The London Climate Action Week (LCAW), The Cayman Islands Government Office UK (CIGO-UK), Cayman Islands Department of Environment (DOE) and The National Trust for the Cayman Islands (NTCI) hosted a special online event during London Climate Action Week 2022 entitled, “Sentinels in the Fight Against Climate Change – The Importance of Migratory Birds in the Global Ecosystem” on 30 June 2022. Watch the full replay below.
Moderated by Dr Tasha Ebanks Garcia, the Representative for CIGO-UK, the session opened with an inspiring live keynote speech from Sacha Dench (aka The Human Swan and Ambassador for the Convention of Migratory Species), followed by an interview of Caribbean ornithologist Patricia Bradley by Senior Advisor to CIGO-UK Sangeeta Laudus filmed outside the NTCI offices in Grand Cayman on World Migratory Day in May. The event then featured a live discussion between:
Ian Redmond, Conservationist and Ambassador for the Convention on Migratory Species talking about the importance of wildlife migration to the global ecosystem.
Simone Williams, Research Officer with Terrestrial Resources Unit for the DoE on the species of birds which use the Cayman Islands as a stopover in their migratory fly paths and the work being done to conserve their habitats.
Catherine Childs, Environmental Programmes Manager at the NTCI announced the installation of the new Motus posts to be installed in the Cayman Islands which will enable better understanding of bird flight paths and support conservation efforts globally.
Following the panel session, @Charlie Butt (Caribbean Territories Programme Manager RSPB) talked of how the Caribbean plays a significant role in global #biodiversity and the importance of the Cayman Islands as being a “mangrove powerhouse” and importance of this as a habitat for migratory birds.
The event closed with the premiere of a video created for educational purposes by NTCI entitled “Bird Life in the Cayman Islands.”