SOUTH ATLANTIC

Facts & figures Geography Total area: 2,204,756 km

2

Total Land area:

Ascension Island

St Helena

Tristan da Cunha

Falkland Islands

12,590 km2 (0.57%)

88 km2 (0.70%)

122 km2 (0.96%)

207 km2 (1.65%)

12,173 km2 (96.69%)

Total Protected land area:

Ascension Island

St Helena

Tristan da Cunha

Falkland Islands

Total Marine area (approx.)

Ascension Island

St Helena

Tristan da Cunha

Falkland Islands

233.6 km2 (1.86%)

18 km2 (7.8%)

51 km2 (21.8%)

122 km2 (52.2%)

42.6 km2 (18.2%)

2,247,646 km2 (99.44%)

441,877 km2 (19.66%)

444,916 km2 (19.8%)

809,981 km2 (36.03%)

550,872 km2 (24.51%)

Total Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ):

Marine protected area (MPA and/or MMA):

2,192,166 km2 (99.43%)

0 km2 (0%)

Overseas Regions (Governance/Dependency):

Ascension Island (UK) St Helena (UK)

Tristan da Cunha (UK) Falkland Islands (UK)

Socio-economic facts Total population/Population

Ascension Island

St Helena

Tristan da Cunha

Falkland Islands

Main income sources:

Ascension Island

St Helena

Tristan da Cunha

Falkland Islands

density: 880 (2012) - 10/km

2

4,225 (2012) - 35/km2

297 (2014) - 1.4/km2

2,930 (2012) - 0.24/km2

Military Fisheries Fisheries Fisheries

Lower resolution map of the region(higher resolution and more detailed map

should be added to the last page of the

factsheet)

Current situation & main challenges

As a distinct set of small volcanic islands from 7oS to 37oS, Ascension Island, Saint Helena and Tristan da Cunha span a range of climatic systems with differing ecosystems. The Falkland Islands sit in the South-West of the Atlantic ocean at 51oS.

Socio-economic context Each island has unique circumstances and need to be treated as separate entities.

On Ascension Island (ASI), the main income is created through the militarypresence on the island, although some revenue has been generated throughthe distribution of fishing licenses. There is no resident population. All land isowned by the government and civilians may only reside here as long as theyhave a work permit.

Due to the difficulty in accessing the island, St Helena (STH) is currentlydependent on financial aid from the British and EU Governments. However theconstruction of the first airport due to be opened in 2016 will potentially open upthe island to economic development.

With no new residents allowed to permanently settle on the island and only asmall area of land suitable for development, Tristan da Cunha’s (TDC)population remains small despite spanning the largest area of all three islands.The economy here is almost completely reliant on a commercial fishery ofTristan rock lobster (Janus tristani), which means growth is dependent onproduction and demand.

In the Falkland Islands (FKL), unlike the majority of South Atlantic OTs, landcan be owned privately and full resident status can be applied for after 7 years.The primary income (50-60%) is generated from the fishing industry andapproximately 25% of the population is employed by the government. With largescale marine hydro-carbon exploration to start imminently (2014-15) there islikely to be a large impact on the local economy.

Legal and political context ASI, STH and TDC are under the jurisdiction of the UK Government, presided over by a Governor who is representative of the current British monarch. The Governor is based on St Helena but both other islands have an Administrator acting on their behalf. FKL is a self-governing OT of the United Kingdom (UK) with an elected Legislative Assembly, advised by a Governor who is representative of the current British monarch. All four islands are signatories of such environmental agreements as CITES, Convention on Migratory Species, RAMSAR and World Heritage Convention.

June 2015

Useful links EU BEST website:

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/biodiversity/best/index_en.htm

South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute (SAERI)http://www.south-atlantic-research.org/

Ascension Island Government: http://www.ascension-island.gov.ac/government/conservation/

Saint Helena Government:http://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/environment/

Tristan da Cunha Government: http://www.tristandacunha.org/

Falkland Islands Government: http://www.falklands.gov.fk/

Kew Overseas Territories Online Herbarium:http://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/bol/UKOT

IUCN Red List: http://www.iucnredlist.org/

Biodiversity Some of the most prominent species are mentioned below:

Endemic Species

Ascension Island: 45*

Ascension Frigatebird - Fregata aquila;

Shrimp - Typhlatya rogersi;

Ascension Island Parsley Fern - Anogramma

ascensionis

St Helena: 501*

Saint Helena plover - Charadrius sanctaeheleae;

Bastard Gumwood tree - Commidendrum rotundifolium;

Black cabbage tree - Melanodendron integrifolium

Tristan da Cunha: 152*

Atlantic Petrel - Pterodroma incerta;

Inaccessible Island rail - Atlantisia rogersi;

Tree-fern - Blechnum palmiforme

Falkland Islands: 81* Cobb’s wren - Troglodytes cobbi Lady’s Slipper - Calceolaria fothergillii Hairy Daisy - Erigeron incertus

Threatened Species

Ascension Island: 21*

Ascension Frigatebird - Fregata Aquila [VU];

Ascension Island Parsley Fern - Anogramma

ascensionis [CR];

Evergreen Fern - Pteris adscensionis [CR]

St Helena: 38*

Saint Helena plover - Charadrius sanctaeheleae [CR];

Bastard Gumwood tree – Commidendrum rotundifolium

[EW];

Saint Helena ebony - Trochetiopsis ebenus [CR]

Tristan da Cunha: 13*

Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross - Thalassarche

chlororhynchos [EN];

Tristan albatross - Diomedea dabbenena [CR];

Wilkin’s Bunting - Nesospiza wilkinsi [EN]

Falkland Islands: 45* Southern Rockhopper Penguin - Eudyptes chrysocome

[VU]; Falkland Rock-cress - Phlebolobium maclovianum [EN];

Sei Whale - Balaenoptera borealis [EN] * All figures are subject to change due to ongoing research and assessment

IUCN Red List Threatened Criteria: CR = Critical; EN = Endangered; VU = Vulnerable

Current conservation status

Threats and pressures on biodiversity The main stresses in biodiversity across the South Atlantic are: (a)

Climate change: Small island systems are particularly susceptible

to the impacts of climate change and impacts are already being

observed in all three island groups; (b) Invasive alien species:

These have been well documented in terrestrial habitats and have

had a proven impact on numerous species, particularly seabirds;

(c) Illegal fishing: Due to the large marine areas attributed to

each island, it is not currently possible to effectively police them;

(d) Biosecurity: The new airport on St Helena will potentially open

up the islands to more tourists and trade which could present a

biosecurity hazard that needs to be addressed

Internationally recognised habitats of importance: - Creation of 7 Nature Reserves and 1 Sanctuary (July 2014) on

Ascension Island

- Between them, Ascensions Islands, St Helena and Tristan da

Cunha have 7 Important Bird Area’s (IBAs) covering 88.5% of all

land area

- 2 Tristan islands - Gough and Inaccessible - are World Heritage

Sites

- Falkland Islands has 22 IBAs and 17 Important Plant Areas

(IPAs)

Current investments

Notable ongoing projects:

- Darwin Initiative Mapping of Ascension Islands Terrestrial

Ecosystems (2015-2016)

- Darwin Initiative Ascension Island Marine Sustainability (AIMS)

Project (2014-2016)

- Tristan da Cunha Government and RSPB BAP (2012-2016)

- Darwin Plus funded Endemic Plant Survey on St Helena

- Darwin Initiative for Sustainable development of St Helena’s

fisheries (2015-2017)

- GAP Project in the Falkland Islands; assessing the potential impact of the hydrocarbons industry on marine fauna (2014-2016)

- Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) in the Falkland Islands (2014-2016)

TEFRA Project – Terrestrial ecosystems of the Falklands – a climate change risk assessment Budget: € 297,280 (Best Initiative) Activities: Using botanical database to develop species

distribution models to predict likely impacts of climate change on plant diversity in the Falkland Islands Results: Ongoing

Critical areas for action / Investment niches

- Research into the long term effects of climate change on these

island ecosystems, including increased collection of abiotic data

- Monitoring of native and invasive plant distribution, abundance and

ecology and development of long term strategies for habitat

restoration

- Increased baseline data for invertebrate populations

- Improved baseline data needs to be collected for all the marine

systems as relatively little information is currently available to be

able to successfully advise future policies

- Review of sustainability and by-catch rates of fisheries, in

conjunction with improved marine data

LOGOS/PHOTOS June 2015

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