TRELAWNY, Jamaica — Minister of Water, Environment and Climate Change Matthew Samuda has announced that Jamaica’s critically endangered iguana population, now estimated at more than 400, is projected to grow to between 3,000 and 4,000 within the next decade as conservation efforts continue.

Samuda made the disclosure while responding to a question from a delegate identified only as Lewis of the Rotary Club of Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands during the Rotaract District 7020 Conference held at Ocean Coral Spring Resort in Trelawny last Friday.

The conference, staged under the theme, “The Nexus 360° Experience,” attracted 135 delegates from Jamaica, Haiti, The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands and Montserrat.

Lewis sought details on Jamaica’s successful recovery of its endangered iguana population, noting that conservationists in the Turks and Caicos Islands had undertaken similar efforts to rescue their native rock iguanas from near extinction.

Responding, Samuda explained that the species in question is the Jamaican iguana (Cyclura collei), a reptile once believed to have become extinct.

“The population is somewhere between 500 and 600 now, and prospects for growth up to 3,000 to 4,000 are there over the next 10 years with the work that the National Environment and Planning Agency is doing with the IUCN,” Samuda said.

He noted that the species was believed extinct in Jamaica during the 1940s before conservation efforts led to its re-establishment in the Hellshire Hills during the 1980s.

The Jamaican iguana, also known as Colley’s iguana, is endemic to Jamaica and is regarded as one of the world’s rarest lizards. Once found across much of the island and on the offshore Great Goat Island and Little Goat Island, the species is now largely confined to the forests of the Hellshire Hills in St Catherine.

Samuda credited the recovery programme to collaboration involving the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the world’s largest environmental network.

The Rotaract District 7020 Conference drew a strong international contingent, with the majority of delegates travelling from overseas territories and countries. More than 30 participants came from Haiti.

“Thanks to the Ministry of National Security and Peace along with PICA (Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency) for assisting us by waiving their visa fees,” District Rotaract Disaster Relief and Environmental Sustainability Chair and the team lead for training at the conference, Natasha Burnett, told Observer Online.