[Coral-List] Swan Islands Under Threat

[Helder Perez]

Dear listers,

Forward this to the wider audience. Time is of the essence here.

The Honduran government is planning to construct a maximum security prison
in the ecologically sensitive Swan Islands, about 270 kilometers from the
coastal town of Puerto Castilla, Honduras (see attached the official
government statement PCM 29-2023).

The archipelago is surrounded by a pristine coral reef that holds at least
27 species of hermatypic corals, including extensive fields of the
endangered Acropora cervicornis, and A. Palmata; massive colonies of
Orbicella faveolata and O. annularis, and giant colonies of the pillar
coral, Dendrogyra cylindrus, all in remarkably good health despite the
ongoing SCTLD outbreak (see attached pictures by Caroline Power taken
earlier this month).

Furthermore, the Swan Islands shelter diverse megafauna, including Sperm
whales and Spinner dolphins, Blacktip reef sharks, Nurse sharks, and the
Great Hammerhead Sharks, as well as three species of critically endangered
Hawksbill, Loggerhead and Green sea turtles, and potentially dozens of
other species.

Due to the ecological significance of the Swan Islands’ biodiversity for
Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System and the Greater Antilles, the Honduran
scientific community has emitted a historical pronouncement pleading with
the government to halt the plans to build a prison there. According to the
Honduran College of Biologists, such a building would cause irreversible
damage to terrestrial and marine ecosystems by draining the scarce
freshwater reservoirs, installing an inadequate waste management, and
preventing further scientific research studies in the area.

The public outcry has been echoed by the Honduran Academy of Sciences, the
Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD), the
College of Forestry Engineers, the College of Environmental Engineers, as
well as non-profit organizations such as the Bay Islands Foundation, and
the international organization Healthy Reefs for Healthy People. So far,
the Honduran government has declared that it will continue with its plans,
while the international community remains observant.

Side note:

The islands are home to four endemic species of reptiles including two
dwarf geckoes, an anole lizard, and a snake. Moreover, the islands harbor
the endangered and endemic subspecies of the Vitelline Warbler, and
constitute an important stop-over site for 57 terrestrial and marine
migratory birds following the greater Antilles - Central America route.

Additionally, the Swan Islands harbor a unique ecosystem that is not found
on the mainland, the arid shrubland with the Wild Yellow Dragon Apple
Cactus, Harrisia eriophora, which is more related to island ecosystems from
the West Indies than Honduran ecosystems.

Helder Pérez

[image: JPEG image]
monticulo de Orbicella faveolata…
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QfSoxecD_GbaP6wHa0x_2FfWrAtokwrU/view?usp=drivesdk>
[image: JPEG image]
Coral pilar gigante y buzo.JPG
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W2NKUzbvnXMO84GqKCgRjEHK-NJ2IWOY/view?usp=drivesdk>
[image: JPEG image]
Acropora cervicornis - diver.JPG
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gKGyJTAupLSSjTO8H2qMI8rCniADG3or/view?usp=drivesdk>

-- 
Helder I. Pérez