There are no spas, no beaches, no services, and their contribution to GDP is practically nil. However, it is estimated that Redonda, a rocky Caribbean island of rock just 1.6 km long, is one of the most valuable sites in the region.
Without having had human contact for practically during For centuries, the lesser-known island of Antigua and Barbuda has long been a key nesting site for migratory birds from around the world and a home for wildlife that does not found nowhere else on Earth.
When environmentalists first began to entertain the idea of eliminating thousands of invasive black rats and a herd of wild goats, it seemed, at best the cases, an ambitious plan.
Five years later, what was once a desert land, is today a fertile ecological paradise , teeming with new vegetation, while bird and lizard populations have thrived.
“Marked contrast”
Work began in 2017, but his success was known ago 18 months, when conservationists traveled to the site to check it out.
Shanna Challenger, from the Environmental Awareness Group (EAG), who took over the working together with the government and international agencies, he says it was an “emotional moment.”
“It was such a stark contrast to the first time I saw Redonda in , when he was literally falling apart in the sea ”, he recalls. )
“As the helicopter It was getting closer, I could see all those little green circles and I realized they were new trees and bushes. Not only has the vegetation recovered, it is flourishing. ”
The longhorn goats, which they relocated during the reclamation project, had been introduced by early settlers 300 years. Almost all the plants in Redonda were eaten to the point that they were starving.
The rodents, which arrived in the 19th century from the hand of the communities that exploited guano, fed themselves of reptiles and ate the eggs of rare birds.
Air transport
Eliminating both species was a challenge.
The goats, unaccustomed to human contact, were rounded up and transferred to the continent by helicopter, to some farms whose owners were interested in raising them for their drought-resistant genes.
Eradicating the rats involved the laborious task of distributing baits in all the cracks and holes of the landscape .
They were baits of all kinds, from peanut butter to chocolate, “to make sure we catch the picky eaters,” explains Challenger.
These contained an irresistible pesticide for rats but unpleasant for birds and reptiles.
Fauna & Flora International (FFI), which was also involved in the project, has removed non-native mammals from about islands successfully from 1995, but explains that the volcanic topography of Redonda presented particular obstacles.
Severe erosion caused by deforestation left the island dangerously unstable with precipitous cliffs and frequent rockfalls.
“We also dropped baits from helicopters and climbers descended cliffs to make sure we weren’t overlooking any part of the island,” says Challenger.
Redonda was declared officially free of rats and goats in July of 2018 .
But the team continued to travel to the island to monitor progress before transportation problems were exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
Brown piqueteros with their chicks, red-billed tropic birds, fregatas, and peregrine falcons were some of the birds that received upon return.
“And don’t get me started on lizards,” Challenger says with a smile. “That there is vegetation means that there are more insects to eat and their population has expanded a lot. They literally run over you. ”
“ It was a humbling moment to see these critically endangered species able to thrive in appropriate habitat, and the impact of our work reflected in a way so obvious and visual. ”
Without rats, lizards thrive
FFI says that the population of lizards that only inhabit the island ( Round anole ) has been multiplied by eight.
Likewise, the number of plant species (ant it is 17, now 88), including a new ficus tree, cacti and ferns, while more than a dozen species of land birds have reappeared.
The team was also pleasantly surprised to find no signs of the presence of rats.
1% of the brown picketers in the world are from Redonda, Helena Jeffery-Brown, from the government’s Ministry of the Environment, tells the BBC.
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” It has been amazing to rehabilitate the home of a species of global importance, ”he says.
“Historically, you couldn’t take a step in Redonda without stepping on bird eggs and little by little we are returning to the island where it was. I am extremely happy with what we have achieved ”. 
Jenny Daltry, of FFI, says that Redonda is “a model” of how other Caribbean islands that have been colonized by invasive species that have devastated native wildlife can recover.
“Before our eyes and Faster than we thought would be possible, the bare rock that was Redonda has been transformed into a wonderful green island, ”he explains.
“At a time when much of the news about the state of our planet is understandably depressing, the rebirth of this island shows that, if we give nature, can and will recover “.
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