Caribbean islands are biodiversity hotspots, but also home to many severely threatened species of reptiles, which face pressure from habitat degradation, poaching, and exotic species introduction. A new taxa of Green Iguana (Iguana iguana) was recently found in Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada, and described as the Southern Antilles iguana (Iguana insularis). Although the threats to this species and other reptiles on these islands are well-understood, little is known about the population size of I. insularis, and the species lacks a conservation action plan.

A 2022 grant from FIF to Fauna & Flora International supported rapid visual surveys to determine the population size of the Southern Antilles iguana. The grand also supported workshops and meetings to develop a 10-year conservation action plan, and the drafting of the first Red List Assessment for this species to share with the ICUN.

• Year of Grant: 2022
• Amount: $14,620
• Grantee: Fauna & Flora International 

  Photo at top: Southern Antilles iguana. Credit: Glenroy Gaymes/SVGFD.