Bermuda delegates to the environment conference at Elbow Beach shouldn't complain if they have to journey all the way from St. George's - some of the overseas delegates have taken months getting here.

Environment Minister Dennis Lister said delegates from the Pitcairn Islands in the Pacific Ocean have a round trip of two and a half months.

Dr. Annie Glasspool of the Bermuda Zoological Society said: "They have to wait for a week for the boat to turn up."

The week-long conference of UK Overseas Territories and other small islands began on Saturday.

Mr. Lister said it would be attended by representatives from ten overseas territories as well as by delegates from the US, the UK, South Africa and France.

Dr. Annie Glasspool said the conference would look at climate changes and invasive species.

She said new mosquitoes in Bermuda were probably the result of warmer climates in the north.

The Keynote speaker was Canadian broadcaster Dr. David Suzuki, the host of an award-winning TV programme, The Nature of Things.