OF the 770 bird species found in the Bermuda and Caribbean region, 148 are endemic, with 105 confined to single islands.

But only around ten per cent of the region's original habitat remains, and 54 of the Caribbean's bird species are globally threatened, of which 12 are critically endangered.

BirdLife's newly-published Important Bird Areas of the Caribbean: Key Sites For Conservation, now on sale locally,is a milestone for the BirdLife Caribbean Programme, which began in 2001.

BirdLife International and its partners, and a range of other organisations, have identified, documented and mapped 283 internationally significant Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in the Caribbean.

IBAs are key sites for the conservation of birds and biodiversity, and the building blocks for conservation planning. They are identified nationally, using data gathered locally and applying internationally agreed criteria.

The book includes a chapter on Bermuda's IBA written by Bermuda Audubon president Andrew Dobson and Government Conservation Officer Jeremy Madeiros.

The IBA is centred on the Castle Habour islands, home to Bermuda's endemic cahow (or Bermuda petrel) as well as one of the most important concentrations of nesting longtails (white-tailed tropicbirds) in the region.

However, this Caribbean network of key sites faces a large number of diverse threats, and among the book's most disturbing findings is that 43 per cent are wholly outside formal protected areas.

"Not only do almost half the sites lack any kind of protection, but a number of areas described as parks have no proper infrastructure or staff, and many lack management plans", said David Wege, BirdLife's Caribbean programme manager.

Fortunately, added Mr. Dobson, "The Castle Harbour Islands form part of a protected area, part national park and part nature reserve. Our IBA is far better protected than those in other countries."

The number of IBAs identified per territory varies from one each in Bermuda, Navassa and Saba, to 39 in the Bahamas.

The IBAs range in size from Bayfield Pond and East Point Pond in Barbados – both one hectare – to the 530,695-hectare Ciénaga de Zapata in Cuba.