Cul-de-Sac Bay honored at the CRFA

espaces protégés Le Journal de la Réserve Naturelle Nationale de Saint-Martin N°18 Juillet 2013 Managing The Impact Of Human Activities In Protected Areas Saint-Martin had the honor of hosting the annual meeting of the Conseil des Rivages Français d’Amérique (CRFA), from April 4th to 6th, 2013. The plenary session was held at the Beach Plaza Hotel and more than 70 attendees were present. Elected officials from Guyana, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint-Barthelemy, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and Saint-Martin, met to validate the projects of the Conservatoire du Littoral, and in particular the new perimeters of land intervention. Viviane Le Dissez, President of the Conservatoire du Littoral, Michel Peltier, Deputy Director, Garcin Malsa, President of the CRFA, Marc Duncombe, Overseas Territorial Delegate for the Conservatoire, the Préfet, Philippe Chopin, and Guillaume Arnell, Vice-President of the Collectivity’s Sustainable Development Pôle, each took their turn leading the session. For Saint-Martin, the elected CRFA officials - those being Guillaume Arnell, and Territorial Councilor, Christophe Hénocq - approved the proposed project of expanding the Conservatoire’s perimeters of protection in the area of the Barriére Salt Pond. The Conservatoire wishes to extend its protection to the mangrove areas located north of the pond that are currently unprotected. This validation given at the Conseil des Rivages authorizes the Conservatoire to approach the landowners concerned (in this case, the Collectivity of Saint-Martin, who was approached in May by the Conservatoire regarding this issue).Again with regards to this site, the Conservatoire wishes to work in collaboration with the Collectivity on the development of the boundary area between the pond and the sea, and more widely to the dock area of Cul-de-Sac, with the idea of welcoming the numerous visitors for Pinel in a more appreciable environment. Further to this, the inaugural visit of the stilted wooden walkway on the Barriére Salt Pond, recently built by the Conservatoire du Littoral, took place during the CRFA. This trail allows visitors to enter the heart of the mangroves that are home to many bird species. Thanks to the numerous educational signboards posted along the walkway, the secrets of the mangroves no longer remain hidden from visitors. This walkway completes the network of facilities already established by the Conservatoire du Littoral, whereby all the major types of ecosystems on the island are now represented: dry coastal forest on the trail of Froussards, coastline vegetation on Pinel, and seascapes at the Coralita Observatory.