St. Maarten Private Eye

Nature Foundation press release on the aquarius development plans for the gibbs bay/ red pond area - 25th November 2005

November 24th, 2005

Aquarius Development plans for the Gibbs Bay/ Red Pond area
Despite the Nature Foundation’s numerous appeals against the destruction of the island’s natural ecosystems, the Foundation has learnt that the plans submitted for the Aquarius development in the Gibbs Bay/ Red Pond area, involve the destruction of much of the pond’s surrounding vegetation including the mangroves.

These plans do not in anyway reflect “complete preservation of the Red Pond” as is claimed in the developers press release printed in the Daily Herald on Thursday November 21st 2005. The complete preservation of the Red Pond would entail keeping the pond and its surrounding ecosystems in their natural state rather than modifying the pond and removing the vegetation as is actually proposed in the plans. The Nature Foundation supports development on the island providing that any such development takes place in a controlled and sustainable manner the proposed plan does not meet this condition. It is for this reason that the Nature Foundation does not in any form support the proposed development plan submitted by Aquarius for the Gibbs Bay/ Red Pond area.

The Red Pond and its Mangrove woodlands form Sint Maarten’s last relatively undisturbed Coastal Habitat and are an important feeding, breeding and nesting area for many species of migratory and residential birds. The planned removal of the mangroves and other vegetation will have a negative effect on the pond’s natural as well as scenic value and will lead to the loss of one of Sint Maarten’s last remaining pristine coastal habitats.

It must be noted that the removal of the mangroves and other vegetation surrounding the Red Pond will also enhance erosion leading to a decrease in the water containing capacity and thus the filtering capacity of the ponds. This will have serious consequences on the quality of the beach and the marine area. The removal of the mangroves surrounding the Pond should therefore not be allowed under any circumstances.

To avoid any negative impacts, the Foundation strongly recommends the VROM Department to require developers to maintain a zone of no less than 20 meters in width (measured from the ponds high water mark) surrounding the entire pond in its natural state this zone includes the pond’s surrounding mangroves which should also be kept in their natural state as they form an essential part of the ecosystem.

The Nature Foundation encourages teachers to tell their students about the ecological value of the various ponds, to have them make drawings or write essays and to contact the Nature Foundation to organize short informative field trips to the island’s remaining natural ponds before their imminent destruction. For more information or if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

The Nature Foundation of Sint Maarten

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