities for the island(s) they are working on. The results will be collated into a guidance document on biosecurity planning and risk assessment, with submitted presentations included as case studies from across the region.