The human population in the Cayman Islands has been growing exponentially, and at times hyper-exponentially, since the islands were first permanently settled in the 18th Century. Deforestation patterns have been linked to this population growth, meeting escalating demands for housing, transportation, tourism, agriculture and commerce.

Taking past and current trends of human population growth and deforestation, and extrapolating them into the future, strongly suggests that by the end of this Century, all three of the Cayman Islands will be completely deforested. This projection places a high proportion of the Cayman Islands native flora on the endangered species list.

For a long-lived species such as an endemic Cayman Ironwood tree Chionanthus caymanensis, the end of this Century is less than a life span away. New seedlings germinating today are likely to be lost to deforestation before they ever reach maturity. The natural areas which are currently protected, and any which become protected in the near future, will become the last fragments of nature, vulnerable oases in a desert of urbanization.

“Threatened Plants of the Cayman Islands” is a Red List assessment of the Cayman Islands native plants. It is the first formal assessment of the conservation status of all the plants believed to be part of the original flora of these islands. Each species is classified according to current IUCN Red List categories.

Authored by Fred Burton, “Threatened Plants of the Cayman Islands” will be published by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 2007.

An overview table detailing the Red List status of all of Cayman’s flora is available as a downloadable pdf. Click on image to the right to download the Redlist Document.

This Red List Assessment of Cayman Islands’ Native Flora For Legislation and Conservation Planning was jointly funded by the Cayman Islands Department of Environment and the Overseas Territories Environment Programme (OTEP). Download the OTEP - Cayman brochure here