Project Overview

The Centre Hills Project (CHP) was launched in June 2005. It aims to enable the people of Montserrat to conserve the Centre Hills. Since volcanic activity has devastated most of the southern forests and mountains, the Centre Hills have become the last remaining habitat for numerous threatened species. These include the Montserrat oriole, “mountain chicken” frog, galliwasp lizard, and the endemic Montserrat orchid.

In addition to supporting ongoing ecological assessment work, the project aims to inform decision makers and partners about the social and economic interests of the Centre Hills. An assessment of values and attitudes will provide information that will be useful in minimising potential human conflicts.

Investigating the impact of activities such as agriculture, hunting, and tourism, as well as gathering information about land ownership, are important aspects of this effort as well.

An outreach programme will target diverse audiences of resource users, decision makers, and the general public. A legislative review process will ensure that legal frameworks are adequate to effectively address conservation and protected area management.

Much of the project is funded by the Darwin Initiative, a biodiversity conservation scheme of the UK Government’s Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs. Additional funding and in-kind support comes from the six partner agencies.

The project is coordinated by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Other partners are the Montserrat National Trust; Montserrat Tourist Board; Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Housing, and Environment; Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust; and Royal Botanic Gardens-Kew. Additional research is contributed by teams from South Dakota State University and Montana State University. The GIS tem in the Government's Physical Planning Unit is supporting GIS training and mapping efforts

Courtesy: Andrew McRobb,
Royal Botanic Gardens - Kew