May 03 - Overseas Territories And Crown Dependencies Environment Ministers Plan For Post-Brexit Future

Written by YGTV Team on 03 May 2017.

Representatives from 11 UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs) and Crown Dependencies (CDs) from as far afield as Bermuda, Pitcairn and the British Virgin Islands travelled to the Channel Island of Alderney to discuss the future of the environment in their jurisdictions – two others joined by conference call.

The event was co-ordinated by non-governmental organisation the UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum (UKOTCF) and was hosted by the Government of Alderney, one of the smallest of the UK’s Crown Dependencies. Delegates were formally greeted on Wednesday evening and Tuesday morning by the island’s president Stuart Trought at the Braye Beach Hotel and Island Hall.

The meeting, on 27th and 28th April, tackled a diverse range of issues including the potential impacts of Brexit and the subsequent changes to UK laws, through to climate change and the need to share the limited resources available to these often-isolated territories.

The UKOTs and Crown Dependencies all have their own identity and governing structure, with no representation in the UK Parliament; however they all form part of the nation-state of the UK. The exact relationship between the UK Overseas Territories (UKOT) and the Crown Dependencies (CDs) with the UK differs for each, though the UK is generally responsible for defence, inter- national relations including international conventions, and also reserve powers in respect to their legislation. Combined, the UKOTs and CDs are home to a far greater concentration of endemic (found nowhere else) and endangered species than any other part of the UK. There are thought to be over 100,000 native species, 300 of which are thought to be endemic species restricted to a single location.

This is only the second meeting of its kind, the first having been hosted by the Government of Gibraltar in 2015. The aim of the meeting is to develop the benefits of joint and collaborative working, and discuss common priorities and approaches to negotiations with the UK Government.

The meeting was chaired jointly by Victor Brownlees, Alderney’s Chief Executive, and Dr John Cortes, the Minister for the Environment.

The meeting has been made possible by the work of the UKOTCF, a UK-based NGO dedicated to ensuring conservation across these far-flung jurisdictions. The event was co-ordinated on island by the Alderney Wildlife Trust (AWT), UKOTCF associate and the 47th member of the British Wildlife Trusts partnership. Delegates also had an opportunity to discover the wildlife of the island, including a close up visit to the most southerly colonies of the northern Gannet in the British Isles and the largest puffin colony remaining in the English Channel.

Alderney, a community of just 1,900 residents, offered to host the meeting in recognition of the need to improve communication between the UK’s remote outlying communities. The Islands resident’s welcomed the delegates and hosted the ministers and on Thursday evening at an informal dinner in the grounds of a Roman Fort known as the Nunnery which sits on the Island’s South Eastern coast, the nearest point of the British Isles to the Continental mainland just eight miles away.

Dr John Cortes, Minister for the Environment, Energy and Climate Change, said: “The meeting proved extremely useful in ensuring that the different territories share experiences and co- ordinate efforts in moving the environmental agenda forward cohesively.”

Victor Brownlees (Alderney’s CEO) said of the importance of the meeting: “We were delighted to welcome our friends and colleagues from the UK Overseas Territories and fellow Crown Dependencies. That Alderney is the host of such a high level meeting is a measure of the importance we as a community attach to preserving our distinct and special island home. I enjoyed sharing experiences and learning how we can work even more closely together across the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies in preserving and celebrating our distinct environmental heritages."

Dr Mike Pienkowski, Chair of UKOTCF commented: “UKOTCF is the only body solely concerned with conservation and environmentally sustainable use across all UK’s Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. Especially in our 30th anniversary year, we were honoured to have been asked by Territory governments to organise the meeting, as a result of these years of bringing conservation practitioners together to pool resources and share experiences. We congratulate Alderney for hosting it in a fantastic setting for holding two days of discussions. UK and its family of territories should be proud of striving to fulfil their world responsibilities for protecting this uniquely important heritage.”

Pics: Top left: Some of the Ministers visit the important gannet colony off Alderney (Photo: Catherine Wensink, UKOTCF).

From left:

• Hon. Dr John Cortes, Minister for Education, Heritage, Environment, Energy & Climate Change, Gibraltar (Meeting joint chairman)
• Hon. Kedrick D Pickering MD, Deputy Premier & Minister for Natural Resources & Labour,  British Virgin Islands
• Hon. Sylvan Richards MP, Minister of Environment, Government of Bermuda
• Mr Victor Brownlees, Chief Executive, States of Alderney (Host & meeting joint chairman)
• Hon. Geoffrey Boot MHK, Minister of Environment, Food & Agriculture, Isle of Man
• Hon. Claude Hogan, Minister of Agriculture & Environment, Montserrat
• Dr Mike Pienkowski, Chairman, UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum (Meeting organiser

Middle: Conference participants at Island Hall, Alderney (Photo: Dr Mike Pienkowski, UKOTCF)

Standing (left to right):

• Mr John Young, Planning Officer, States of Alderney
• Mrs Catherine Wensink, Executive Director, UKOTCF
• Dr Sandra Besson, Deputy Director of the BVI London Office,
• Ms Sarah Barnsley, Conservation Officer, UKOTCF record of meeting and support
• Mrs Ann Pienkowski, Hon. Environmental Education Coordinator, UKOTCF – videoing the meeting and support
• Mr Willie Peggie, Director for Environment / Deputy Chief Officer, States of Jersey
• Mr Victor Brownlees, Chief Executive, States of Alderney
• Mr Chris Carnegy, UK Representative Tristan da Cunha, on behalf of the Island Council
• Hon. Geoffrey Boot MHK, Minister of Environment, Food & Agriculture, Isle of Man
• Hon. Kedrick D Pickering MD, Deputy Premier & Minister for Natural Resources & Labour,  British Virgin Islands
• Mr Adrian Lewis, Designate Acting Chief Executive, States of Alderney
• Ms Marva J. O’Brien, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Government of Bermuda
• Hon. Sylvan Richards MP, Minister of Environment, Government of Bermuda
• Ms Norma Paris, Chair of General Services Committee, States of Alderney
• Dr Liesl    Mesilio-Torres, Chief Executive Officer, Gibraltar Department of the Environment, Heritage & Climate-Change
• Mr Stephen Warr, Senior Environment Officer, Gibraltar Department of the Environment, Heritage & Climate-Change
• Deputy Barry Brehaut, President of the Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure, States of Guernsey
• Mr Richard Lole, Chief Executive for the Department of Environment, Food & Agriculture, Isle of Man
• Dr Richard Axton, Chairman of Council, La Société Sercquaise, on behalf of Sark Agriculture and Environment Committee of the Chief Pleas of Sark
• Deputy Steven Luce, Minister for the Environment, Jersey
• Dr Mike Pienkowski, Chairman, UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum

Seated (from left):

• Hon. Claude Hogan, Minister of Agriculture & Environment, Montserrat
• Mrs Michele Christian, Divisional Manager, Environmental, Conservation & Natural Resources, Government of Pitcairn
• Hon. Dr John Cortés, Minister for Education, Heritage, Environment, Energy & Climate Change, Gibraltar

Participants missing from photo:

• Mr James Dent, Chair of Policy & Finance Committee, States of Alderney
• Mr Roland Gauvain, Executive Director, Alderney Wildlife Trust
• Mr Paul Veron, Economic Development Officer, States of Alderney
• Ms Sue Price, Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive, States of Alderney
• Mr Matt Birmingham, Chair of Building & Development Control Committee, States of Alderney
• Mr Steve Roberts, lead member responsibility for environmental/agricultural issues, States of Alderney
• MLA Michael Poole, Portfolio Holder for the Environment – Falkland Islands; with:
• Mr Nick Rendell, Falkland Islands Government Environment Officer (participating via Skype)
• Councillor Mrs Pamela Ward Pearce, Chairman of Environment & Natural Resources Committee, St Helena(participating via Skype)
• Derek Henry, Environment & National Resources Department, St Helena (participating via Skype)
• (Prevented from participating remotely by technical difficulties: Mrs Michelle Fulford Gardiner, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Minister for Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Culture, Turks & Caicos Islands, with colleagues)