News that the installation of a new weather radar on St. Peters Hill will take place this summer (see related story) comes exactly one week before the start of what is expected to be a busy Atlantic hurricane season. Hopefully it can be completed and put into operation by the usual height of the season during August and September, but this in any case appears a good investment also in terms of climate change.
What makes it even better is that this regards a European Territorial Cooperation Policy project of the Collectivité of St. Martin in partnership with the Government of St. Maarten. Both the latter have a clear common interest in enhancing disaster preparedness and doing so together where possible, as past experiences showed.
Moreover, collaboration between Metéo France and the Meteorological Department of St. Maarten (MDS) in this matter is a welcome example of how such ventures can offer an added value. It should inspire confidence in similar cooperation initiatives with European Union (EU) funding like the long-awaited joint sewage plant primarily to stop dirty water from ending up in Simpson Bay Lagoon, now planned at Cay Bay.
Working together might seem a forgone conclusion on a relatively small island based on economy of scale, but has not always been evident or proven easy. That the borders remain open with free movement of people and goods since the Treaty of Concordia was signed on March 23, 1648, is itself remarkable.
There are plenty other areas where a joint approach would obviously be beneficial, including most notably waste management and recycling in which the French side has made significant progress over the years. At the end of the day, a cleaner environment with less pollution serves an island-wide interest of the population and the tourism economy that provides for their livelihood.
