FiTI Participates in UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum (UKOTCF)

The United Kingdom Overseas Territories Conservation Forum (UKOTCF) held its 7th conference on conservation and sustainability in the UK Overseas Territories, Crown Dependencies, and other small islands from October 13th–16th, 2025, via the Zoom platform. The conference brought together stakeholders from across the UK’s global territories, offering a unique opportunity to exchange expertise, share success stories, and strengthen collaboration toward shared environmental goals.

Conference topics explored a range of issues critical to small island environments, including the sharing of experiences across territories; improving financing and resourcing for conservation; the use of data and technology to address biodiversity threats; achieving biodiversity and sustainability targets; and identifying emerging challenges and opportunities for island ecosystems.

FiTI Caribbean Regional Coordinator Tyann Henry, participated in the conference with a presentation entitled “Invisible, Undervalued and Underappreciated? Fisheries Transparency in Small Island Developing States.”

Her presentation underscored the importance of transparency in fisheries management and the need for accessible, credible, and comparable information to strengthen governance in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). She highlighted how transparency not only supports accountability and public trust but also plays a crucial role in advancing sustainable blue economies, improving investment readiness, and ensuring inclusive decision-making that empowers small-scale fishers and coastal communities.

The FiTI Standard’s multi-stakeholder approach encourages countries to publish key fisheries information openly, fostering cooperation among governments, civil society, and the private sector. This approach enables better policy alignment, supports biodiversity conservation, and strengthens resilience to climate and economic shocks – issues particularly relevant to SIDS and Overseas Territories facing mounting pressures on their marine resources.

The FiTI’s participation in the UKOTCF conference reinforced the initiative’s commitment to collaborative and transparent ocean governance, ensuring that the voices and priorities of small islands remain central to global conservation discussions. The dialogue also provided an opportunity to explore synergies between the FiTI and the UKOTCF network, promoting partnerships that bridge fisheries transparency, marine conservation, and sustainable island development. As the FiTI continues to expand its work across the Caribbean and other island regions, its engagement in platforms like the UKOTCF underscores the growing recognition that transparency is not just an environmental ideal – but a practical foundation for sustainable and inclusive ocean stewardship.