Caribbean Bird Festival gets underway

22-04-2004

Conservation organizations throughout the Caribbean today launched a month-long celebration of the unique birds found in the region.

The Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival runs from April 22nd "Earth Day", until May 22nd, "International Biodiversity Day" and is co-ordinated by the Society for the Study and Conservation of Caribbean Birds (SCSCB). Activities will range from daily bird walks, exhibitions of paintings by local schoolchildren, public lectures and plays in celebration the region's rich bird life, and stamp launches in St Lucia and Jamaica that depict native bird species.

The month long annual Festival is highlighting the fact that the Caribbean islands are recognized as one of the top three areas on the planet for biodiversity conservation, because of the high number of endemic plant and animal species. But according to BirdLife International, the birds of the Caribbean are today more threatened than they have ever been in their history. BirdLife data shows that 56 species of bird found in the Caribbean are at risk of global extinction, with 11 of them classified as Critically Endangered.

Crown Agents Stamp Bureau

Jamaica have produced these stamps as part of the 2004 Festival
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"Thanks to this annual Festival, people will learn to appreciate the value and global significance of our region's bird and other wildlife and join us to help conserve them for future generations to enjoy." —Eric Carey, President of SCSCB

Countries taking part include: The Bahamas, Saint Lucia, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Bermuda, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, Antigua, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Montserrat and the Cayman Islands. The initiative is supported across the region by a variety of organisations including schools, environmental NGOs, government conservation departments, local universities and concerned individuals. Support has also been forthcoming from leading scientists and conservationists in the region and from North America and the United Kingdom.

For more information please email Adrianne G. Tossas, CEBF coordinator: agtossas@caribe.net