Ministers and senior officials from UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs) and Crown Dependencies (CDs) met online on 18th May 2023 to discuss the future of the environment in their jurisdictions. This was the sixth meeting of the Council of Environment Ministers (or equivalents) of UK Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies and took place on the Zoom platform of their secretariat, the UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum . Previous meetings took place in Gibraltar in 2015, Alderney in 2017, the Isle of Man in February 2018 and online in April 2021 and October 2022.

The meeting was chaired by Hon. Professor John Cortés, Gibraltar’s Minister for Minister for Education & Culture, the Environment, Sustainability, Climate Change, Heritage and Public Health, and coordinated by the UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum (UKOTCF), a non-governmental organisation.

At the meeting were representatives from Alderney, Anguilla, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, St Helena, Sark, Tristan da Cunha, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Although very different in character, finances and their relationships with UK, the islands all boast beautiful environments that are important to economies and way of life. In terms of biodiversity, the UK Overseas Territories hold over 90% of the world biodiversity for which UK is responsible internationally. Many of these species, such as the Montserrat oriole and St Helena wirebird, occur nowhere else in the world.  UK Overseas Territories support more penguins than does any other nation.

An agreed statement was issued and can be seen here.

The meeting photo above shows some, but not all, of the participants. Those included are, from left to right, by rows from the top:

Hon. Prof. John Cortés, Minister for Education & Culture, the Environment, Sustainability, Climate Change, Heritage and Public Health, Gibraltar

The Rt Hon. Lord Benyon, UK DEFRA Minister of State (Minister for Biosecurity, Marine and Rural Affairs)

The Hon. Walter H Roban, JP, MP, Deputy Premier and Minister of Home Affairs, Bermuda

Hon. Pete Biggs MLA, the portfolio holder for Environment and Public Infrastructure, Falkland Islands

Deputy Lindsay De Sausmarez, President of the Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure, Guernsey

Hon. Clare Barber MHK, Minister for the Department of Environment Food & Agriculture, Isle of Man

Hon. Quincia M. Gumbs-Marie, Minister of Sustainability, Innovation and the Environment, Anguilla

Hon. Josephine Connolly, Minister of Tourism, Environment, Maritime, Heritage & Gaming, Turks and Caicos Islands

Hon. Christine Scipio, Minister of Environment, Natural Resources and Planning, St Helena

States Member Lin Maurice, Chair of the General Services Committee, States of Alderney

Dr Mike Pienkowski, Chairman, UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum (Secretariat)

Ms Chanelle Petty Barrett, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Sustainability, Innovation and the Environment, Anguilla

Ms Melissa Meade, Chief Natural Resources Officer, Department of Natural Resources, Anguilla

Ms Funmi Okorro, Anguilla UK Office

Ms Dorothea Hodge, Anguilla UK Representative

Mr Lee Lyons, UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Mrs Catherine Wensink, Executive Director, UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum (Secretariat and Presenter)

Ms M. Rozy Azhar, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Bermuda

Mr Troy Jacob (representing Hon Wayne Panton, Premier and Minister for Sustainability and Climate Resiliency, and Ms Jennifer Ahearn, Permanent Secretary), Cayman Islands

Mrs Ann Pienkowski, Environmental Education Coordinator, and Secretary of the Wider Caribbean Working Group, UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum (Secretariat)

Ms Julia Henney, Senior Natural Environment Officer, States of Guernsey (and Presenter)

Mr Willie Peggie, Group Director – Natural Environment, Jersey (representing Deputy Jonathan Renouf, Minister for the Environment)

Mr Darren Duncan, Portfolio Director, Environment, Natural Resources and Planning, St Helena

Mrs Kedell Worboys, St Helena UK Representative; and UKOTA

Ms Shakira Christodoulou, Conservation Leader for La Société Sercquaise (representing Conseiller Helen Plummer, Chairman of Agriculture, Environment and Sea Fisheries Committee of the Chief Pleas of Sark)

Mr Chris Carnegy, UK Representative, Tristan da Cunha (representing Chief Islander Mr James Glass)

Ms Lormeka M. Williams, Director of Environment & Coastal Resources, Turks and Caicos Islands

Mr Richard Selman, Head of Ecosystems, Isle of Man

Prof. Helen Roy, UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (Presenter)

Ms Natasha Stevens, St Helena National Trust (Presenter)

Dr Rhian Guillem, Gibraltar Botanic Gardens (Presenter)

Apologies for absence

Hon. Crenston C. Buffonge, Minister of Agriculture, Lands, Housing & Environment, Montserrat

Mr Simon Young, Mayor of Pitcairn