"There he is," an excited Stephen Durand said in hush tones to the group gathered on the lower-level mountain trail of Morne Diablotin National Forest in Dominica. Binoculars, television and Press cameras all swing in the direction, just under a mile across the Picard River rumbling through the valley 100 feet below.
Durand, a forestry officer with the Dominican government, sighted a Sisserou Parrot way in the distance through his powerful scope. The green feathers with red peeking out beneath the wings were not visible with the naked eye or through the telescopic lens of the cameras, only through Durand's scope.
It was a rare sighting. There are only about 200 of the
national birds left in Dominica, and they are seen only around these 8 242 acres
reaching to an elevation of just over 4 000 feet above sea level. There is only
one in captivity. The rest of the birds were wiped out either by Hurricane David
in 1979 or by illegal hunting pushing the species to the brink of extinction.
It caught international attention and efforts have been under way since the late 1970s to protect the species. That finally bore fruit on January 21 when Dominican President Vernon Shaw officially declared the national park opened - the world's first new one for this century.
It cost EC$3 million to acquire land and equipment, and
undertake the necessary studies for the Morne Diablotin National Forest to
materialise. A consortium of financiers, including the Rare Species
Conservatory Foundation of Florida, the Government of Dominica, and the Graeme
Hall Bird Sanctuary of Barbados, funded the project.
"It was worth it," director of the foundation, Dr. Paul Reillo, told Caribbean journalists on the mountain side. "With the protection of flagship species always comes leverage of whole ecosystems," he said.
But what Reillo did not say publicly in Dominica was that both he and the
foundation became almost broke funding this project. He used his personal
savings and now faces a debt of about BDS$410 000. Reillo's satisfaction rests
in the fact that not only was the parrot saved, but that a chunk of rain forest
- five per cent of the area of Dominica - is now under special protection. The
next 
step is to start a breeding programme to ensure its
survival.
Within a year, the Dominican government is expected to file an application to the United Nations to have Morne Diablotin declared a world heritage site.
"It is very likely that it can achieve this status," said Reillo.
This would create the second world heritage site in the Caribbean. The first one is also located in Dominica. This means the Nature Isle would be recognised as a world- class eco-tourism destination with all its accompanying economic benefits.
Morne Diablotin is rich in biodiversity. One will find a range a range of mammals, birds, crustaceans, fish, reptiles, amphibians and insects in this national park.
The trees, which maintain the nice, cool 21 degrees Celsius temperature at noon, are magnificent, ranging from the old growth forests to samplings, and include the oldest known plant species on earth - the Tree Fern.
Those who are unfamiliar with such rich natural environment may see this as a waste of money and land, but to Dominicans, it is a rich national treasure which they are happy to conserve and show off to the world.