The construction of a high-end luxury resort threatens one of the last remaining refuge areas for the Grenada Dove, a critically-endangered bird with a global population of just about 180.

Environmentalists from the region, and in particular Jamaica, have been up in arms since news broke that the Government of Grenada was planning to sell the Mount Hartman National Park to make space for a Four Seasons Resort.

The Mount Hartman National Park - also called 'The Dove Sanctuary' - in the south-west of Grenada, supports about 22 per cent of the global population of the Grenada Dove. This is about 20 pairs. With such a low population, the Grenada Dove is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the near future.

The sanctuary was created 10 years ago to make up for the destruction of the birds' habitat in other parts of the island.

The proposed hotel project is a 150-room hotel with 300 luxury villas as well as a golf course, marina and conference centre.

Dove Sanctuary has been identified by BirdLife International as an important bird area for the Grenada Dove and for 11 other species that occur only on Grenada or in the Caribbean region like the Antillean Crested Hummingbird and the Grenada Flycatcher.