Bermuda is reknowned for its beauty, but away from the pink beaches and lush undergrowth, the Island's environment is facing challenges.

For instance, there is only one tuft of Bermuda Moss left on the Island and several other species such as the Governor Laffan's Fern are also critically endangered. Dr. Samia Sarkis, of the Department of Conservation Services, revealed their plight as she explained the importance of Protected Species Recovery Plans.

"There is only one clump of Bermuda Moss left on a Palmetto in Paget Marsh. That's all we have left it is worrying," said Dr. Sarkis.

"The Governor Laffan's Fern is also in dire straits. It is only found now at Tulo Valley, where they have about three specimens."

Work is underway by the Department of Parks to propagate spores in collaboration with Omaha Zoo, but Dr. Sarkis said this was an example of the need for "quick intervention".

Government has just published its first Protected Species Recovery Plan to boost the population of Queen Conch, also known as Pink Conch.

"Most of our conches are old (they reach the age of 30) and that's why we are getting worried," said Dr. Sarkis.

"There is some information which suggests the population here in Bermuda is also isolated reproductively, so if that's the case we need to move quickly."

The Queen Conch is the first in a series of action plans to conserve the Island's marine and terrestrial threatened species.

A preliminary list recognises 27 plants, birds, animals and marine organisms, plus 21 cave organisms, as threatened and 'listed' according to criteria set by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Dr. Sarkis, Protected Species Coordinator, said ten recovery plans have now been completed and will be published in the next few months.

The Bermuda Protected Species Act 2003 laid the foundations for active intervention by the creation of a Protected Species List for endemic plants, animals, birds and marine life.

According to the first Protected Species Order (2007), the most threatened species also include Bermuda Shield and Cave ferns, the Leatherleaf Fern, Bermuda Skink, Hawksbill and Leatherback turtles, Longsnout and Lined seahorses, Mutton Hamlet, a terrestrial snail and two types of freshwater mollusc.

Dr. Sarkis and the project are being funded by the UK Overseas Territory Environmental Programme (OTEP).

She said: "We've realised a lot of the species passively protected for some time, such as by prohibition of removal, there has not been a recovery of the population. So obviously this requires more active intervention.

"The recovery plans will provide guidance and structure to conservation efforts in Bermuda. This includes Governmental and non-Governmental groups, and visiting scientists."

Dr. Sarkis said some implementation plans would also require the support of Islanders themselves.

"In order for the recovery of some species we will need the engagement of the community," she said.

"For example, this could be planting ferns in the same way as many people now have a Bermuda Cedar tree in their backyard.

"If we all gathered our efforts we could get some positive results. Our ultimate goal is not to have protected species at all to remove species from the list."

She said: "These plans are different to other conservation plans in that they mandate active intervention, it's not just passive protection."

The species were prioritised according to the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species, in categories of critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable.

Dr. Sarkis, a marine biologist, said the Protected Species List was also a work in progress, with additional specimens likely to be added in future. There are many endemic invertebrate species which need action, such as insects, but they need more research by overseas experts.

For now, the team is concentrating on endangered species for which they do have background data on.

Dr. Sarkis said endemic species took priority over native species, which are found elsewhere in the world.

"We would rather focus our resources on endemic species which are threatened, or those native species threatened worldwide, such as turtles," she said.

The 'implementation' solutions in the Protected Species Recovery Plans will be tailored to each species, but could involve translocation to traditional breeding and feeding grounds.

In the case of the first Plan, it will take up to two years to assess the population of the Queen Conch, and a further year to research feeding, nursery grounds and movement.

Legislation for critical habitat protection could take a further 12 months and a captive breeding programme, three years.

Further research, translocation and monitoring will then take several years, with restoration of the historical area of occupancy expected to last 15 years.

The Recovery Plans for Bermuda's threatened species will be published for public view at: www.gov.bm

Endangered species

Governor Laffan's Fern

Named after Governor Sir Robert Laffan's fondness for this plant, this fern was found in the Walsingham-Harrington Sound area but it died out at the start of the 1900s.

Several specimens were housed at the Botanical Gardens until 2001, when they were moved to Tulo Valley Nursery. However, Hurricane Fabian then destroyed the greenhouse and two of the plants in 2003.

Bermuda Skink

Also known as the Rock Lizard, the skink lives in rocky coastal areas.

The species is threatened by habitat destruction, dogs, cats and rats, and garbage. As they have no friction pads, they cannot climb back out of bottles of soda cans and so die of heat stress or dehydration.

Adults have dark brown or black backs and a pinkish or pale grey underbelly. They grow to up to eight centimetres in length.

Poecilozonites Circumfirmatus:

This is the sole survivor of a diverse range of endemic Bermuda land snails.

At only ten millimetres in size and living in leaf litter, they are hard to find and only a single colony is thought to remain on the Island.

The Bermudian land snail is under threat from other invertebrates such as the carnivorous wolf snail, which was imported from Florida in 1975.

Hawksbill Turtle

This turtle is found in oceans across the world but is most often encountered in lagoons and coral reefs.

Countries such as China and Japan hunt these animals for their flesh, which is considered a delicacy, while other cultures use their shells for decorative purposes.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species has ruled it is illegal to capture or trade in hawksbill turtles.

The Hawksbill Turtle has a beak-like mouth and two visible claws on each flipper.

Leatherback Turtle

This turtle does not have the bony carapace of other sea turtles. Instead of scutes, its carapace is covered in thick, leathery skin with embedded minuscule bony plates.

The leatherback can dive to more than 1,200 metres and is found worldwide in the open ocean.

It is threatened by the bycatch of commercial fishing vessels and by humans, particularly in Malaysia where its eggs are seen as a delicacy.

Longsnout and Lined –seahorses

The Longsnout or Slender Seahorse are found in coral reefs and seagrass beds in the mid-Atlantic, Caribbean and South America.

They can grow to seven inches in length.

The Lined Seahorse, also known as the Erect or Atlantic Seahorse, grows to about six inches and is found from Nova Scotia to Argentina.

Seahorses are threatened by loss of habitat, unsustainable fishing practices such as trawling, and over-collection for use in Asian medicines or as pets.

Mutton Hamlet

The Mutton Hamlet is mottled red and white in colour and lives in seagrass beds and rocky crevices.

It is now rare in Bermuda's waters.