PHILIPSBURG:—To this day St. Maarten has no land-based protected areas. On a small island like St. Maarten, marine and terrestrial ecosystems are closely linked and must be considered in unison. The Man of War Shoal National Marine Park was established in 2010 and is the first marine conservation area on Dutch St. Maarten. While the establishment of the marine park has improved our marine resources, the establishment of land-based conservation areas will not only improve those land-based areas, but it would also reduce the runoff entering the ocean and marine park.
Tourism is the main economic activity of St. Maarten. As such, it is important that we maintain the beauty of the natural environment for this major economic reason. Conservation areas also increase the resilience of an ecosystem and ensure that it is better equipped to adapt and recover to a changing climate. Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC) Foundation advocates for the formal establishment and protection of green areas on St. Maarten.
Potential conservation areas are: Zone 1: The mangroves of the Simpson Bay Lagoon, Zone 2: Ponds and “Important Birding Areas” (IBAs), Zone 3: Emilio Wilson Estate, Zone 4: Geneve-Back Bay, and Zone 5: The hilltops above 200 meters. These areas have been suggested as conservation zones in several local and regional reports such as BEST’s Regional ecosystem profile – Caribbean Region (2016), St. Maarten Proposed Land Parks Management Plan (NFSXM, 2009) and in the Development Plans Sint Maarten (2012).
EPIC is starting a campaign and is looking for your support to show The Government of St. Maarten that their citizens care about the protection of green areas. You can get involved with the campaign in two ways. Firstly, EPIC is hosting a letter writing campaign. Citizens and business owners are asked to write a letter to The Government of St. Maarten advocating for the protection of land-based areas. To find out more about this and how to get involved, please email EPIC’s Project Coordinator, Kippy Gilders, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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. Secondly, an online petition will support the letter writing campaign. To sign the petition, surf over to: https://www.change.org/p/protect-green-areas-of-st-maarten.
Source: St. Martin News Network http://www.smn-news.com/st-maarten-st-martin-news/28813-epic-campaigns-for-protected-areas.html
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