ICYMI: Iguana Awareness Day was September 8!

The Critically Endangered Ricord's iguana (Cyclura ricordi) is a priority species for the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) in the Caribbean Islands biodiversity hotspot.

One of only nine iguanas of its kind in the world, this species of large rock iguana has an extremely limited distribution. Only four small isolated subpopulations exist in the south-central part of the island of Hispaniola. Three of the subpopulations can be found in the Dominican Republic, where significant conservation efforts have taken place based on a Species Recovery Plan outlined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Iguana Specialist Group.

With support from CEPF, International Iguana Foundation (IIF) partnered with local stakeholders and the municipal government to legally protect 3,000 hectares of dry forest in Anse-à-Pitres, home to the only subpopulation known to exist in Haiti.

Learn more in the video below.

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Established in 2000, the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) is a global leader in enabling civil society to participate in and influence the conservation of some of the world's most critical ecosystems. CEPF is a joint initiative of l'Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Conservation International, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Government of Japan, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the World Bank.