ENVIRONMENT: The mangroves of Saint-Martin highlighted by the League for the Protection of Birds

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In 2022, the French overseas territories are in the spotlight for the  League for the Protection of Birds (LPO) which celebrates the incredible biodiversity of these territories. Thanks to the National Nature Reserve of our island, Saint-Martin and its mangroves are part of the celebration. 

The League for the Protection of Birds (LPO) is a French environmental protection association founded in 1912, recognized as a public utility in 1986. The LPO acts for biodiversity through the knowledge and protection of species, the development and preserving spaces, raising awareness and mobilizing citizens, supporting businesses and communities. This summer, the League for the Protection of Birds invited the public to discover one of the most emblematic habitats of the Overseas Territories, namely the mangroves. Composed of trees called mangroves, the mangrove is located at the land-sea interface, in the tidal zone. This ecosystem is unfortunately highly threatened by human activities. If last July the whole world celebrated International Mangrove Day, let's take the opportunity to review the many benefits of this habitat. Mangroves are places of nesting, feeding and reproduction, they allow many species to grow sheltered from predators but also to feed and reproduce on the mangroves. Mangroves reduce wave power by almost a third and thus limit erosion, flooding and the effects of hurricanes, making them a natural coastal protection. They also act as carbon sinks, mangroves limit global warming by capturing 5 times more CO2 than tropical forests. And finally, the mangrove works to improve water quality by acting as a filter. On our territory, the National Nature Reserve of Saint-Martin, partner of the LPO within the framework of the Life BIODIV'OM, European project of 5 years whose main objective is the protection of 5 threatened species and a priority habitat on 5 territories d'Outre-mer, has been planting mangroves raised in nurseries since 2019. These projects began on the mangroves of the Etang des Salines d'Orient and the Etang aux Poissons, decimated by the passage of Hurricane Irma in 2017. The actions of the Saint-Martin Nature Reserve created in 1998 were possible thanks to the technical and financial collaboration of the Fondation de France, the Conservatoire du littoral and the Rotary Club Saint Martin Nord. The National Nature Reserve of Saint-Martin preserves the five main ecosystems of the island: coral reefs, seagrass beds, ponds, coastal dry forest and therefore, mangroves._VX

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