ACTIVITY REPORT 2009-2012

HOW DID THE ASSOCIATION ST BARTH ESSENTIEL COME INTO EXISTENCE ?

St Barth Essentiel was launched in 2009 via a Facebook page, whose goal was to protect and promote the “real” St Barth. That is to say the soul of the island : its traditional cottages, the old stone walls, the neighborhood chapels … and the local flora and fauna.
Residents and those who have stayed on the island long enough to feel an affinity with the island, got into the spirit and started publishing their old photographs, and sharing their memories and experiences.
This reaction quickly led us to organize video projections that immediately attracted almost 400 people. The social services office of the Collectivity then contacted us about publishing a book/album to compile these snippets of history. Thus the association Saint Barth Essentiel was born.

Then our role began to intensify : following the application for building permits of several large-scale projects, we mobilized all of our energy to do what we could to save the soul of our island.

Thanks to the incredible support from all the members of the association, petitions were signed to put a stop to the zoning changes that would have destroyed some of the most important natural zones on the island.
That close call encouraged us to look into the endemic zones that must be protected at all costs, and to initiate a vast flora and fauna inventory project in collaboration with renowned scientists from the Museum of Natural History in Paris.

Recap Of Ongoing Activities Since 2009 available here (french)