Dominica - Morne Diablotin National Park

The Morne Diablotin National Park, which is situated in the northwest of Dominica, is the island’s third national park to be established and was formally declared on January 21, 2000 by the President of the Commonwealth of Dominica. This followed twenty years of planning and negotiations, when calls for the Government to establish a “nature preserve” in the Morne Diablotin area, were articulated in the Dominican Forest and Parks system plan in 1979. Morne Diablotin, named after the Dominican creole word for the Black-capped Petrel, is the tallest peak in Dominica and stands at 4, 747 ft. above sea level. The Park covers an area of 8,242 acres (3,335.5 hectares) and was created from 6,637 acres of lands that were formerly part of the Northern Forest Reserve, the 204-acre Syndicate Parrot Preserve that was acquired in 1989, and two former inholdings which were situated in the Forest Reserve and totalling approximately 1,300 acres. The Rare Species Conservatory Foundation (based in Florida, USA) working in partnership with the Government of Dominica was able to raise some US$75,000 towards the cost of the purchase of the 1,300 acres of old growth tropical rain forest.