St Helena is one of thirteen Overseas Territories of the United Kingdom and one of the world's most remote inhabited islands.

It is remarkable for its unique history as a trading post and fortress, for its magnificence of its coastline, the beauty of its lanscape and for its endemic species. The capital, Jamestown, is a precious example of an 18th-century colonial town, planned and built for the East India Company, and the island's cliffs, bays and hilltops are dotted with forts, look-out posts and batteries dating back to the early 18 th century, many retaining theit original guns.

Today, St Helena has a resident population of under 4000. In spite of deforestation and erosion by human settlement, its landscape remains one of outstanding variety, contrast and beauty, within which many of the endemic species of flora and fauna survive in isolated refuges.