PHILIPSBURG--Adequate and up-to-date legislation and funding were among the major issues raised when the country's three main environmental and nature organisations met with Members of Parliament (MPs) in a Central Committee meeting on Thursday morning. The groups were also fervent in their call for protection of what remains of the country's natural heritage.
Nature Foundation St. Maarten, Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC) and St. Maarten Pride Foundation outlined to MPs in the familiarisation session their main activities, projects and areas they would like to see protected.
National Alliance (NA) MP Louie Laveist asked the groups to prepare "a laundry list" of needs that Parliament could fulfil. He and MP Hyacinth Richardson said they would be inviting the groups to talk about environmental protection with NA.
Nature Foundation Manager Tadzio Bervoets spoke about the ongoing marine mammal survey and the possibility of organising whale and dolphin watching trips later for people to see these sea creatures in their natural habitat. He also addressed concerns about the dangers of shark feeds as raised by independent MP Frans Richardson.
Bervoets said the Nature Foundation was working on broadening the country's conservation zone and having it linked to the French side's Réserve Naturelle, and on continuous education programmes and other research, and was seeking ways to obtain sustainable finances. The foundation is plagued by staff shortage, limited capacity to do research, monitoring and control, and limited materials to conduct mooring work.
All three foundations said the unsustainable development in St. Maarten had contributed greatly to the damage of the environment and destruction of native flora and fauna.
Dealing with the need for protection, EPIC Project Manager Thompson reiterated the Mullet Bay Pond Coalition's call to protect the pond and save it from destruction. He listed among EPIC's main concerns insufficient sewage treatment infrastructure, absence of solid waste treatment, insufficient or outdated environmental legislation, and the need to put local nature and cultural heritage education on school curricula.
Children often have to "hopscotch to school" to avoid stepping into sewage running on the streets. Thompson said government and in particular the Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI should pay more attention to issues such as sewage rather than the building of the ring road and the bridge over Simpson Bay Lagoon.
Ask for a stance on the lagoon bridge by MP Laveist, Thompson, who is also vice president of Pride Foundation, said, "We have been in meeting with the Harbour [Group of Companies, ed.] and were presented with an actual environmental impact assessment." The groups also met with the people who carried out the study.
While the groups are very much against the bridge because it is projected to disturb a very important area of mangrove, the preliminary advice is for "compensation" to be made for lost of nature should this be touched. "Basically, if you are going to do it, protect Mullet Bay Pond so the same thing does not happen."
Thompson called for the protection of Emilio Wilson Estate, reminding MPs that under the former Island Council setting, promises had been made to acquire and protect the area for the people. Concerns about development on the estate have surfaced again because of plans to create a recreational park with chair lifts.
Independent MP Frans Richardson said a solution must be found for Emilio Wilson Estate and voiced his support for its protection.
St. Maarten is the only island in the Dutch Caribbean without a land-based protected area. The country also has no nature policy plan, as the one drafted in 2003 is now outdated.
Pride Foundation President Jadira Veen spoke about the group's activism, awareness creation and drive to educate the masses about caring for the environment though a hands-on approach. The International Coastal Cleanup, coordinated locally by Pride in September, also was highlighted with suggestions for a recycling business.
Veen said VROMI Minister Theo Heyliger should use the International Cleanup Report published every year to guide him on tackling garbage disposal and to tell Parliament what to do with the waste. "Government should be asking me for a copy every year, and Parliament too," she said.
Veen and young Pride volunteer Riddhi Samtani presented President of Parliament Gracita Arrindell with a copy of the report at the end of the meeting.
Pride Foundation called for the creation of a beach department to check on and fine illegal activities such as littering and criminal activities such as nudity on Cupecoy Beach where male prostitution and drug sales are said to be taking place.
Whenever the development of the former Mullet Bay Beach Resort gets going, Veen called for at least 130 parking spaces to be left open for the public with proper access to the beach. She fears that owner SunResorts will bar all access for locals.
MP Laveist said that if the developer of Mullet Bay attempted to block the beach "you will have an uprising like you never seen before."
MPs were concerned about bringing invasive species such as iguanas, mongooses, vervet monkeys and racoons under control. Racoons are protected on the French side and iguanas are protected on the Dutch side. However, with the explosion of the iguana population, Bervoets said the protection would have to be re-examined.
As for the vervet monkeys, a nuisance to the community, a company in Barbados has offered to buy as many as possible for its monkey park attraction. Bervoets added that contraceptives for the male monkeys that would make them sterile was being looked into as another option. However, this is an expensive option.
The Nature Foundation is working with its French-side counterpart to improve the working relationship structurally.
Fishing regulations and the need to regulate pet shops also were touched on during the meeting.
