Emilio Wilson Estate Foundation (EWEF)

Sint Maarten Pride Foundation reiterates its calls to Government to protect the old Simpson Bay Bridge(s) and its (their) immediate surroundings. Dear Ministers of Ministry of VROMI and The Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth & Sport of the Government of Sint Maarten: Enforce the stop order. Work towards establishing the area as a National Park!! Full story at www.thedailyherald.sx Government of Sint Maarten

The consequences for Sint Maarten of the absence of approved zoning-plans, combined with poor implementation and enforcement of existing legislation, the gutting of the Ministry of VROMI, the adhoc, uninformed, visionless, often unethical, autocratic decision-making habits of the immediate past Minister of VROMI and a number of his predecessors, have yet to manifest and be truly felt. Situations such as depicted in the video below whereby a developer has built on Simpson Bay Beach in violation of the beach policy, contrary to the draft zoning-plans and has added insult to injury by cordoning-off part of the Beach are sadly just the tip of the iceberg..... Just wait until all the high-rise buildings permits have been issued for start construction.

Government of Sint Maarten cannot continue to allow unengineered, poorly executed excavations of our hillsides to continue and thereby risk that the homes of people living below these works are flooded, inundated by mud or suffer structural damage. (Note the soil being stockpiled, a potential landslide waiting to happen right above people's homes.) This particular excavation is among the causes of the large amount of dirt/mud which found its way to the Illidge Road during the heavy rains of a little over a week ago (see last picture) and yet today Thursday November 28th works continue in the same manner as if nothing has happened. *note similar irresponsible excavation activities are taking place all over the island.

Sint Maarten Pride Foundation wishes those dealing with flooding of their homes and/or business much strength. The Foundation has over the past 20 years advocated and warned against deforestation, excavation of hillsides, building in natural gutters, filling in and destruction of ponds and lagoons. These warnings have sadly by and large not been heeded by the various governments and in particular the many Ministers of the Ministry of VROMI . The flooding experienced today is partially a consequence of the lack of zoning, improper and poorly planned development, the destruction of natural buffers. Sadly, the situation is merely a foreboding of what is to come. Government of Sint Maarten #climate #caribbean #climateadaptation #climatechange #rechtenvandenatuur #rightsofnature #SDGS2030 #sintmaarten #sustainabledevelopment

A Happy St. Martin Day to one and all! May today's showcasing of our (Cultural) Heritage inspire us all to respect, uphold, preserve and share our Cultural traditions, Natural, tangible and intangible Heritage, not just on this particular day but on each and every day of the year! Emilio Wilson Estate Foundation continues to hope that current and future generations will all be able to one day celebrate special occasions such as our National day in our very own National Park. The Foundation therefore reiterates its calls to the Government of Sint Maarten to uphold the monument status of- and establish the entire remainder of the Emilio Wilson Estate as St. Maarten’s first Land-based Protected Area and National Park. Government of Sint Maarten Sint Maarten Pride Foundation Nature Foundation Sint Maarten Environmental Protection in the Caribbean #sxm #sxmstrong #saintmartin #sintmaarten #culture #heritage

The Emilio Wilson Estate Foundation and its sister Foundation Sint Maarten Pride Foundation have, with great interest and anticipation, taken notice of the announcement by Government that it is in discussions with Rainforest Adventures for the return to government of approximately half of the Land of the Emilio Wilson Estate. The Foundations welcome the intention to earmark parts of the property for agriculture and for conservation purposes. We reiterate our calls to have the entire remainder of the Emilio Wilson Estate, this beacon of cultural and natural heritage, established as Sint Maarten's first Land-based Protected Area and National Park! Government of Sint Maarten #sintmaarten #sxm #sxmstrong #saintmartin #caribbean #nature #culture #heritage #sdgs #naturephotography #environment #natuur #milieu #sdg2030 #RightsofNature #rechtenvandenatuur #GenerationRestoration #sustainabledevelopmentgoals

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 *shared upon request *short version below, full article in last photo Several politicians who are promising solutions to our GEBE problem this snap election have played a part in causing the crisis we are in today. The past actions by previous governments, including the NA/UPP coalition, are directly linked to the suffering of our residents. Years of neglecting GEBE and the Ministry of VROMI, greenlighting endless developments, and ignoring community input helped manufacture this catastrophe. 𝐀𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫s Over the last four years, an alarming number of large-scale luxury developments, including Fourteen Towers, The Hills, Ocean Tower/Residences, Dolce, Aqua, Tepui Residences, and Vie’Lieven, have been approved. While these projects are marketed as beneficial to our community, offering job opportunities and economic growth, the reality for most of our citizens is different. The average Sint Maarten resident does not make enough to live in these high-end residences or partake in their investment opportunities. Instead, residents are left to deal with the fallout: increased living costs, greater traffic congestion, and a growing strain on our fragile ‘GEBE’ energy grid, which is already over capacity. 𝐔𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 The future of your quality of life and the sustainability of our island depends on the decisions you make on August 19th during elections. Don’t be fooled by the carefully crafted language of their press releases and their bare-minimum ‘results’ they boast with. When you cast your vote, it is vital that you support candidates and parties who have clear plans that prioritize people and our communities and protect our unique cultural and natural heritage over personal gain. We have seen how destructive several governments have been to our environment and heritage. As people say: “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” Signed, A collective of concerned citizens.

Now former Decision-makers of the Ministry of VROMI, Ministry of TEATT of the Government of Sint Maarten have, during their time in office, signed off on several Hotel/Condo/Villa projects such as the ones depicted in these images. The issuing of permits took place: Without public consultations; Without any inquiry regarding if our utilities NV GEBE company (electricity, water) can handle the added burden; Without requiring Enviromental and Social Impact Assessments to be carried out/ recommendations to be adhered to; With no regard for the overal carrying-capacity of Sint Maarten, the burden on the road-, waste-, wastewater- infrastructure; Contrary to advice of Ministry staff; With no regard for Climate-change related consequences; In violation of legislation, policies, draft zoning plans, development perspectives; With no regard for our Natural-, Cultural Heritage. What is Parliament of Sint Maarten's perspective on this? What is the new Government of Sint Maarten's perspective? How will these concerns be addressed? #sintmaarten #sdgs2030 #rightsofnature

https://lnkd.in/emH6ZSm7 .....And here we go again! Unscrupulous developers continue attempts to fool the population into believing that they and this development value our Cultural Heritage and Natural Environment. While the fact is they continue to destroy parts of the Emilio Wilson Estate which is National Monument. Emilio Wilson Estate Foundation repeats its previously made statement of January 2023: "So these sculptures of Lohkay and Emilio Wilson are meant to honor them? Really? Has Government inquired if proper permits are in place for the placement of these "sculptures"? Sint Maarten is an interesting place, we destroy our natural and cultural heritage, we destroy the monuments that our ancestors built and then turn around and put-up sculptures or statues claiming to honor them. We are dishonoring our ancestors and continue to do them a great injustice. Anyone who knew Mr. Emilio Wilson would be able to tell you that his wish was for his Estate to be established as a protected area for the people of Sint Maarten. The Emilio Wilson Estate Foundation has not forgotten: that the Emilio Wilson Estate was obtained in a dubious manner by a certain individual after Emilio's death; that it took the foundations tremendous effort to get the property established as a national monument; that it took tremendous efforts to get Government to subsequently purchase the dubiously obtained property for the establishment of a national park; that the Government subsequently gave in to the pressures by the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (and others) to issue a large portion of the property to Rain Forest Adventures for the establishment of an amusement Park; that Rain Forest Adventures subsequently destroyed large portions of our Natural and Cultural Heritage on the Estate; that the individual who obtained the estate in a dubious manner after the death of Emilio Wilson retained a part of the estate and is currently destroying the property for real estate development." Government of Sint Maarten #sintmaarten #sxm #nature #rightsofnature #sdgs #sdgs2030 #environment #culture #heritage #culturalheritage

Flag day 2024 Do we truly value our Natural Heritage? Government of Sint Maarten #sintmaarten #sxm #sxmstrong #saintmartin #caribbean #beaches #beachaccess #publicaccess #nature #culture #heritage #sdgs #naturephotography #environment #natuur #milieu #sdg2030 #wetlands #RightsofNature #rechtenvandenatuur #GenerationRestoration