Long Term Goal N°6 : Management and support - MS

- Une partie de la donation de coquillages - A portion of the donated shells

Action MS20 Seek new means of funding

An internship to optimize the finances of La Réserve

Camille Truc-Delprat, studying for a master’s in the “Economy of the Environment and Its Natural Resources” at the Toulouse School of Economics, is interning at La Réserve Naturelle from May 24 through September 24, 2021. Her goal is to research and propose innovative methods of funding based on the value of the indirect services rendered to the island of Saint Martin by the protected zones of La Réserve Naturelle.

Action MS32 Make the RNN a vector for the promotion of our natural heritage (priority 1)

Thousands of shells as a gift

On February 18, 2021, La Réserve was contacted by a private collector, Mr. Lamorlette, who wanted to donate thousands of seashells. Stored in a garage he had just started renting in Concordia, these shells had been collected or fished locally by the previous occupant of the garage, known by the nickname of Shell Man, and recently deceased. It took four trips with a pickup truck to transport this multitude of shells to the technical services center of La Réserve at Anse Marcel. Sorting is underway and the goal is to create a condensed collection by saving the most beautiful specimens, which would eventually be displayed at the ICBI, and used to illustrate pedagogical presentations. The shells not kept for the collection will be returned to the sea, with an eye toward creating a natural habitat for marine fauna (hermit crabs, alevins…).

Action MS 37 Participate in meetings, maintain, and reinforce partnerships with regional networks

- 3000 à 5000 chèvres en liberté à Saint-Barth - 3000 to 5000 wild goats in Saint Barth

MobBiodiv’Restoration of terrestrial zones: the winners

As part of the French Recovery Plan, the OFB sent out a call for projects titled “MobBiodiv’Restoration of Terrestrial Zones 2021.” The French Antilles selection committee, which includes Julien Chalifour, met via video conference on May 26, to examine and evaluate the four projects in competition for the French Antilles:

Ecological restoration of the former communal dump into a botanical garden with drought-resistant plants in Anse Bertrand (Guadeloupe).
Ecological restoration and reinforcement of the vegetation at Bois-Jolan/Helleux in Sainte-Anne in Guadeloupe, primarily to fight against erosion and encourage egg-laying by sea turtles.
Re-planting of urban and peri-urban spaces in the French Antilles to increase pollination by introducing endemic vegetation and their favorite pollinators to these areas (Guadeloupe and Martinique).
The capture of wild goats and the planting of local trees in Saint Barthélemy. Roughly 3000 to 5000 goats roam the hillsides of Saint Barth and destroy the vegetation, to the detriment of other species and coastal sea beds. The committee’s decision on these projects will be announced shortly and the winners will receive financial support to get their projects underway. MobBiodiv’Restoration of terrestrial zones: the winners

Récréafish: A study for all non-professional fishermen

On May 26, Julien Chalifour participated in a video conference organized by the IFREMER (French Research Institute For Ocean Science) in Martinique, in order to define the Réserve’s contribution to the Récréafish project, a study in recreational fishing in the waters of the French Antilles. This study concerns all non-professional fishermen and all fishing techniques: fishing from the shore, underwater, or aboard a boat. The goal is to collect reliable information on the size of the leisure fishing industry in the French Antilles, unknown at the present time, as well as its economic impact, a look at the fishermen and the primary species they catch. The role of La Réserve Naturelle, the local contact for this project, is to centralize the data transmitted by the participants in Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy, and to establish regular contact with them. The project was launched in Saint Barth where the fishermen received a logbook to record their fishing excursions and their catch for a year. However, the project was delayed for a few months in Saint Martin, where all fishing was forbidden following the death of a swimmer after a mortal attack by a shark in December 2020. At the end of the year of recording their fishing activities in their logbooks, they will be entered in a raffle to win gift certificates of 50 to 150 euros to spend in fishing gear shops

All those who go fishing can take part in the Récréafish project, by making a request with IFREMER at recreafish@ifremer.fr.

Action MS38 Participate in meetings, maintain, and reinforce partnerships with regional networks

Le comité national Ifrecor s’est tenu à Saint-Martin en 2019 - The national Ifrecor committee met in Saint Martin in 2019

Ifrecor and La Réserve naturelle

Nicolas Maslach and Julien Chalifour were interviewed via video conference on May 26, 2021 by a consulting firm hired by the French government to do an audit on the functioning of Ifrecor (French Initiative For Coral Reefs), on a national as well as a local level. In Saint Martin, as there has not been a formal request made by the Collectivité, La Réserve Naturelle has been the official local — and efficient — representative of Ifrecor for many years, in collaboration with the DEAL. It represents an invaluable testing site for Ifrecor, by way of scientific studies of underwater milieus, performance indicators on the state of the health of reefs and underwater plant beds, the PAMPA dashboard, and not forgetting a thesis on local seagrass beds. Maslach and Chalifour accented the contribution of La Réserve to Ifrecor, as well as the importance of this initiative for La Réserve and for the entire island. Julien Chalifour is also a member of the local Ifrecor committee in Saint Barthélemy. This local participation accents the importance of supporting Ifrecor, as well as an evolution in the process of creating a local committee.

Réserve Naturelle Nationale de Saint-Martin

3 rue Barbuda, Hope Estate- 97 150 Saint-Martin
Tél: 05 90 29 09 72 Fax: 05 90 29 09 74

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Reserve.Naturelle.StMartin

Direction: direction@rnsm.org
Pôle police de la nature et logistique 06 90 57 95 55 reservenat.franck@yahoo.fr
Pôle scientifique 06 90 34 77 10 science@rnsm.org

Partenaires techniques et financiers de la Réserve naturelle

Partenaires techniques et financiers de la Réserve naturelle : Préfecture de Saint-Barthélemy et de Saint-Martin, Direction de l’environnement, de l’aménagement et du logement (DEAL), Collectivité de Saint-Martin, CAR-SPAW, Agence des aires marines protégées, IFRECOR, TE ME UM

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