The British government on Monday announced the funding for 17 conservation projects in the UK overseas territories under its Darwin Plus initiative as part of a 25 Year Environment Plan.

Rare species and iconic landscapes, from the polar regions to the Caribbean seas, will receive protection through the projects, said a statement from the British Government.

The projects include radar tracking of albatrosses in the south Atlantic, exploring the deepest parts of the Atlantic Ocean to a depth of 8,100 meters, and protecting wetlands in the Caribbean, home to more than 185 species of water birds, including a number of globally threatened species.

Overseas Territories Minister Lord Tariq Ahmad said: "The UK's Overseas Territories have some of the world's most pristine waters and natural environments, from the polar regions to the Pacific, and we are committed to doing all we can to preserve them."

One project will research albatrosses and petrels using "bird-borne" radar devices developed by scientists at the British Atlantic Survey (BAS). The attached radars will measure how often tracked wandering albatrosses interact with legal and illegal fishing vessels in the south Atlantic to map the areas and times when birds of different age and sex are most susceptible to becoming caught up in fishing nets.

Another project will monitor changes in the Akrotiri wetlands on the island of Cyprus and home to a large population of flamingoes.

The British Geological Survey has received funding to explore the South Sandwich Trench, one of the deepest parts of the southern ocean as part of deep water expedition. The project will use a Deep Submergence Vehicle (DSV) Limiting Factor, the only full ocean depth manned submersible and a fleet of free-fall landers which will deliver scientific equipment to the sea floor to acquire video and physical samples.

The Darwin fund is administered by the government's Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), with support from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).