Hopes approaching tropical system to provide some relief from historic drought.
Cole Bay:---- The Sint Maarten Nature Foundation has been researching the effects of the on-going drought conditions the island has been experiencing for the past few months. The Foundation researched water level, the amount and state of animals and the level of pollution recorded in specifically wetlands affected by the dry weather.
“What we have been experiencing is really quite unprecedented in terms of how the dry weather has been affecting especially the wetlands of the country. Anecdotally there have been no times in recent memory that we have seen this type of drought. We thought it important to research the effects the drought has been having on our ponds,” commented Tadzio Bervoets of the Nature Foundation.
The Foundation recorded a drop of about 40 centimetres in certain sections of the Belair and Fresh Ponds and a 60-centimeter drop in the Great Salt Pond. Numerous birds, fish and turtle carcasses were also observed in sections of the Great Salt Pond.
“Although seasonal fluctuations are normal, with certain times of year being dryer than others, the recent dry-spell has been causing some concern; When we look at climate models and events such as the current El-Nino Phase, which is when the Pacific experiences warmer water temperatures affecting global weather, we are concerned about the coming months. We have seen an increase in rain recently and hopefully in the coming days with the approach of a tropical system we can get some much needed relief,” commented Bervoets.
The Nature Foundation was able to monitor areas of the Fresh, Belair and Great Salt Ponds that usually lie underwater and collected samples of fish, crabs and shellfish in order to gauge the impacts both the drought and pollution are having on the country’s wetlands.