Ecosystem Profile THE CARIBBEAN ISLANDS BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT FINAL DRAFT FOR SUBMISSION TO THE CEPF DONOR COUNCIL 2 DECEMBER 2009 Prepared by: BirdLife International in collaboration with: Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust / Bath University The New York Botanical Garden and with the technical support of: Conservation International-Center for Applied Biodiversity Science Drafted by the ecosystem profiling team: David C. Wege, Doug Ryan, Nigel Varty, Verónica Anadón-Irizarry, Amiro Pérez-Leroux Assisted by individual experts from the following institutions: Adventours Environment for the Americas Association pour l'Etude et la protection des Vertébrés Environmental Awareness Group of Antigua and des petites Antilles Barbuda AMAZONA Environmental Management Division, Office of the American Bird Conservancy Prime Minister (Jamaica) Amigos de Sian Ka'an A.C. Environmental Protection in the Caribbean Anguilla National Trust Faculté d'Agronomie et de Medicine Veterinaire Arizona State University Fauna and Flora International Asa Wright Nature Centre Fenad Avian Eyes Birding Group Fermata Inc Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Aviation Fondation EcosOphique Bahamas National Trust Fondation Macaya Bahamas National Trust, Bahamas Outdoors Limited Fondation Seguin Bat Conservation International Forestry Department Bermuda Audubon Society Forestry, Wildlife and Parks Division- Dominica Bonaire Parrot project, University of Sheffield Fundación para el Desarrollo Humano – Boston University PROGRESSIO British Virgin Islands National Parks Trust Grand Bahama Nature Tours CARE Grupo Jaragua, Inc. Caribbean Coastal Area Management Herpetological Conservation Trust Caribbean Natural Resources Institute Institute of Jamaica, Natural History Museum of Centre d'Information Geospatiale Jamaica Centro de Aprendizaje para la Conservación de Institute of Marine Affairs Sarapiquí Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo Centro para la Conservación y Ecodesarrollo de la Island Conservation Bahía de Samaná IUCN/SSC Iguana Specialist Group The Claremont Colleges Jadora International LLC Columbia University Jamaican Caves Organisation CONHAME Jamaica Forestry Department Consorcio Ambiental Dominicano Jardín Botánico Nacional Consultora Hernández Klamath Bird Observatory Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology Laboratorio UASD-Steven Department of Conservation Sciences, Bermuda Ministère de l'Environnement, Haiti Department of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Energy and Mining Environment, Puerto Rico Ministry of Agriculture, Montserrat Department of the Environment, Anguilla Museo Nacional de Historia Natural Department of the Environment, Montserrat National Audubon Society Durham University National Environment and Planning Agency Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance National Trust for the Cayman Islands Econcerns Ltd. Natouraves ENAF Negril Area Environmental Protection Trust ii Northern Jamaica Conservation Association UK Overseas Territories, Conservation Forum Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage UNDP OJJUOES UNEP-Caribbean Environment Program Optics for the Tropics Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo Pacific Union College Universidad de Cornell Panos Caribbean Université d'Etat d'Haiti Parque Zoológico Nacional Université Quisqueya Planning Institute of Jamaica University of California Plant Conservation Centre University of Nebraska State Museum Platte River Whooping Crane Maintenance Trust University of New Brunswick Population Media Center University of Pittsburgh, National Aviary Programa Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo University of Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Dept. Natural Resources University of Scranton PWD Gun Club University of Simon Bolivar Rare University of the West Indies Reseau d’Enseignement Professionnel et University of the West Indies – Cave Hill and Mona d’Interventions Ecologiques Campuses Ross University School of Medicine, Dept of University of the West Indies, Life Sciences Biochemistry U.S. Agency for International Development / DAI Royal Society for the Protection of Birds USDA Forest Service, Int'l Institute of Tropical Secretaría de Estado de Educación Superior Ciencia y Forestry Tecnología/UASD U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Secretaría de Estado de Medio Ambiente U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Div. Scientific Sociedad Ornitológica Hispaniola Authority Sociedad Ornitológica Puertoriqueña U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Latin America and Société Audubon Haïti Caribbean Region Société Financiere de Developpement U.S. Forest Service, Wings Across the Americas Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean USFS International Institute for Tropical Forestry Birds U.S. Geological Survey South Dakota State University U.S. Virgin Islands Division of Fish and Wildlife State University of New York at Stony Brook Vermont Center for Ecostudies Stichting Nationale Parken Bonaire Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network Subsecretaría de Planificación y Desarrollo Windsor Research Centre Sustainable Grenadines Project Zoological Museum of Amsterdam The Nature Conservancy Zoológico Nacional/Universidad Autónoma de Santo The Nature Conservancy-Dominican Republic Domingo The Nature Conservancy-U.S. Virgin Islands Zoological Society of San Diego Trelawny Gun Club Zoological Society of Trinidad and Tobago Tourism Product Development Co. Ltd. UCH/DES This document has also been edited and refined based on CEPF Secretariat and donor partner review. iii CONTENTS Executive Summary………………………………………………………….…………………..v Introduction………………………………………………………………….………..………….1 Background………………………………………………………………….………..………….2 Biological Importance of the Ecosystem……………………………………….…..……………4 Conservation Outcomes…………………………………………………….….…..…………….6 Socioeconomic, Policy, and Civil Society Context of the Region…………….……………......26 Threats…………………………………………………………………………………………..48 Climate Change Assessment……………………………………………………………………66 Assessment of Current Investment……………………………………………………………..78 CEPF Niche for Investment…………………………………………………………………….84 CEPF Investment Strategy and Program Focus………………………………………………...86 Sustainability…………………………………………………………………………………..102 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………..103 Logical Framework…………………………………………………….………………………104 References………………………………………………………………………….…………..107 Appendices……………………………………………………………….…………………….116 iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Everyone depends on Earth’s ecosystems and their life-sustaining benefits, such as clean air, fresh water and healthy soils. Founded in 2000, the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) has become a global leader in enabling civil society to participate in and benefit from conserving some of the world’s most critical ecosystems. CEPF is a joint initiative of l'Agence Française de Développement, Conservation International, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the World Bank. As one of the founders, Conservation International administers the global program through a CEPF Secretariat. CEPF provides grants for nongovernmental and other private organizations to help protect biodiversity hotspots, Earth’s most biologically rich and threatened areas. The convergence of critical areas for conservation with millions of people who are impoverished and highly dependent on healthy ecosystems is more evident in the hotspots than anywhere else. CEPF is unique among funding mechanisms in that it focuses on biological areas rather than political boundaries and examines conservation threats on a landscape-scale basis. From this perspective, CEPF seeks to identify and support a regional, rather than a national, approach to achieving conservation outcomes and engages a wide range of public and private institutions to address conservation needs through coordinated regional efforts. The Caribbean Islands Hotspot includes the biologically and culturally diverse islands of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Lesser Antilles and the Netherlands Antilles. This represents a complex region of 12 independent nations and several British, Dutch, French and U.S. overseas territories. The hotspot supports exceptionally diverse ecosystems, ranging from montane cloud forests to cactus scrublands. It has dozens of highly threatened species, including two species of solenodon (giant shrews) and the Cuban crocodile. Like its natural diversity, the cultural and socioeconomic diversity of the hotspot is incredibly high. It includes indigenous American, Hispanic, African, Anglo-Saxon, French and Asian cultures. With the exception of Haiti, which is the least-developed country in the Americas, the hotspot’s nations are considered to be of middle to high income. But economic inequity is at high levels even in some of the richer countries and poverty is a concern across the region. The Ecosystem Profile for the Caribbean Islands Hotspot was developed through a process of stakeholder consultation and expert research studies coordinated by BirdLife International (Caribbean Program) in collaboration with Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust / Bath University, and the New York Botanical Garden, with technical support from Conservation International’s Center for Applied Biodiversity Science. At least 200 stakeholders representing more than 160 governmental and nongovernmental institutions contributed to the development of this profile. The ecosystem profile presents an overview of the hotspot in terms of its biological importance, climate change impacts, major threats to and root causes of biodiversity loss, socioeconomic