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Questions raised about permits for clearing in Red Pond area
by The Daily Herald
Posted: Jan 17, 2006 14:38 UTC
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GIBBS BAY - With a sizable area of the Gibbs Bay/Red Pond area cleared and excavated last week, Nature Foundation St. Maarten has renewed its call to government to protect the pond, which is one of a few remaining natural ponds on the Dutch side.
Nature Foundation and St. Maarten Pride Foundation “seriously doubt if any of the required permits are in place (allowing these actions), as the public review phase of the project’s Planning Permit Request process ended on December 24,” the two organisations said in a joint press statement Monday.
The developer Andrew Erato was contacted by The Daily Herald to ascertain if permits had been granted for the clearing and excavation last week. However, he did not provide any answers. He consented to be interviewed but the interview was subsequently cancelled.
The preservation of Red Pond, according to the developer’s extensive public relations campaign, “would entail keeping the pond and its surrounding ecosystems in the natural state rather than modifying the pond and removing the vegetation as is actually proposed in the plans and is currently taking place.”
In their statement Monday, the foundations said that they wished to “remind the developers of this promise.”
Nature Foundation also repeated its recommendation to the Department of Environmental Policy VROM to require developers to maintain a zone of no less than 20 metres in width, measured from the pond’s 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.
Nature Foundation also urges the Environmental Inspection Department to frequently inspect the work at Red Pond “to prevent any further environmental crimes such as those that occurred in Dawn Beach.”
The foundation called on Environmental Affairs Commissioner Roy Marlin “to fulfil his role” as commissioner with this portfolio “by protecting St. Maarten’s few remaining wetlands, coastal zones and other ecologically valuable areas.”
While the foundation realises the necessity of development in St. Maarten, government is reminded that the island’s natural environment plays an important role in the tourism industry.
Nature Foundation encourages teachers to tell their students about the ecological value of the various ponds and to have them draw or write essays about them. The foundation is also available to organise short informative field trips to the island’s remaining natural ponds “before their imminent destruction.”
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