The UK Overseas Territories: colonialism as a cultural and ecological driver and ensuring equity in environmental research and data exchanges

British colonialist policies have had, and continue to have, significant social and environmental impacts throughout the UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs) and former colonies. UKOTs are UK sovereign territory, their citizens are UK citizens. They have played a vital role in the UK's history and cultural development; they support important archaeological and built heritage sites and are home to the most globally important ecosystems and species for which the UK is responsible under international agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Each of the 14 UKOTs has a unique history of control and domination by European colonialists, all of which are connected to the imperialist foreign policy and former colonial powers exercised by Britain across the world. While Britain's forced migration of millions of enslaved people from Africa to the Americas was most destructive between 1640-1807, it extended from the early 16th century, and its impacts are still felt today in legacies of racial inequality.

During this period British colonial practices removed cultural artefacts and materials, natural heritage and scientific capital to the UK and other European collections and only now is repatriation of these valuable collections being considered. British colonialism also impacted the UKOTs environment practices such as deforestation, land clearance for agriculture, and the mass movement and establishment of non-native species both deliberate and accidental, leading to significant impacts on ecosystems.

The establishment of invasive non-native species (INNS) has negatively impacted global biodiversity, human health and economies. INNS interact with climate change, being described as a "deadly duo" by the IUCN, increasing the likelihood of extinction events occurring. However, the mass importation and establishment of non-native species has included species that have had positive impacts.

Some introduced species can provide climate regulation and prevent soil erosion, whilst others provide food, textiles and medicines. Medicinal plant use can either involve species brought from their original homelands, or the use of species in the new environment similar to known species from the homeland.

It is evident that human movement, whether free or forced, has had, and continues to have, a significant impact on the UKOTs unique biodiversity and habitats, and the ability of the local communities living there today to conserve them. The UKOTs form ideal case studies because they are spatially discrete 'island laboratories' acutely affected by INNS and climate change but are also home to plants used for positive impacts such as medicine.

This proposal will focus on the current impacts and the role of colonialism on the UKOTs to understand the historical importance of non-native species in shaping the current cultural and ecological climate on the UKOTs. Through two case studies in Montserrat and the Cayman Islands, we seek to address three questions relating to re-discovering hidden knowledge on people, plants and animal species to empowering data sharing between the UKOTs and UK:

1. What is the role of colonialism in shaping the current perceptions of children and young people in Montserrat of "weeds and bush" known culturally as medicinal plants?

2. What is the role of colonialism in shaping conservation needs and local views on the endemic blue iguana on the Cayman Islands?

3. How are data and materials from the 14 UKOTs represented in overseas museum and herbarium collections, displays and educational materials? How best can they be shared between the UKOTs and UK to ensure equity in data use in informing education, research and nature conservation?

In answering these questions, we seek to address the loss of cultural and ecological heritage in the UKOTs whilst raising awareness of UKOT museum and herbarium collections, highlighting the lack of equity in funding to UKOTs and offering potential solutions to this.