Birds Of The Uk Overseas Territories

The UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are scattered across the globe. Most are small islands or island complexes, occurring from the Caribbean to the furthest reaches of the South Atlantic, via the Indian and Pacific Oceans. In terms of global biodiversity, these territories are remarkably significant. Among landscapes that range from coral atolls, through mangroves and dry forests to the ice sheets of Antarctica, the UKOTs support no fewer than 45 species of birds currently considered to be globally threatened. They are also home to a third of all the world's breeding albatrosses, and nine of the world's 17 species of penguin. In a rapidly changing world, the UKOTs symbolise global crises in climate and biodiversity. Threats faced by their wildlife range from mortality of seabirds at sea through industrial fisheries, and on land as a result of introduced ground predators, to the utter devastation of hurricanes in the Caribbean, which provide a stark reminder of our changing climate. The human impact on the wildlife of our planet has been increasing for centuries, but the next few decades promise to be critical. This book explores the birds and other wildlife of each of the 14 UKOTs, with a particular focus on environmental threats and conservation priorities. Written by authors with a deep connection to the sites, this book represents an important stocktake of the biological richness of these special places in the early 21st century.

Presents a directory of Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in the United Kingdom's 14 Overseas Territories that highlights their massive global biological importance. This book identifies 78 IBAs in the Territories, which stretch from Pitcairn to Bermuda, and from Gibraltar to British Antarctic Territory.

The tropical UK Territories have extensive coral reefs. Huge parts of these areas are exceptionally rich, productive and diverse. Their marine biodiversity exceeds that of the UK itself, and several are already, or are planned to be, strictly protected. Some of these areas serve as reference sites for many other countries with damaged reefs and they are oases of tropical marine biodiversity in a fast-degrading world. This book reviews all of the UK reefs, from those scarcely known to those where substantial research has already been performed. ​

Overseas Territories : Seventh report of session 2007-08, Vol. 2: Oral and written Evidence

This book brings together scientific evidence and experience relevant to the practical conservation of wild birds. The authors worked with an international group of bird experts and conservationists to develop a global list of interventions that could benefit wild birds. For each intervention, the book summarises studies captured by the Conservation Evidence project, where that intervention has been tested and its effects on birds quantified. The result is a thorough guide to what is known, or not known, about the effectiveness of bird conservation actions throughout the world. The preparation of this synopsis was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council and Arcadia.

Over the past 20 years dramatic declines have taken place in UK insect populations. Eventually, such declines must have knock-on effects for other animals, especially high profile groups such as birds and mammals. This authoritative, yet accessible account details the current state of the wildlife in Britain and Ireland and offers an insight into the outlook for the future. Written by a team of the country's leading experts, it appraises the changes that have occurred in a wide range of wildlife species and their habitats and outlines urgent priorities for conservation. It includes chapters on each of the vertebrate and major invertebrate groups, with the insects covered in particular depth. Also considered are the factors that drive environmental change and the contribution at local and government level to national and international wildlife conservation. Essential reading for anyone who is interested in, and concerned about, UK wildlife.

The Foreign Affairs Committee believes the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) will not be back at the centre of Government and able to lead UK foreign policy, in line with the Foreign Secretary's ambitions, unless it can provide deep foreign policy expertise and judgement to underpin and implement Government decision-making. The FCO must have the resources and skills required to fulfil this role, especially specialist geographical expertise and knowledge of foreign languages. The FCO has a vital role to play for the Government, namely the timely provision of world-class foreign policy information, analysis, judgement and execution. Finances, people and buildings must be well-managed, but managerial requirements must not divert time and focus disproportionately from the FCO's core foreign policy functions. Given the resource constraints facing the FCO, however, there is doubt whether the department can achieve the Government's ambitions for enhanced commercial work while maintaining its core foreign policy functions at the required standard. The committee regards the FCO's network of overseas posts as integral to the department's ability to discharge its functions, and recommends that the FCO should seek to maintain a global UK presence. The committee also called "confusing" the fact that under the current Government the FCO has three sets of priorities: the Foreign Secretary's, the Cabinet Office's Business Plan for the department, and the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review.

This book looks at the world's naturalised (successfully introduced) species of bird. Many species have been introduced to countries outside their natural range by people, either deliberately or accidentally, with varied consequences for both those species themselves and the native fauna of their 'new' homes. In Britain, the introduced Canada Goose has quickly become ubiquitous at every lake and riverside, while the Golden Pheasant remains a scarce and unobtrusive inhabitant of a few scattered, remote woodlands. The House Sparrow and Common Starling, both in decline over parts of their native range, are thriving in a naturalised state in North America and elsewhere in the world. Naturalised populations of Mallard in various parts of the world are threatening a total of seven other duck species with extinction through hybridisation. This book discusses each species in turn, describing how, why, when and where its introduction took place, how it became established, and the ecological and economic impacts its presence has had in the country or countries it is naturalised in. Each account has a map, showing natural and introduced range, and there is a wealth of beautiful line drawings of the species concerned.