fp Turks and Caicos

TCI Protected Areas:

An exploration of the northwestern “Outback” of Provo would not be complete without expanding our horizons by going down under and out to the abyss.

Shyvonne, the latest turtle to be fitted with a satellite tag by the Turks and Caicos Islands Turtle Project, embarked on her migration away from Grand Turk recently after laying her last nest of the season on Gibbs Cay.

She is the first green turtle nesting in the TCI to be tracked by satellite and hopefully will provide vital information about where these endangered turtles go once they leave TCI waters.

TCI Protected Areas

A walk along the isolated coastline where the northern shores meet the western shores of Providenciales is a tonic for the world-weary soul.

TCI Protected Areas

In the last few articles, we have focused on the many natural attributes found right here in our own outback — the national parks and nature reserves of western Providenciales.

Although separated by yellow park boundary lines on the map, Chalk Sound National Park, Pigeon Pond and Frenchman’s Creek Nature Reserve, North West Point Pond Nature Reserve and North West Point Marine National Park are all vital habitats inextricably linked through the many resources they possess.

The Turks and Caicos National Trust has received the first installment from the European Union to support sustainable use of the country’s Protected Areas.

TCI Protected Areas

In the United States — the Turks and Caicos Islands’ primary tourism market — more than 50 million people claim to be birdwatchers.

Bird watching, or “birding,” is an environmentally sustainable activity that is a $25 billion/year industry in North America (Birdlife International Statistics).

As a country that boasts several internationally important bird areas, the TCI has the potential to become a prime bird watching ecotourism destination. Guided tours, kayaking adventures, automobile rentals, and sales of supplies and equipment like binoculars and field guides are just a few of the business opportunities that abound for creative entrepreneurs.

TCI Protected Areas

What will the Turks and Caicos Islands look like in 100 years?

The citizens of this country today enjoy a rich and biodiverse natural history inherited intact from their forefathers. However, in the space of a mere few decades, this generation has managed to run riot across the landscape. If nothing else, the shrinking availability of undeveloped beachfront along the shores of Providenciales is a testament to the fact that the land areas of this small island nation are indeed finite and vulnerable.

The fp published a series of articles on the Turks and Caicos Islands Protected Area System to increase public awareness and respect for the beauty and value of this "beautiful by nature" country. The authors, marine ecologist Marsha Pardee and terrestrial ecologist Kathleen Wood, are long-time TCI residents and respected scientists in their fields.

TCI Protected Areas

The Pigeon Pond and Frenchman’s Creek Nature Reserve encompasses some of the most valuable and vital habitats found within the entire Turks and Caicos Islands archipelago.

Eclipsed only by the sheer size of the Ramsar wetlands site that stretches across North, Middle and East Caicos, this Nature Reserve contains representatives of nearly every ecological attribute this country has to offer. Even better, it is conveniently placed in our tourism mecca offering boundless adventures for the nature loving kind and economic incentives for those who lead them there.