Grenada is taking urgent new steps to safeguard its national bird, the Grenada Dove (Leptotila wellsi), one of the world’s rarest doves and found nowhere else on Earth.

The species now clings to survival in just 2 small pockets of dry forest—and even these are under threat from encroaching development, dumping, and invasive predators.

On 8–9 October, more than 50 experts gathered at St George’s University for the Grenada Dove Conservation Action Plan (CAP) Stakeholder Workshop, a 2-day meeting to assess the challenges to the dove’s survival and determine the actions needed to save this critically endangered bird from extinction.

Participants at the Grenada Dove Conservation Action Plan Workshop. Photo: Reginal Joseph

The workshop, hosted by the Department of Biology, Ecology and Conservation at St George’s University, was organised by the Gaea Conservation Network, with primary funding from the American Bird Conservancy and major support from BirdsCaribbean. Facilitation was led by Justin Springer (Re:wild), Zoya Buckmire (Grenada Fund for Conservation), Lisa Sorenson (BirdsCaribbean), and Jody Daniel (Gaea Conservation Network).

“The Grenada Dove is more than a rare bird — it’s a national treasure and a symbol of pride,” said Lisa Sorenson, Executive Director of BirdsCaribbean. “Yet its last refuges are being chipped away by development and neglect. Protecting it means defending the island’s dry forests — one of the most threatened ecosystems in the Caribbean.”

A Species on the brink

The most recent island-wide survey (2013) estimated just 160 individuals (range 107–229) remain, restricted to fragmented dry forests on the southwest and west coasts — especially around Mt Hartman Estate and Beausejour/Perseverance/Woodlands.

Although Mt Hartman National Park and the Perseverance Dove Sanctuary were established to protect these areas, together they safeguard less than 10% of the dove’s remaining habitat.

In recent years, commercial development within and around Mt Hartman Estate — including the sale of government land, unregulated dumping and cattle grazing — has severely degraded the core habitat. Ongoing threats at the Perseverance Dove Sanctuary, including habitat encroachment and inadequate enforcement, have also placed additional pressure on one of the species’ last remaining strongholds. Boundaries of the National Park have become uncertain, and enforcement of existing protections has been weak.

At the same time, the suspension of mongoose-control programs due to funding shortages has left the dove — which spends much of its time on the ground — especially vulnerable to predation. Mongooses prey on adults, chicks, and eggs, compounding the impacts of habitat loss.

A roadmap for recovery

The new Conservation Action Plan will provide a practical, science-based roadmap for restoring dry-forest habitat, strengthening legal protection, improving management, re-establishing predator control, expanding long-term monitoring, and engaging local communities as stewards of Grenada’s biodiversity.

Stakeholders will review and validate the draft plan before national adoption. Implementation will focus on securing and expanding protected areas, halting destructive activities within existing parks and sanctuaries, and building public and political will to save the species.

“Saving the Grenada Dove will take everyone — scientists, government, communities, and the tourism sector,” said Jody Daniel, President of Gaea Conservation Network. “We still have a chance to protect this iconic species and the dry-forest ecosystem it represents — but only if we act decisively now.”

Uniting for the dove’s future

Participants represented a wide range of government agencies, NGOs, academic institutions, and community organisations, including the Ministry of Climate Resilience, the Environment and Renewable Energy; Forestry and National Parks Department, the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, Grenada Fund for Conservation, Grenada Sustainable Development Trust Fund,  the Planning and Development Authority; the Agency for Rural Transformation; the Grenada Solid Waste Management Authority; Grenada Land Actors; The Nature Conservancy, and Fauna & Flora International, among others. The workshop was also supported by Birding the Islands, a Caribbean-based bird-tour operator.

The Stakeholder Committee guiding the process includes the Environment Division of the Ministry of Climate Resilience, the Environment and Renewable Energy; the Forestry and National Parks Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, Marine Resources and Cooperatives; the Gaea Conservation Network, the Grenada Fund for Conservation, BirdsCaribbean, and Re:wild. This team is now compiling and refining the workshop’s outcomes into a comprehensive Conservation Action Plan to guide recovery efforts over the next decade.

“Protecting the Grenada Dove means protecting the heart of the island’s biodiversity,” said Justin Springer of Re:wild. “It’s a powerful reminder that when local people lead conservation, species have a real chance to recover.”

About the Grenada Dove

Endemic to Grenada, the dove is medium-sized and cinnamon-brown with a distinctive white shoulder patch — a key field mark. It inhabits dry coastal forests and thickets, feeding quietly on seeds along the forest floor. It now survives only in 2 small, fragmented populations. The species is classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, with fewer than 200 individuals remaining.

GAEA/Birds Caribbean

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