A conservationist has received a regional award for his efforts in protecting birds in Bermuda and across the Caribbean.

Andrew Dobson was presented with the President's Award of the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds (SCSCB) at the organisation's 17th biennial conference in Antigua earlier this month.

Mr. Dobson is President of the Bermuda Audubon Society and also a board member of the SCSCB. He received the award from President Dr. Lisa Sorenson.

The SCSCB is the largest regional organisation devoted to wildlife conservation in the Caribbean. The conference, entitled 'Beyond the Beach Birds and Tourism for Sustainable Islands', focused on the potential of bird watching in eco-tourism.

World tourism experts met with conservation professionals, eco-tourism operators, scientists and local communities, to discuss how eco-tourism can contribute to conservation and poverty reduction.

The Government of Bermuda's Conservation Officer Jeremy Madeiros also attended the conference to give a presentation on the Cahow translocation project and the breeding success of the White-tailed Tropicbird (Longtail).

Mr. Dobson told The Royal Gazette: "The award I received was partly for my work with the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds and also in recognition of the bird conservation work I have done in Bermuda and the Caribbean.

"I have helped organise SCSCB conferences in Guadeloupe (2005), Puerto Rico (2007) and Antigua (2009). As SCSCB President 2005-2008 I was involved in much advocacy work in the region, including efforts to protect the Grenada Dove, the Puerto Rican Nightjar and the habitat of Jamaica's Cockpit Country now recognised as the world's number two biodiversity hotspot."

He added: "I have co-edited the regional report for the journal North American Birds since 1995.

"I have served on the Bermuda Audubon Society committee since 1990 and edited the Society's newsletter for nearly 20 years. I have also been heavily involved in promoting bird education in Bermuda through local books, DVDs, lectures and fieldtrips."

The Caribbean has been identified as one of the top five 'hot spots' for conservation in the world because of its rich biodiversity.

Dr. Sorenson told the conference a quarter of the Caribbean's 560 resident bird species are found nowhere else on the planet. Levels of endemism for plants, frogs and lizards are even higher.

She said: "The Caribbean is ideally poised to reinvent itself as one of the most attractive destinations in the world for bird tourism."

She also announced the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) initiative, which is being developed for the Caribbean region by the World Bank, MacArthur Foundation, the Government of Japan and Conservation International.