Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T15:26:24.690Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The progress and problems of the ‘Endemic Section’ of St Helena Island

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2009

Doug Smith
Affiliation:
Environmental Conservation Section, Agriculture and Forestry Department, Island of St Helena, South Atlantic Ocean.
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

St Helena is a small Atlantic island with an unusual and remarkable flora and fauna but with a legacy of ecological destruction typical of oceanic islands. The efforts of the island's governmental Endemic Section in the conservation of the flora and fauna is examined alongside the objectives of the section as listed in its current business plan. The worthy level of progress that is evident (including the rediscovery of species, habitat restoration and a high level of environmental awareness) is attributed to local ownership, an emphasis on education, and pragmatism and flexibility. The problems that limit the section's long-term effectiveness are funding, limited baseline ecological information and limited technical understanding.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Fauna and Flora International 1997

References

Basilewsky, P. 1970. La Faune Terrestre de l'Ile de Sainte-Hélène (Première partie). Annales Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, 181.Google Scholar
Clark, D. and Veal, R. 1989. The Project Hercules Expedition to St Helena. Unpublished report, Zoological Society of London.Google Scholar
Cronk, Q.C.B. 1993. Extinction and conservation in the St Helena flora: the palaeobiological and ecological Background. Boletim do Museu Municipal do Funchal, Suppl. 2, 6976.Google Scholar
Child, G. 1995. Managing wildlife successfully in Zimbabwe. Oryx, 29, 171177.Google Scholar
Edwards, A. 1990. Fish and Fisheries of St Helena Island. NB Print & Design, Washington, Tyne & Wear.Google Scholar
Maunder, M. 1995. Endemic Plants – Options for an Integrated Conservation Strategy. Unpublished Consultancy Report, 07 1995, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, for the Government of St Helena and the Overseas Development Administration.Google Scholar
Maunder, M., Upson, T., Spooner, B. and Kendle, T. 1995. St Helena: Sustainable Development and Conservation of a Highly Degraded Ecosystem. In Islands: Biological Diversity and Ecosystem Function (eds. Vitovsek, P. M., Loope, L. L. and Adsersen, H.), pp. 205217. Ecological Studies 115, Springer Verlag.Google Scholar
Melliss, J.C. 1875. St Helena. Reeve, London.Google Scholar
Mittermeier, R.A., Werner, T.B. and Lees, A. 1996. New Caledonia – a conservation imperative for an ancient land. Oryx, 30, 104112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olsen, S.L. 1975. Palaeornithology of St Helena Island, South Atlantic Ocean. Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology, 23, 149.Google Scholar
Rowe, R.E. 1995 The population biology of Trochetiopsis: a genus endemic to St Helena. PhD thesis, Oxford University.Google Scholar
Smith, D.J. 1996. A rescue plan for the threatened tree fern thicket of Diana's Peak National Park, St Helena. Botanic Gardens Conservation News, 2 (7), 46–18.Google Scholar
Smith, D. and Williams, N. 1996. Diana's Peak National Park of St Helena: The Management Plan for 1996–2001. Unpublished report, St Helena Agriculture and Forestry Department.Google Scholar
St Helena Government. 1996. Tourism Policy Statement. Unpublished report, St Helena Department of Economic Planning and Development.Google Scholar
Wilson, E.O. 1992. The Diversity of Life. Penguin, Harmondsworth.Google Scholar