Functions of the Director

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The Director on behalf of the Ministry shall —

administer and enforce the provisions of this Law;

appoint a person to be secretary to the Council;

advise and support the Council in the performance of its powers and duties under this Law; and

carry out such functions as may be required by the Council or the Cabinet.

In carrying out his functions the Director may do all or any of the following —

establish and maintain monitoring programmes for the purposes of —

assessing the condition of natural resources and ecological systems in the Islands and assessing the impact of ongoing or proposed activities on them;

identifying and evaluating national and regional trends in the status of species in the Islands and the Wider Caribbean Region; and

assessing the effectiveness of and ascertaining compliance with management and protective measures under this Law;

compile comprehensive inventories of areas that —

contain rare or fragile ecosystems;

are reservoirs of biological diversity;

are of ecological value in maintaining significant natural resources;

are important for indigenous or migratory species;

act as significant sinks or reservoirs of greenhouse gases; or

are of scientific, biological, cultural, recreational, archaeological, educational or aesthetic value;

identify potential protected areas, conservation areas and areas of critical habitat and recommend to the Council the measures that should be taken under this Law to protect them;

carry out research on and monitor impacts on the natural resources, habitats, species and populations of protected areas;

inform the organisation or Government responsible for bureau duties under Ramsar at the earliest possible time should the ecological character of any wetland in the Islands included in the List of Wetlands of International Importance under Ramsar be likely to change or has changed as a result of development, pollution or other human act;

compile comprehensive inventories of species whose range includes the Islands;

monitor the populations of indigenous or migratory species and identify endangered, threatened, endemic or other species and their critical habitats requiring protection under this Law;

carry out and provide support for research and surveys into the protection and management of wildlife, including identifying candidate species and determining the population status and habitat needs of species whose survival may be endangered or threatened, and co-operate with research and monitoring programmes in the Wider Caribbean Region;

for the purposes of research, collect or obtain samples of species listed under this Law;

develop conservation plans for each protected species taking into account traditional cultural needs and any regional programmes under the Conventions;

develop criteria for determining whether wild populations or proposed introductions of alien or genetically altered species might cause harm to any of the natural resources of the Islands and procedures for regulating and controlling such populations and introductions;

where appropriate, nominate protected areas and protected species for inclusion on any applicable regional or international lists maintained pursuant to any of the Conventions;

supervise and be responsible for the work of the conservation officers and conservation wardens;

keep the Ministry and the Secretariat of the Migratory Species Convention informed of those species listed in Appendix I or II to the Convention whose range includes any part of the Islands and, at least six months prior to each ordinary meeting of the Conference held pursuant to the Convention, on the measures being taken to implement the provisions of the Convention for those species; and

make such periodic reports as may be required by the Climate Change Convention describing the steps taken or envisaged to implement the Convention.

The Director, whenever necessary, shall carry out his functions in consultation with entities, government agencies, representatives of districts and advisory committees.

National Conservation Act

7 Parts