Background

Montserrat is located in the Lesser Antilles chain at approximately N16°44’ and W062°12’. Situated 27 miles southwest of Antigua, the island is approximately 102km2 in size. Recent volcanic activity since 1995 has changed the landscape of Montserrat, including explosive eruptions of Chances Peak (formerly 3000’) and other volcanic centres in the south. The former capital of Plymouth was completely destroyed by volcanic activities, and sections of the city, and indeed many villages, rivers, and pastures, lie beneath meters of ash and rock.

Today, over 60% of the island is contained within an Exclusion Zone, which is off limits to human activity. The island’s population, which was over 12,000 in the early 1990s, shrunk to less than 2,000 during massive evacuations during the peak of the volcanic crisis in 1997. Many have since chosen to return, however the population of 4,500 today is growing quite slowly.

The impacts on the natural environment have been devastating. As a result, Montserrat’s Centre Hills have become of global biodiversity importance, supporting many of Montserrat’s key endemic species. Volcanic activity destroyed almost all the forests of the southern Soufriere Hills, resulting in the total loss of about 60% of Montserrat’s forest ecosystem. The Centre Hills now holds much the largest intact forest area remaining on Montserrat. It is the last viable enclave for most of the island’s wildlife, including those of global conservation concern, including the critically threatened Montserrat Oriole Icterus oberi, Montserrat Galliwasp Dipoglossus montisserrati, and Mountain Chicken Leptodactylus fallax. The Centre Hills forests also provide essential environmental goods and services to the people of Montserrat. They are the main water catchment area on the island and provide protection from soil erosion, landslides and flooding during severe weather events.

Despite this importance, recent research by the project partners indicates the Centre Hill forests are currently in relatively poor ecological health, due to a combination of historical factors and increasing pressure as the island’s infrastructure is rebuilt in the North. Historically the area was cleared for plantations so most of the forest is secondary. Non-native species such as rats and pigs have been introduced. These are having a devastating impact on the ecology of the forest, and are major predators of native wildlife; little is known of the impacts of alien plant invasives, but they are known to be widespread. The Centre Hills now provides the sole water supply for the people on Montserrat and there is substantial water abstraction for human use, which may be adversely affecting forest ecology.

There are several barriers to be overcome if successful management of the Centre Hills is to be achieved: Little is known about the status and distribution of some taxa, so there is an urgent need to assess the current status of the remaining biological resources; The protection status of the Centre Hills is unclear. Conflicts have arisen over the Centre Hills Forest Boundary and people are not aware of their rights and responsibilities; There are few persons on the island with the technical skills to take forward conservation work; There are a range of stakeholders involved in the management of the Centre Hills but communication between them is poor.

There remain serious economic issues and shortfalls as the government has focused initial efforts on rebuilding basic infrastructure such as housing and public works. Increasingly, effort is being made to expand economic investment and growth across a variety of sectors including agriculture and tourism. The Government of Montserrat envisages nature tourism as a major future source of income, and hope that the Centre Hills would need to play a key role in this. This potential is not yet developed.

Courtesy: Andrew McRobb,
Royal Botanic Gardens - Kew


Courtesy: Andrew McRobb,
Royal Botanic Gardens - Kew