Natural sites on Saint Martin :Art on Culture

Art & Culture on Saint Martin : Natural sites

Saint Martin natural reserve

The principal goal of this natural reserve is to be an integral part in Saint Martin’s global development policy. It acts as a main factor in the conservation of the biological and cultural patrimony, on a local as well as on an international level, and serves also as a tool for the island’s social, cultural, scientific and economic development.

The reserve’s statutory measures (prohibition of hunting, fight against pollution…) are not set to limit the inhabitants of the island in their liberty. On the contrary, they guarantee them the possibility of maintaining a communal patrimony that nobody has the right to appropriate or destroy in search of immediate or personal profit which does not benefit the whole of the community.

It does not try to block the essential necessities of economic development, but works as to protect the environment from irreparable changes in the biological balance, which may result in the loss of certain, irreplaceable natural riches we are due to preserve for humanity and future generations.

The creation of the reserve permits the establishment of regulations adapted to the protection of our patrimony, but also to reasonable human activity mostly linked to tourism, urbanisation of coastal regions as well as any activity that may be a nuisance to the environment. Concerned parties are involved in the project by actions of sensitization and information in order to ensure full understanding of the dangers of careless human activity.

The Saint Martin Natural Reserve is situated in the north-west of the island, and spreads out on 3060 hectares of land. More than 2900 hectares of its surface are in maritime regions.

Three ecosystems make up the reserve:

• mangroves
• herbarium of seed-bearing marine plants
• coral reefs

The two latter categories have unfortunately suffered great damage due to human activity and the hurricanes of 1995. Their protection is set to ensure the restoration of the island’s marine resources..

The mangrove itself is dominated by the Rhizophora mangle, which can mostly be found in salty lakes. Lakes and mangroves are extremely productive biological systems, giving home to nurseries of young crustaceans and fish, and are also the natural habitat of a great number of birds (around fifty registered species).

Water turtles (Caretta caretta, Eretmochelys imbricata, Dermochelys coriacea) are also a typical sight to see on the vast beaches of the eastern coast and the smaller islands off the shore.

Humpback whales gather in the marine zone between the months of January and May, preferring the region’s deep waters for their periods of reproduction.

The natural park’s territory remains the only site on Saint Martin which has not been affected by the real estate market (Eastern Point, Bay of Embouchure).