Index of /depts/fitzpatrick/docs - Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African ...

Nature Reserve management plan and a programme toremove the invasive New Zealand flax Phormium tenax fromInaccessible Island (although the latter project has had to bepostponed from 2003 to 2004 due to lack of space on the SAAgulhas in 2003). The project to assess the impacts of climatechange on Lesser Sheathbills at Marion Island planned for2004 has been postponed to 2005, in part due to the lack ofsuitable students. The funds are ear-marked for historicallydisadvantaged South Africans.Highlights• Inaccessible Island nominated for World Heritage Sitestatus.• Darwin Award obtained to conduct biodiversity audits andpromote local conservation capacity at Tristan da Cunha.• Foreign and Commonwealth Office grants obtained torevise the management plan for the Gough Island NatureReserve and to remove introduced flax from InaccessibleIsland.LecturesPeter Ryan gave a talk, co-authored with James Glass, onconservation management at Tristan da Cunha at a conferenceon conservation in UK Overseas Territories and other smallisland communities in Bermuda, March 2003. He regularlygives popular talks on island conservation.Flax Phormium tenax on Inaccessible Island. A clearance programmefor this invasive plant has been identified as a priority in the island’smanagement plan. Photo: Peter RyanYellownosed Albatross. Photo: Peter RyanVisitorsBill Dickson, Tristan’s Administrator, was in Cape Town forthree weeks in May-June 2003. During this time he visited theFitztitute and was advised on numerous matters ofconservation concern at Tristan and Gough islands.AcknowledgementsI thank the Darwin Initiative and UK Foreign andCommonwealth Office for their support of conservationwork at Tristan da Cunha. Monitoring and researchactivities at the Prince Edward Islands were supported bythe Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism,through grants to Dr Rob Crawford. Funds for work on theimpacts of climate change on Lesser Sheathbills at MarionIsland have been obtained from USAID through acollaborative project headed by Prof. Steven Chown.I am grateful to the numerous people who together helpconserve our fragile islands. The ongoing support of theTristan community is especially important.22 Percy FitzPatrick Institute Annual Report: July 2002 - June 2003