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Good practice Imported

Pest Control Initiative for Invasive Vervet Monkeys — St. Kitts and Nevis

Saint Kitts and Nevis · Basseterre · See the Saint Kitts and Nevis profile · See the Basseterre profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 97% 20/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

St. Kitts and Nevis funds a government-run trapping programme against an estimated 37,000 invasive African green (vervet) monkeys, backed since 2019 by a GEF-financed OECS project and an EC$700,000 2020 budget line, after 2018 crop losses equal to a month's marketable produce.

37000
Estimated vervet monkey population (St. Kitts)
700000 EC$
2020 Pest Control Initiative budget (2020)
25
Average monkeys captured per trapping operation
1200000 USD
Nevis feral-animal control fund (2022) (2022)
Pest Control Initiative for Invasive Vervet Monkeys — St. Kitts and Nevis Pest Control Initiative for Invasive Vervet Monkeys — St. Kitts and Nevis

Details

Maturity
Scaling
Promoter
St. Kitts and Nevis Department of Agriculture; CABI (GEF-funded OECS Invasive Alien Species Project)
Period
2019–present
Keywords
agriculture, invasive species management, food security

Context

African green (vervet) monkeys, introduced from West Africa roughly 350 years ago, are estimated at around 37,000 individuals on St. Kitts (68 sq. miles) and are described by CABI and the Ministry of Agriculture as the territory's most damaging invasive species, with 2018 crop losses equivalent to a full month's marketable produce.

Activities

In March 2019, St. Kitts and Nevis joined the GEF-funded regional project 'Preventing the COSTS of Invasive Alien Species in Barbados and the OECS', implemented by CABI, to build a national monkey-management strategy alongside population and behavioural studies. The Ministry of Agriculture allocated EC$700,000 in its 2020 budget to a dedicated Pest Control Initiative, and a national Monkey Task Force, coordinated with support from Dr. Kerry Dore, has scaled live-trapping operations (capturing an average of around 25 monkeys per operation, with plans to field 500 traps).

Results

A related feral-animal control fund on neighbouring Nevis grew from US$500,000 a year to US$1.2 million by 2022, indicating rising public investment.

Conclusions

Neither the government nor CABI have published population-reduction or crop-loss-recovery figures, so the programme's on-the-ground effectiveness so far rests on funding and effort inputs rather than measured ecological or economic outcomes.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k) — EC$700,000 dedicated 2020 budget line; a comparable Nevis feral-animal fund grew from US$500,000 to US$1.2 million by 2022.
Time to results
Medium (1–3 years) — National strategy building since March 2019, ongoing.
Staffing & skills
St. Kitts and Nevis Department of Agriculture, CABI (GEF-funded OECS Invasive Alien Species Project), National Monkey Task Force, Dr. Kerry Dore (coordination support)

Conditions for success

  • Regional GEF-funded project providing technical backing and population/behavioural studies
  • Dedicated national budget line (EC$700,000, 2020) for a Pest Control Initiative
  • Scaling of live-trapping operations with plans to field 500 traps

Common failure modes

  • No population-reduction or crop-loss-recovery figures have been published by the government or CABI

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

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Data sources

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