After Irma Participate In The Restoration Of The Last Natural Sites in Saint Martin

Saint Martin was preparing to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its Réserve Naturelle and had not invited Irma to join in the festivities. But in just a few hours, this unprecedented category-5 hurricane, with winds up to 225 mph effectively erased the work of the past 20 years.

For our natural heritage, the damage is quite considerable. The mangroves were wiped out.

The underwater milieu and especially the coral, which was already suffering from effects of climate change, are ruined. 
A massive amount of debris, carried by the wind, has polluted all of the protected spaces along the coastline and in the salt ponds. Various facilities put in over the past few years no longer exist or are badly damaged.

Sadly there is not enough insurance to cover all of these natural sites, where the damage is estimated at close to 850,000 euros just for the various facilities. More than half of the budget of the Réserve lies in its ability to self-finance in the amount of 470,000 euros per year, thanks to economic and ecotourism activities permitted in these beautiful sites.
It is clear that the level of tourism will be non-existent for the rest of 2017, and close to zero in 2018. So this self-financing will be reduced to almost nothing, just at the time when the Réserve needs this money more than ever, as its efforts to rebuild this natural heritage will be hindered.

The Reserve Naturelle de Saint Martin requests your financial support for restore these last protected sites on the island. Our goal is to raise 500,000 euros. An ambitious figure, but one that represents the investments that the Réserve must make on its own, to complement the donations made by our ongoing partners.