The “hub” for 15 European territories in the Caribbean

The European Union knows that most of its biodiversity exists in its 34 overseas territories and that it is imperative to preserve them. In the Caribbean, 15 European territories are concerned. They are French (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Barths, Saint-Martin), Dutch (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten) and British (Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos), and are all involved in the BEST program, implemented in 2010 by the European Commission, on an experimental basis to preserve their biodiversity. In Brussels on January 30th and 31st, 2014, after having presented the Saint Martin Nature Reserve to the European Commission, at the first steering committee of the project BEST, Romain Renoux, responsible for the Regional Cooperation Division, was appointed to become the coordinator for the «hub» platform of these 15 territories. This appointment confirms that Saint Martin’s role as a Caribbean «hub» for all environmental issues within the region is a necessary one. With the cooperation of the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) and CAR-SPAW based in Guadeloupe, Saint Martin Nature Reserve had previously responded to a proposal from the European Commission to define the scientific criteria most relevant to the preservation of the biodiversity in the overseas territories. A work plan has been drawn up for the next four years.