Caribbean Flora Project

Caribbean Flora Project
Name	Caribbean Flora Project
Formation	2008
Type	Research consortium
Headquarters	Port of Spain
Region served	Caribbean Basin
Leader title	Director
Leader name	Dr. Ana Martínez

Caribbean Flora Project The Caribbean Flora Project is a multinational research consortium focused on documenting, mapping, and conserving vascular plants, bryophytes, and lichens across the Caribbean Basin. It synthesizes botanical inventories, herbarium records, satellite imagery, and conservation assessments to support stewardship in island states such as Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Trinidad and Tobago. The Project partners with institutions including the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the Smithsonian Institution, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature to produce regional checklists, red list assessments, and conservation action plans.

Overview

The Project emerged from collaborative initiatives between the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture, the Caribbean Community, and national botanical gardens following concerns raised at meetings like the Convention on Biological Diversity Conference of the Parties and the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation workshops. Key milestones include the creation of standardized floristic protocols, digital specimen databasing aligned with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and publication of regional floras drawing on collections from the New York Botanical Garden, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the University of the West Indies. Funders and supporters have included the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the IUCN SSC Plants Specialist Group, and the National Science Foundation through collaborative grants.

Objectives and Scope

Primary objectives are to produce comprehensive checklists, assess extinction risk under IUCN criteria, and identify Important Plant Areas and Key Biodiversity Areas relevant to agencies such as the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund and the Inter-American Development Bank. Scope covers endemic-rich islands, offshore cays, and continental shelf bioregions bordering Belize, Venezuela, and Colombia. Secondary aims include capacity building at institutions like the University of Puerto Rico, the University of the West Indies Mona Campus, and the Instituto de Ecología y Sistemática in Havana, enabling botanists to contribute to regional assessments for programs led by BirdLife International and the United Nations Environment Programme.

Methods and Fieldwork

Field protocols integrate plot-based sampling following methods used by the Global Forest Watch and remote-sensing analyses from satellites such as Landsat and Sentinel-2. Teams conduct targeted expeditions to biodiverse sites including the Sierra Maestra, the Blue Mountains (Jamaica), and the Cordillera Central (Dominican Republic), collaborating with local NGOs like the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute and government agencies such as the Trinidad and Tobago Forestry Division. Specimen collection follows curation standards of museums including the National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian) and employs molecular barcoding protocols aligned with initiatives at the Kew DNA Bank and the Global Genome Biodiversity Network.

Key Findings and Conservation Impact

The Project has documented numerous endemics and range extensions, informing IUCN Red List entries and national protected area proposals submitted to bodies like the World Bank and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency. Notable outcomes include updated conservation status for species in genera such as Calyptranthes, Coccothrinax, Coccoloba, Eugenia, and Pitcairnia and the identification of Important Plant Areas overlapping with Biosphere Reserves and Ramsar sites like the Sierra de Bahoruco. Reports have influenced management plans for protected areas managed by agencies such as the Jamaica Conservation and Development Trust and have supported applications to international mechanisms including the Green Climate Fund.

Collaborations and Partnerships

Collaborators span universities, museums, and NGOs: the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the New York Botanical Garden, the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute, and local herbaria at the University of the West Indies St. Augustine. Multilateral partners include the Organization of American States, the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre, and development partners like the Inter-American Development Bank. Citizen science has been coordinated with platforms such as iNaturalist and local initiatives run by the Caribbean Youth Environment Network.

Data Management and Accessibility

Data architecture follows open standards compatible with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and the Biodiversity Heritage Library, with specimen metadata digitized to standards promoted by the Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities and the Data Observation Network for Earth. The Project’s datasets are integrated into portals maintained by the International Plant Names Index and linked to taxonomic backbones used by the Catalogue of Life. Data sharing agreements respect national regulations such as access provisions discussed at the Nagoya Protocol meetings and involve capacity transfers to national herbaria including the Herbario Nacional de Cuba.

Education, Outreach, and Policy Influence

Education and outreach target policy makers, land managers, and the public via workshops at the University of the West Indies, training courses with the Botanical Society of the British Isles (Caribbean affiliates), and exhibitions with the National Museum and Art Gallery (Trinidad and Tobago). Policy briefs have been presented to entities like the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat and the United Nations Development Programme to inform island-specific strategies on biodiversity finance and invasive species control. Through partnerships with the IUCN SSC Specialist Groups and regional ministries of environment, the Project supports integration of plant conservation into national biodiversity strategies and action plans submitted under the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Category:Botany projects Category:Conservation in the Caribbean