BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – AS plans for Christophe Harbour continue to blossom into fruition, management has announced its intentions of marrying the ongoing development with ecotourism to ensure that the development at the South-east Peninsula is both functional and natural.
In a February 9 media update on the progress of the development, Chief Operating Officer LeGrand Elebash reassured the nation of his company’s commitments to encourage eco-friendly development in the area. He indicated that the company has partnered with the St. Kitts Sea Turtle Monitoring Network (SKSTMN) as it regards the safety of marine life particularly the turtle population.
“Our master plan has been created with environment sustainability in mind. The setbacks for buildings and structures on the beachfront lots are far greater than what would be required by law so that if the property line of a given plot runs along the dune line, we don’t allow any built structure whatsoever within 50 feet of that line. And then from 50-75 feet, only landscaping and low structures are permissible there and certainly no two-storey structures would be anywhere close to the dune line. This would help keep the sidelines clean and the beach looking natural and also prevent light pollution from creating problems for turtle nesting activities.
“We have not yet formalized our plans [to strengthen the relationship with the SKSTMN] but one step we have taken is that Dr. Stewart [Director of SKSTMN] has helped us to train the staff so that they can recognize the signs of turtle nesting sites and therefore become part of the turtle monitoring. We look forward to a long working relationship with the turtle monitoring network.”
Dr. Kimberly Stewart said she is pleased with the efforts of Christophe Harbour to improve the efforts toward protecting turtle habitats and nesting activities in the South-east Peninsula. She said, “We are very excited to see that the beach access has been restricted. Vehicular traffic on the beach is very dangerous for sea turtles and can also damage incubating nests. This is truly a major step forward for the sea turtle population and their protection here as well.”
Elebash further stated that in an effort to compound the eco-friendly commitments of the company, Christophe Harbour would be hosting this year’s turtle camp in the summer, a step he described as “an indication of similar and other projects to protect the environment”.
