Britain's 14 Overseas Territories (OTs) are spread across the world from St Helena in the South Atlantic, Anguilla in the eastern Caribbean, to Pitcairn in the Pacific Ocean. 

The Territories have a huge variety of plants, animals and natural habitats, some of which are very rare, A number are under threat.  The FCO, and other UK government departments, have helped the Territories set up a series of environmental charters to develop and protect their bio-diversity.

Some of the animals and birds that they are protecting include the Bottle nose Dolphin which swims around the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Black-browed Albatross from the Falklands and the Cayman Islands Blue Iguana.  

Work is also going on to preserve the strikingly named poke-me-boy acacia tree on the British Virgin Islands, an important food source for the endangered iguana.

Conservation forum

The UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum (UKOTCF) works closely with  voluntary organisations and governments, both in the UK and in the Territories themselves. It is also a source of information and expertise on environmental issues.

UKOTCF works closely with UK groups like the Royal Botanical Gardens  at Kew and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

UKOTCF's main work consists of

• Helping local people form a conservation organisation where one does not already exist  

• Helping it develop its capacity to manage itself

• Developing jointly-run conservation projects.

Overseas territories funding

OT funding, which now runs at £1 million a year - £500,000 apiece from FCO and DFID through the Overseas Territories Environment Programme - supports various activities including:

• Raising the awareness across the Territories of the impacts of climate change

• Projects in the Falkland Islands and on Ascension Island to help children learn about native species

• Feasibility studies on the eradication of rats and mice on Tristan da Cunha 

• Setting up a botanical garden on Montserrat 

Separate constitutions

The OTs are not constitutionally part of the UK. They have separate constitutions, and most have elected governments with varying degrees of responsibilities for domestic matters.

The Governor, who is appointed by, and represents, HM the Queen, is responsible for external affairs, internal security, defence, and in most cases the public service.

Read more about the FCO's global network