A warm welcome to the the Conservation Department’s website, which aims to provide you with an overview of the biodiversity on Ascension Island and the work that we do to try conserve and promote it for future generations to enjoy.
Conservation efforts on Ascension were formally initiated in 2001 when the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) funded a Seabird Restoration Project that was managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). In this year, Ascension Island Government and the United Kingdom Government also signed up to an Environment Charter for Ascension with the aim of conserving its natural heritage.
The Conservation Team has since established its identity on Ascension and has made steady progress in conserving and promoting the Island’s fantastic biodiversity. At only one million years old, Ascension is a geologically young island and this, together with its isolation, results in its comparatively species-poor biodiversity. However, despite this, the degree of endemism of terrestrial and marine biodiversity is high, with at least 55 endemic species of plants, fish and invertebrates. Ascension Island also supports the largest green turtle and seabird nesting colonies in the tropical South Atlantic.
With the support of Ascension Island Government and project funding from dedicated overseas organisations such as RSPB, OTEP, JNCC and the Darwin Initiative, we have undertaken a number of projects aimed at conserving Ascension’s flora and fauna and also controlling the spread of alien invasives on the Island. Details of these projects, past and present, can be found on the Projects page of this website.
In addition to project funding support we also have a number of links with other UK Overseas Territories Governments, Universities, Non Governmental Organisations and other institutes. Working with our partners we carry out practical conservation and also a number of research projects. If you would like any more information about our work or working with us then please do not hesitate to get in touch (firstname.lastname@example.org). An Environmental Research Permit is required to conduct research on the Island – you can find more information about that and the form here and on our partner’s site: South Atlantic Environment Research Institute
Find out more about our work to safeguard Ascension’s unique biodiversity in this short documentary produced by Bryony Stokes and funded by the Darwin Initiative: