St Helena’s recently-constructed airport is located within Prosperous Bay Plain in the east of the island, the flattest area on St Helena. Prosperous Bay Plain contains a unique desert ecosystem in its Central Basin and surrounding ridges and valleys and is an area with a number of endemic invertebrates (an estimated 14% of the island’s total), as well as being an important wirebird nesting site. Local conservationists and UKOTCF agreed not to oppose this, because of the need to manage the island, the requirement of a local economy to sustain this, and the advice that the airport was, in turn, a requirement. As far as possible, environmental issues have been considered at all times during the planning and construction phase of the airport as guided by the Environmental Impact Assessment and St Helena Airport and Supporting Infrastructure Environmental Management Plan 2011 (although it has been noted that this was late in being put in place). There is also on-going work to rehabilitate certain areas (discussed later in Projects).