This week NPTVI and DPLUS 180 project partners Environment Systems Ltd facilitated a global expert symposium to gather input into the climate change model that is being created for the BVI. The online meeting gathered nine experts from international organisations including the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Nature Conservancy, The UK National Oceanography Centre, Portsmouth University, and the UK Marine Conservation Society.
The symposium identified the ecosystem services being produced from protected areas, and their surrounding land. It also highlighted where there are opportunities to enhance these areas, in the light of climate change impacts. The symposium explored the scientific theory that is being used to model the function of the protected areas of the BVI in providing ecosystem services.
The model is using WorldClim datasets which provide detailed predictions of future temperature and rainfall.