Islander delegates at the conservation conference which concluded at the Elbow Beach Hotel this week expressed their pleasure and gratitude at the opportunity to network with fellow conservationists and learn from each other's successes and failures.

However National Liberal Party (NLP) vice-chairman Graeme Outerbridge warned that talk is cheap, and said the time for environmental action from the Bermuda Government was long past.

Several of the delegates from the United Kingdom Overseas Territories Conservation Forum (UKOTCF) met with the Press on Wednesday afternoon to explain how they felt after attending the conference.

Most of the delegates, representing everywhere from Wales and Jersey to "the most isolated inhabited island in the world", Tristan da Cunha, said the chance to meet and discuss conservation with others from similar islands had been extremely beneficial, both during the workshops and in the leisure hours.

As Joseph Smith of the British Virgin Islands put it: "Although we are all separated and isolated there are still commonalities, we can come together and share."

Most of those present also expressed their admiration for several of Bermuda's conservation efforts, in particular the Aquarium-led Sea Turtle Project and David Wingate's successful work with Bermuda cahows.

And it certainly appeared as though Bermuda, like the other countries present, was willing to listen and learn from the conference.

For example, Environment Minister Dennis Lister mentioned the common issue of alien invasive species - an issue which relates in particular to feral cats in Bermuda.

Several of the countries at the conference, he said, dealt with that problem by simply eradicating the cats.

"While that might be a bit strong for Bermuda ... maybe it is time for us to look a bit further," he said.

And, after the press conference, Bermuda Audubon Society president Andrew Dobson also highlighted initiatives taken in the other islands to battle alien invasive plant species.

In South Africa, he said, there were fines for people who grew certain invasive species in their gardens. The idea to reward people for planting native and endemic plants was also suggested.

Finally, with the release of the Bermuda Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, Bermuda actually appears to have an environmental advantage over the other countries involved.

Dr. Mike Pienkowski, chairman of the forum, said the UKOTCF was attempting to work towards an Environmental Charter, and that Bermuda's Action Plan made UKOTCF very keen to work with the Island's conservation societies such as the Aquarium and the Audubon Society.

However for Mr. Outerbridge, such talk is simply not enough.

"Islands know their environmental limitations but in Bermuda's case we are not acting collectively and Government has been shuffling offices and paper but not acting on environmental issues," he said.

"Simply put the PLP Government has consistently shown that money is more important at any price without regard for the value of a bluebird sitting in a Bermuda cedar tree."

In a scathing statement in which he criticised both Government and the National Trust for their being more talk than action, Mr. Outerbridge listed problem after problem which he claimed neither had attempted to correct.

"Government and civil servants are holding meetings and creating more studies while nothing is being done and Bermuda's environment is further degraded.

"They can talk all they want but Bermuda's environment, so vital to tourism and residents, remains at the bottom of Bermuda's political agenda.

"Words are fine, meetings a step further, but action accomplishes more than both, as the real world is about results. It's time to get into hard drive!"

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More about the conservation forum can be found at www.ukotcf.org. Information on Bermuda's Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan can be found at www.biodiversityactionplan.bm