Utila Spiny-tailed Iguana (Ctenosaura bakeri)

Mohamed bin Zayed Species project number 202525344

Emergency funds to maintain active species research, environmental education and conservation efforts amid a global pandemic on Utila Island, Honduras.

The funding and support provided by MBZ secured that our staff and facility was fully equipped to achieve the following in 2021.

1) Population Monitoring: We have two long-term standardised research projects involving endemic and Critically Endangered lizards on the island, the Utila Spiny-tailed Iguana (Ctenosaura bakeri), and the Bica Anole (Anolis bicaorum); both have been funded in previous years by MBZ. Support was needed to ensure data collection is continued during 2021, so conservation status, population trends and projections through time can be determined amid rising threats.

2) To implement the recently published IUCN Action Plan for Ctenosaura bakeri, with which all our staff had leading roles in developing at the Iguana Specialist Group meeting in November 2019. The Kanahau team are official point-persons for numerous essential goals critical to the overall success of this action plan. Examples of these actions include; Providing training to local police forces on environmental law and protected wildlife; Training local guides and wildlife rangers for future eco-employment and tourism opportunities; Development of an invasive species and biosecurity control plan; Continued population monitoring and data analysis; Providing environmental education and outreach in local schools and the wider island community.