Env Profile Nlstatia-07-2015-In Revision Oct 2015
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BEST III - Working document Remark: This document gathers information from the list of references previously validated for the island. It is a working document that will be implemented following your comments and corrections. It will be used as a guide during the consultation process that will involve local governments, institutions and organizations. The objectives are to identify and map Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) in order to define conservation outcomes. KBAs are defined at 3 ecological levels: (1) species, including: globally threatened species, restricted-range species, and species gathering in important number during their life cycle; (2) sites: habitats that are home to the species previously identified; habitats and ecosystems that play important ecological processes and contribute to the persistence of biodiversity ; (3) ecological corridors: inter-connected landscapes of sites. Regarding the information and references cited hereafter, a list of "potential KBAs" is proposed in App.2. This is a working process that will be validated through the consultation of local actors. Ecosystem profile draft -St. Eustatius IBA, Marine and Terrestrial National Parks Policy and Socioeconomic context Ø Political Status - St. Eustatius (also called "Statia") is located in the northern Lesser Antilles (17°30'N, 62°56'W), situated 25 km south-east from Saba and 13 km north-west of St. Kitts and Nevis islands. St. Eustatius, with the islands of St. Maarten and Saba, formed the Windward Islands of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Together with the islands of St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Eustatius lies on a sub-marine bank with a maximum of 180 m that constitute the St. Kitts Bank. - Since October 10th 2010, St. Eustatius (together with Saba and Bonaire) became a special municipality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. St-Eustatius is a European Oversea Territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. 1 BEST III - Working document Ø Demographic Trends and Socio-economic context (Central Bureau Statistics - Caribbean Netherlands 2012): - Area: 21 km² - EEZ: 2,281 km², EEZ of the Dutch Windward Islands: 12414 km² - Population: 3,897 inhab., density: 186 inhab./km² - GDP ($/ inhab.): 24,800 - Main economic activities: oil storage and trans-shipment facilities; tourism, with associated services and construction industries. Protected and/or managed areas (References: DCNA 2012a, MacRae and Esteban 2007, 2009) Ø List of protected areas - Quill/Boven National Park (created in 1997 over 540 ha) consists of 2 sub-sectors: the Quill mountain (220 ha, everything above 205 m is protected), a dormant volcano of 602 m located in thesouthern part of the island; Boven sector (320 ha) located on the northern tip of the island (also called the Northern Hills). Accross Boven sector, 4 hills are on government lands (Boven, Bergje, Venus and Gilboa) and Signal Hill is within private property of Statia Oil Terminal. These National Parks cover about 25% of the island's land surface area. - St. Eustatius National Marine Park (created in 1996 over 2750 ha) comprises a marine park around the entire island (from high-tidemark to 30m deep) and 2 managed marine reserves (no-take zones where fishing and anchoring are prohibited).These 2 no-take zones were established to promote dive tourism and sustainable fisheries. Scuba-diving and mooring fees support the administration and management of the Marine Park. The marine park falls entirely within the territorial waters and jurisdiction of St. Eustatius and is protected by the Marine Environment Ordinance (1996). The National Parks are actively managed by a local NGO called St.Eustatius National Parks Foundation (STENAPA). STENAPA also manages the Miriam C. Schmidt Botanical Garden (5.3 ha) that is adjacent to the southern slopes of the Quill National Park. The land is leased by the Island Government to STENAPA and is not subject to any regulations. A fence prevents entry by roaming goats and cows (MacRae and Esteban 2009). - Establishment in 2015 of "Yarari" marine mammal and shark sanctuary that encompasses EEZ of Saba and Bonaire (Dutch Caribbean Nature Policy Plan 2013-2017, Project "Save our sharks", Debrot et al. 2011). Yarari Sanctuary will form part of the network of marine mammal sanctuaries in the region, with Agoa Sanctuary in the French EEZ, Silver Banks Sanctuary in the Dominican Republic and Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary in the northern USA. On-going projects - Projects under study - Tropicbird monitoring (2012 to present) and the impact of introduced species on breeding success (Madden and Ellis 2013, Madden 2014, Robertson and Madden 2015, ongoing) - Iguana delicatissima conservation (awareness, genetic diversity and small-scale local projects, ongoing) (Docherty 2014, Brouwers 2015, van den Burg 2015) - Bridled Quail-dove population assessment (ongoing, McLaughlin 2013, Madden 2015) - Impact of roaming animals within the Quill National Park (Madden 2013, 2014, ongoing) - Checklist of the Flora of St. Eustatius (Axelrod, not yet published) - Terrestrial bird monitoring (2009-present, ongoing) - Butterfly monitoring (2009-present, ongoing, Madden, Debrot et al., paper under review) - Removal of free roaming cattle program started in 2013 with funding from the Dutch government. The objective is to reduce the number of free roaming cattle to a manageable number over a three year period (2014's survey estimated about 500 heads for goats. Sheep are far more numerous). Action, management plans& Programs - St. Eustatius Marine Park Management Plan 2007 (MacRae and Esteban 2007) - The Quill/Boven National Park and Miriam C. Schmidt Botanical Garden Management Plan 2009 (MacRae and Esteban 2009) 2 BEST III - Working document - St. Eustatius National Marine Park Lionfish Response Plan (Bervoets 2009) - Management Plan for the natural resources of the EEZ of the Dutch Caribbean (Meesters et al. 2010) - St. Eustatius Sea Turtle Conservation Program coordinated by STENAPA and affiliated with WIDECAST (Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network) (Berkel 2013) - STENAPA International Programs: the Intern Program (since 2001, interns help accomplish projects at the Botanical Garden and the 2 National Parks); Working Abroad Program (international networking service based in the UK that has established volunteer projects in Statia since 2003). - STENAPA educational programs: Snorkel Club, Junior Ranger Club Biological importance of the ecosystems Species outcomes Ø List of Taxa assessed as globally threatened (IUCN Red List). List of species are indicated in Appendix 1. Taxonomic Critically Endangered Vulnerable Total Group endangered Plants 3 3 Invertebrates - Corals 2 2 5 9 Fishes 1 12 13 Sharks and Rays 2 (occ.) 2 (occ.) (4 occ.) Reptiles 1 3 (+ 2 occ.) 1 (occ.) 4 (+ 3 occ.) Birds Mammals - Bats 1 occ. - Marine mammals 1 (occ.) Total 3 9 (+ 4 occ.) 17 (+ 4 occ.) Ø List of species geographically restricted (References: Collier and Brown 2009, DCNA 2012b, Bland and Desutter-Grandcolas 2003, Kringsand Axelrod 2013,Morpeth 2011, New York Botanical Garden database, Rojer 1997, Sastre et Breuil 2007, Sipman 2009,Powell et al. 2005, Terueland Madden 2012) Taxonomic Number of endemic species group Plants - 2 plant species endemic to St. Eustatius: Statia Morning Glory (Ipomoea sphenophylla), Gonolobus aloiensis - 1 lichen endemic to St. Eustatius (Eremothecella microcephalica) - 18 plant species restricted to the Lesser Antilles and the Virgin Islands, including 5 plant species limited only to few islands Invertebrates - Arachnids - 1 pseudoscorpion endemic to St Eustatius (Pachyolpium confusum) - 3 arachnids endemic to the Lesser Antilles (2 scorpions: Centruroides barbudensis, Oiclus purvesii, 1 amblypygid species: Phrynus goesii) - Insects - 1 butterfly species endemic to the Lesser Antilles: Urbanus obscurus - 9 Orthoptera endemic to the Lesser Antilles, including 1 endemic to Statia (Lactista eustatia) and 5 that may be endemic to Statia (Orocharis minutus, O. proalbifrons, Orochirus maculatus, Cycloptilum eustatiensis, Cyrtoxipha orientalis) - 2 bees restricted to the Lesser Antilles, with one species endemic to Statia and St. Kitts & Nevis islands (Anthophora eustatiensis) Amphibians - 1 species endemic to few islands of the Lesser Antilles, but exotic in Statia (Johnstone's whistling frog Eleutherodactylus johnstonei) 3 BEST III - Working document Reptiles - 6 species restricted to a few islands in the Lesser Antilles: Lesser Antillean Iguana (Iguana delicatissima), Green Tree Lizard (Anolis bimaculatus), Red-faced ground lizard (Ameiva erythrocephala), Least Island Gecko (Sphaerodactylus sputator), Saba dwarf gecko (S. sabanus), Red-bellied Racer Snake (Alsophis rufiventris) Birds - 9 bird species restricted to the Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico (Elaenia martinica,Cinclocerthia ruficauda, Margarops fuscus, Margarops fuscatus, Geotrygon mystacea, Orthorynchus cristatus, Eulampis jugularis, E. holosericeus, Loxigilla noctis) Mammals - 2 bat species restricted to the Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico: Antillean Fruit- eating Bat (Brachyphylla cavernarum), Tree Bat (Ardops nichollsi) Total - 5 sp. endemic to St Eustatius - 50 sp. endemic to the Lesser Antilles Ø Species aggregations / List of species occurring at key stages of their life-cycles - The Red-billed Tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus) constitutes the island's only known breeding seabird population and can be observed flying around the cliffs of Boven IBA. This population ranges between 600-1000 individuals (Hannah Madden, pers. comm. 2015). Habitat