Our Mission

The Caribbean Conservation Trust, Inc. (CCT) is committed to the conservation of native and migratory birds and their habitats in the greater Caribbean region, specifically in Cuba and Puerto Rico, and including all islands within the Caribbean basin. The CCT’s regional scope includes the study of neo-tropical migrant bird species moving between North America and the greater Caribbean region, focusing on birds from the east and mid-west of the United States.

About CCT

Since 1996 we have served hundreds of U.S. citizens from many birding organizations with large nationally and regionally comprised memberships, as well as smaller birding clubs and individual birders. We are happy to furnish individual references upon request.

In Cuba, we hire bi-lingual curators from the Museo Nacional de Historia de Cuba (The National Museum of Natural History of Cuba) as primary Cuban biologists and naturalists, each with a strong scientific understanding of birds and habitat, and or herpetology, invertebrate biology, and native flora, as well as with world class field identification and group handling skills. Our local naturalists in Cuba are employed by the following agencies, with which we have excellent relations:

• Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnologia, y Medio Ambiente (CITMA – Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment);
• Empresa Nacional para la Proteccion de la Flora y Fauna (National Company for the Protection of the Flora and Fauna);

Why Travel with CCT?

We have more experience in Cuba than any other U.S. organization offering bird oriented trips there.  We have been the leaders in providing legal bird conservation programs for U.S. citizens in Cuba since 1996. CCT is the top choice from a licensing & programmatic perspective, and because of our distinct relationships & knowledge.

What distinguishes CCT

Very recently, a number of retail travel companies and even retail birding tour providers have begun offering mixed agenda Cuba travel programs (based on People to People licenses issued by US Department of Treasury) that offer some birding. None of these programs come close to legally permitting participants to spend the time that we spend dedicated to identifying birds in the field.

We are able to avoid the mixed agenda, cookie-cutter programming that some of these other organizations are beholden to. In addition to fulfilling our authorized obligation to identify and record birds in the field, CCT programs  also provide an authentic Cuban experience, covering very diverse parts of the country, and providing excellent opportunities to interact with some of Cuba’s most talented naturalists and bird experts. We work directly with Cuba’s leading ornithologists and biologists to provide an important conservation link to this endeavor, benefitting the Cuban people and environment.

Better for birds, better for birders! We design our program so that your valued time and energy in Cuba is spent in birding habitat during prime time hours.