Caicos Pine Recovery Project partners will officially hand over the National Tree Restoration Strategy to Turks & Caicos Islands Government on Wednesday, 6 April 2016.

Part of a long-term partnership between the Department of Environment & Coastal Resources and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the expert-written strategy will be presented formally to the Ministry of Tourism, Environment & Culture, and launched into practice.

The Strategy documents the best practices for the conservation of the National Tree after two years of intense research on the unique ecosystem it supports, expanding on field and laboratory research dating back to 2007. The research has yielded important information on the biochemistry and ecology of the Caicos pine and has even revealed possible new species of fungi and insects to science. Protocols developed during this work direct how Caicos pine habitat restoration will be carried out from seed collection, propagation, field planting, to habitat management.

“The National Tree Restoration Strategy will guide the Turks & Caicos Islands in the long-term protection of Caicos pine, the National Tree, which is an important part of Turks & Caicos history and culture.” says Honourable Porsha Stubbs-Smith, Minister of Tourism, Environment, Culture and Heritage.

The Strategy is one of the most important outputs of the Caicos Pine Recovery Project’s phase “Pine Forests: Mitigation for Climate change and Invasive Species” funded by the UK Government’s Darwin Initiative through the Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund and the John Ellerman Foundation.

The Honourable Minister went on to express profound thanks and appreciation to the team for their hard work and dedication over the past 2 years and further noted her interest in working with them on future projects.