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The advisory committee for La Réserve Naturelle met on May 18, 2021, supervised by Serge Goutheyron, prefect. All members were there and approved the annual report for 2020, as well as the accountant’s report for 2020 and the initial budget for 2021.
Miscellaneous
Miscellaneous
Miscellaneous
Des graines et des pousses de palétuviers - Mangrove seeds and seedlings
A biodiversity nursery and restoring a wetlands wasteland
Initiated by La Réserve Naturelle and the Saint Martin North Rotary Club several months after hurricane Irma destroyed large swathes of the island’s wetlands, especially in French Quarter, the biodiversity nursery has been operational for the past two years. With several thousand mangrove seeds and seedlings planted close to the Salines d’Orient salt pond, the nursery is a tool in the fight to restore these essential areas for birdlife, as well as for the protection of the coasts against the devastating effects of storm surge. At the same time, this nursery also hosts visits by more than 3,000 school students per year from Saint Martin to build their awareness of the importance of these wetlands for the island. Pleased with the success of this project, and with financial support from the Fondation de France, the management association for La Réserve Naturelle will soon launch an ambitious new project to restore a wetland area that has deteriorated, as well as put in a new discovery path, and continue their awareness campaign for the general public and students. This project, which has generated great enthusiasm amongst the members of the advisory committee, will not only add to public awareness but also be the catalyst to enact items from the management plan that concern the wetlands protected within La Réserve Naturelle. This project will also try to compensate in part for the increasing rarity of such wetlands on the entire island of Saint Martin.
I.C.B.I
Supported by the management association of La Réserve Naturelle de Saint-Martin and included in its 2018-2027 management plan, the ICBI is moving forward. Following a public inquiry led by the prefecture in Saint-Martin at the end of 2020, Nicolas Maslach presented this ambitious project to the island’s public authorities. The Collectivité, The Economic, Social, and Cultural Council, The Inter-Professional Consular Chamber; The Neighborhood Council of Grand-Case, The Territorial Urbanism Commission, and the Territorial Council of the Collectivité voted unanimously in favor of ICBI as a project of general interest for the island! Pleased with this decision, Nicolas Maslach continues to promote the Institute, particularly in his search for financial partners. The Institute already benefits from the support of the FEDER for its research and innovation divisions, which will be developed once it opens.
The ICBI In The Management Plan
The ICBI (Caribbean Institute for Insular Biodiversity) project included in the 2018-2027 management plan was validated by the advisory committee of La Réserve Naturelle de Saint-Martin in 2013 and 2014. It meets several of the anticipated goals and activities within the management plan, as explained down below :
- Reflect on possible interventions by the management association as a service provider for the preservation of the island’s natural heritage within the framework of the ICBI.
- Establish the “Maison de la Réserve” within the framework of the ICBI.
- Use the RN as a vehicle to promote our natural heritage, and for eco-tourism.
- Improvements that will better showcase the RNN’s geological, cultural, and archeological heritage.
- Improvements in the reception of the public.
- Highlight the activities and the natural heritage of the RNN within the framework of the ICBI
