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

英国殖民主义政策已经并将继续对整个英国海外领土和前殖民地产生重大的社会和环境影响。ukot是英国的主权领土，他们的公民是英国公民。他们在英国的历史和文化发展中发挥了至关重要的作用；它们支持重要的考古和建筑遗产遗址，是全球最重要的生态系统和物种的家园，根据《生物多样性公约》等国际协议，英国对这些生态系统和物种负有责任。14个英国殖民地都有被欧洲殖民者控制和统治的独特历史，所有这些都与英国在世界各地实施的帝国主义外交政策和前殖民大国有关。1640年至1807年期间，英国强迫数百万奴隶从非洲迁移到美洲，这是最具破坏性的，但它从16世纪初就开始了，其影响至今仍体现在种族不平等的遗留问题上。在此期间，英国的殖民行为将文物和材料，自然遗产和科学资本移至英国和其他欧洲收藏品，直到现在才考虑将这些有价值的收藏品遣返。英国殖民主义也影响了UKOTs的环境实践，如森林砍伐，土地开垦用于农业，以及非本地物种的大规模迁移和建立，无论是故意的还是偶然的，都对生态系统产生了重大影响。外来入侵物种的建立对全球生物多样性、人类健康和经济产生了负面影响。生物多样性与气候变化相互作用，被世界自然保护联盟描述为“致命的二人组”，增加了灭绝事件发生的可能性。然而，非本地物种的大量输入和建立也包括了产生积极影响的物种。一些引进的物种可以调节气候和防止土壤侵蚀，而另一些则提供食物、纺织品和药品。药用植物的使用既可以涉及从原产国带来的物种，也可以涉及在新环境中使用与原产国已知物种相似的物种。很明显，人类运动，无论是自由的还是被迫的，已经并将继续对UKOTs独特的生物多样性和栖息地产生重大影响，以及今天居住在那里的当地社区保护它们的能力。UKOTs形成了理想的案例研究，因为它们是空间上离散的“岛屿实验室”，受到INNS和气候变化的严重影响，但也是用于医学等积极影响的植物的家园。该提案将侧重于殖民主义对UKOTs的当前影响和作用，以了解非本地物种在塑造UKOTs当前文化和生态气候方面的历史重要性。通过在蒙特塞拉特岛和开曼群岛的两个案例研究，我们试图解决与重新发现人类、植物和动物物种的隐藏知识有关的三个问题，以增强UKOTs和英国之间的数据共享。殖民主义在形成蒙特塞拉特儿童和青年目前对文化上称为药用植物的“杂草和灌木”的看法方面发挥了什么作用？2. 殖民主义在形成保护需求和当地人对开曼群岛特有蓝鬣蜥的看法方面发挥了什么作用？3. 海外博物馆和植物标本馆的藏品、展览和教育资料如何反映14个英国文物馆的数据和资料？如何才能最好地在UKOTs和英国之间共享这些数据，以确保数据在教育、研究和自然保护方面的公平使用？在回答这些问题时，我们试图解决UKOTs文化和生态遗产的流失问题，同时提高对UKOT博物馆和植物标本馆收藏的认识，强调UKOTs资金缺乏公平性，并提供潜在的解决方案。

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.