Dear Editor,
The country’s reefs are an important contributor to the national economy. Based on an Economic Valuation Study of St. Maarten’s coral reef eco-system, the economic contribution of a healthy coral reef system was found to be over US $66 million.
This money trickles down throughout the economy in the form of salaries, social/health premiums, fees to operate in the nature protected areas, gasoline to run the dive boats, other services from the maritime sector, tax revenues, etc.
The customers that bring in the US $66+ million into our economy are mainly stayover tourists and some cruise passengers who spend the aforementioned by staying in our hotels, renting cars, eating in restaurants, purchasing diving packages, shopping, entertainment, excursions, etc.
The aforementioned study was conducted by the St. Maarten Nature Foundation, with the assistance of the United Nation’s Environment Program (UNEP) and the World Resources Institute (WRI).
According to the Nature Foundation, “The results of this study shows that Coral Reefs are one of the island’s most valuable resources and provide livelihoods through coral reef-associated tourism as well as protection from large, damaging waves caused by hurricanes.”
Today post-Irma, some Coral Species according to the Nature Foundation have suffered 70-95 per cent extreme hurricane damage. “Intense impacts have been recorded on certain coral species and on the reef, however, also some reef recovering has already been recorded,” the St. Maarten Nature Foundation said in a statement in November. It further added, “95 per cent of the Staghorn coral colonies have been destroyed by Hurricane Irma. No colonies have been found or only small fragments remain.”
Nature Foundation stated in the past, “Tourism and the marine industry contribute significantly to the economy and both sectors depend on the health of St. Maarten’s marine resources.”
Funding will no doubt be needed to help the recovery of our dive sector. Nature has already started its recovery as noted by the Nature Foundation, but financial resources should be allocated from the funding to be provided by the Dutch Government for the country’s recovery and rebuilding phase that will commence in 2018.
The Nature Foundation has already commenced with a coral reef monitoring project to scientifically establish what the impacts have been on the reefs from Hurricanes Irma and Maria using the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) standard. This information could be used to secure much needed funding for sectoral recovery.
Australian scientists have developed a fertility treatment for coral to help regenerate the Great Barrier Reef – 2,300 kilometres long and a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage Site – which has been extensively damaged by coral bleaching – a process of warm water that causes coral to die.
Scientists have taken microscopic sperm and eggs during a reef’s annual coral spawning event and put them into giant tanks for fertilisation. The coral larvae are then planted back onto the reef, and according to lead researcher Professor Peter Harrison from Southern Cross University, the juvenile corals had successfully established themselves on the reef.
Scientists have said that the success of this new research not only applies to the Great Barrier Reef but has potential global significance. Perhaps this is something for the Nature Foundation to explore with respect to the recovery of the St. Maarten coral reef ecosystem.
Roddy Heyliger
