The pruning of mangroves at Prins Bernhard Bridge was announced in the paper of Wednesday, May 25, one day after a report of yet another car ending up in Fresh Pond there. The stated reasons had been “to reduce obstruction and enhance view for motor vehicles” and the “overall objective” to enhance the area and create optimal safety for road users, although most would probably agree that speeding and/or careless driving is likely the main cause of accidents at that location rather than limited vision.
However, the operation turned into a complete removal of trees, as a shocked St. Maarten Pride pointed out. President of Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) Tadzio Bervoets, who is from the island, said he had hoped his recommendations of the past about trimming mangroves would be followed, but instead they were cleared with bulldozers over some 25 metres on all four corners of the bridge.
The Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI did some damage control in terms of publicity by saying it would replant the now barren areas with trees and bushes. Mention was made of young buttonwood mangroves and native vegetation that would be maintained.
The release continued to talk about ensuring a line of sight for traffic safety and aesthetic view into the pond. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, of course, but the latter is a stretch.
The Daily Herald asked VROMI Minister Egbert Doran during last week’s press briefing whether no civil works permit was needed based on Parliament having reinstated Article 28a of the National Ordinance on Spatial Development Planning LROP to prevent uncontrolled development at his request. He called it “a good question” and promised to get back, which his Department Head Charlton Pompier did a day later in writing.
He said the permit is meant to protect trees and the surrounding environment from activities that could cause adverse effects and more so those which are irreversible. Due to these considerations as well as the limited quantity of cleared and trimmed trees and bushes at Prins Bernhard Bridge, this activity was not linked to a civil works permit.
So much for the legalities and there is no crying over spilt milk, but this also has to do with how officials and crews employed by the ministry – perhaps understandably – appear to view nature from a facilitating and infrastructural rather than environmental perspective. Times have changed, however, and the importance of preserving what little greenery is left for mankind’s very survival will become increasingly evident.
Getting everyone to see it that way may take a while. Just as an example, the Papiamentu phrase “limpia tereno” translates to cleaning a terrain, when it in fact means removing the vegetation.
In addition to rules and enforcement, greater awareness and a change of mindset are what is needed.
