News

Nature Foundation St. Maarten Joins Forces with St. Maarten Customs on the CITES Convention.

Posted on by Melanie

In the last weeks the Nature Foundation St. Maarten has actively collaborated with the officers of St. Maarten Customs to exchange knowledge regarding the trade of endangered species, called CITES Convention (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). Customs Officers learned more about which species are protected under the … Continue reading Nature Foundation St. Maarten Joins Forces with St. Maarten Customs on the CITES Convention.

UNRAVELING THE MYSTERIES OF THE SABA BANK: DCNA TIGER SHARK EXPEDITION 2021

Posted on by travel4scuba

Photo credit © Daniel Norwood July 31st – August 7th, 2021 – For the first time on the Saba Bank, an expedition team was able to successfully assess the shark diversity by attaching five satellite tags and confirming pregnancy stages by ultrasound of two species of sharks. This research advancement resulted in assessing 56 sharks, … Continue reading UNRAVELING THE MYSTERIES OF THE SABA BANK: DCNA TIGER SHARK EXPEDITION 2021

Vegetation Study Informs Spatial Planning on St. Maarten

Posted on by travel4scuba

Commissioned by Sint Maarten’s Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI), a color vegetation map produced by CARMABI and Wageningen University & Research shows a 25% decrease in overall vegetation cover of the Dutch side of the island since 1956.  Results show that this loss can be attributed to massive urbanization and touristic development, overgrazing by introduced … Continue reading Vegetation Study Informs Spatial Planning on St. Maarten

Nature Foundation Partners with Real Madrid Foundation, AUC to Host First In-No-Plastic Beach Clean-Up

Posted on by travel4scuba

This past week, the Nature Foundation partnered with the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine (AUC) and the St. Maarten Tourism Bureau alongside the Real Madrid Foundation to organize two beach clean-ups. These two clean-ups were a part of the Nature Foundation’s newest project In-No-Plastic and took place on Mullet Bay Beach and … Continue reading Nature Foundation Partners with Real Madrid Foundation, AUC to Host First In-No-Plastic Beach Clean-Up

Staff to Depart on Saba Bank Expedition to Enhance Tiger Shark Protections in the Caribbean

Posted on by travel4scuba

Photo credit © : Sami Kattan (all rights reserved)  Starting August 1, 2021 a team of researchers will spend a week on the Saba Bank investigating the life-cycle of tiger sharks. Researchers will investigate the migration routes, where and when tiger sharks breed so they can protect them better within the Dutch Caribbean’s Yarari Marine Mammal and Shark … Continue reading Staff to Depart on Saba Bank Expedition to Enhance Tiger Shark Protections in the Caribbean

Nature Foundation Participates in New European Union Initiative to Reduce Ocean Plastic Litter

Posted on by Melanie

The Nature Foundation St. Maarten is joining as a contributor in a new project ‘In-No-Plastics’, a European Union-funded global initiative. In-No-Plastic focuses on innovative approaches towards the prevention, removal, and reuse of marine plastic litter (plastic debris that ends up in the ocean). On St. Maarten, the project will focus on litter clean-ups around the … Continue reading Nature Foundation Participates in New European Union Initiative to Reduce Ocean Plastic Litter

First Successful Sea Turtle Nesting of the Season Confirmed on Dawn Beach

Posted on by travel4scuba

Last week, the Nature Foundation confirmed the successful nesting of a hawksbill sea turtle on Dawn Beach. After receiving a call from the security team from the Westin Hotel, Foundation staff rushed to the scene and were able to confirm that the hawksbill sea turtle laid several eggs in a shallow nest. While this is … Continue reading First Successful Sea Turtle Nesting of the Season Confirmed on Dawn Beach

Major Ocean Oil Spill Originating from G.E.B.E. Powerplant, Nature Foundation Responds

Posted on by travel4scuba

The Nature Foundation St. Maarten responded to a major heavy fuel oil spill originating from N.V. G.E.B.E. Power Company in Cay Bay on Tuesday. Upon arrival at the scene, the Foundation found a thick slick of oil extending nearly 4 kilometers toward Simpson Bay and the Caribbean Sea. The Foundation tried to mitigate the spill … Continue reading Major Ocean Oil Spill Originating from G.E.B.E. Powerplant, Nature Foundation Responds

Monkey Management Project Completed as Part of the R4CR Grant, Management Option Implementation Urged

Posted on by Melanie

The Monkey Management Project designed and implemented by the Nature Foundation St. Maarten and funded by the R4CR Grant Scheme has been completed. This six-month project focused on researching the abundance and status of the invasive vervet monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) and to establish sustainable and humane solutions to manage the invasive monkey population to protect … Continue reading Monkey Management Project Completed as Part of the R4CR Grant, Management Option Implementation Urged

Nature Foundation Works with the National Recovery Program Bureau on Hurricane Irma Shipwreck Removal, Transplants Corals to New Location

Posted on by Melanie

The Nature Foundation has been working closely with the National Recovery Program Bureau (NRPB) and its contractors during the removal of the shipwrecks from Hurricane Irma in 2017 that still remain in the Simpson Bay Lagoon. Foundation staff has been providing assessments, advice, and assistance to ensure that the removal of these wrecks is done … Continue reading Nature Foundation Works with the National Recovery Program Bureau on Hurricane Irma Shipwreck Removal, Transplants Corals to New Location