In terms of biodiversity per unit area, degree of species endemism and degree of threat, Dominica's oceanic rainforest ecosystem is among the Lesser Antilles' highest conservation priorities. As the "Nature Island of the Caribbean," Dominica is the largest and most pristine of the Windward Islands. Dominica's mountainous rainforests boast high species diversity (>60 woody plant species/hectare; over 1600 flowering plants) and Gommier trees (Dacryodes excelsa) exceeding five feet in diameter. Animal biodiversity is similarly impressive, represented by 166 bird species, 20 species of freshwater and land crabs, 12 native terrestrial mammals, a myriad of amphibians and reptiles (including the Lesser Antillean iguana, Iguana delicatissima), and a suite of spectacular invertebrates highlighted by 55 species of butterflies and the Hercules Beetle (Dynastes hercules hercules). Dominica is the only island in the Eastern Caribbean to have two, endemic Amazon parrots, the Jaco and the Sisserou. The Sisserou, Dominica's national bird and the largest and one of the rarest of Amazon parrots, is only found in and adjacent to the Morne Diablotin and Morne Trois Pitons National Parks. Ever since Hurricane David in 1979--the most devastating hurricane in Dominica's recorded history--conservationists have feared for the Sisserou's extinction, as the species was reduced to a small remnant population on the slopes of Morne Diablotin. The Sisserou's recovery has been the subject of intense field research over the past 20 years championed by Dominica's FWD, but such work is daunting: the Sisserou is very sparsely distributed across vast, mature, montane rainforest, is exceedingly shy and reclusive, and exhibits a low reproductive rate. Meanwhile, with the ever-present hurricane threat, the Sisserou's recovery has become a race against time.

Click here for more information about Dominica's Parrot Conservation Pprograms.