In keeping with the recent Arbour Day celebration, the territory should support the National Parks Trust’s laudable efforts to protect and propagate native trees and other plants.
Funded in part by a grant from a United Kingdom conservation fund, the NPT has been working with scientists from the UK’s Kew Gardens to find and map rare plant populations around the territory. They have met with success, discovering species that have been recorded in few other places on earth.
Besides the obvious scientific value of these efforts, the data collected doubtlessly will be useful in guiding planning decisions and expanding the territory’s national parks and other protected areas.
The NPT has coupled the mapping effort with a push to encourage the propagation of indigenous plants, some of which now are being raised in a new nursery at the J. R. O’Neal Botanic Gardens.
This is another worthy project. Quite often, exotic species are imported to landscape yards, resorts and public projects alike. This practice can be quite problematical if such plants start to outcompete natives or bring in pests.
Native species, by contrast, are part of the territory’s natural ecosystem, and thus they typically are more likely to thrive and benefit the environment. Moreover, many indigenous plants have cultural, historical, medicinal or tourism value.
To understand the potential magnitude of threats to such important species, one need only look to the Turks and Caicos Islands, which is fighting to save its territorial tree, the Caribbean pine, from eradication by an invasive insect.
Of course, the NPT can’t succeed alone. The nursery of native plants, for example, is new, and time and resources will be needed to expand it to the point where it can supply in bulk.
Thus, assistance is needed from all stakeholders, including policymakers, landscapers, architects, plant nurseries, developers, non-profit groups, homeowners and others.
Public education is crucial as well. Schools should teach students to identify native plants and to understand their ecological and cultural importance. Community information campaigns should be used to reach adults.
On the policy level, officials should use all available data to make sound planning decisions under existing laws, and they should consider passing new legislation that encourages the use of native plants. Looking abroad, there are plenty of models, many of which use incentives or penalties.
The Virgin Islands has an opportunity to be a regional leader in this area. At a time when “going green” is a watchword, comprehensive efforts to protect and propagate native plants should be a given. Kudos to the NPT for helping to lead the way.
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