Dear Editor,
We, the St. Maarten Nature Foundation, are concerned once again regarding the way beaches, beach access and beach recreation have been managed in the country.
Over the past few months we have again been continuously faced with having to respond to issues occurring on the beaches on the island, ranging from beach construction, heavy equipment and other vehicles driving and parking on the beaches, structures such as fences and buildings being built, significant amount of trash being left on beaches, and beach access being restricted.
We would like to remind both the public and decision-makers that beaches are our most important natural resource and all must be done to protect and sustainably develop this resource. Unsustainable activities such as beach construction, driving on beaches and littering on beaches not only have significant environmental effects but also affect the economy and the image of Sint Maarten as we are trying to rebuild.
We would like to again call on Parliament to come with concrete legislation on how beaches should be managed and protected in terms of their ecological and economic importance. There is, or was, a Beach Policy in place but for all intents and purposes this policy is non-functioning or not being taken into consideration.
Poor trash pick-up, parking and driving on beaches, the unrestrained placement of beach chairs, and beach construction are fundamental issues hampering the sustainable use of one of our greatest natural assets and hampering our recovery post-Hurricane Irma.
Lately we have been fielding significant complaints about businesses not allowing residents to place personal effects at locations they deem as “theirs” to place beach chairs and umbrellas.
We again call for the structured management of the country’s beaches, protecting and managing the resource sustainably in order to increase and support the recovery of Sint Maarten.
St. Maarten Nature Foundation
