Corendon starts cleaning mangrove forest
Badhoevedorp/Willemstad, 27 February 2023 – Corendon has received a permit from the government to clean the mangrove forest around its new hotel that is under construction. This new hotel is being built next to the Corendon Mangrove Beach Resort. The cleaning will be done in three zones (A, B and C) with the aim of cleaning up the mangrove and flushing the culverts for better flow. For this, Corendon hires certified companies, which work carefully so as not to damage the protected area. The cleaning is also done in consultation with Grupo 6. The cleaning has now begun.
As the hotel is located in a special nature reserve with mangrove forests, Corendon is having the mangroves cleaned by certified companies on its own property, but also adjacent parts. In the first phase, dredging within zone A will start at high tide. With the extra amount of water due to the high tide, this zone is pumped clean in 12 hours and all dredging is drained to the adjacent asphalt lake. The culverts are also thoroughly cleaned immediately with the pump. In addition, part of the mangrove is also pruned and thinned to restore the existing plants to health. In zone B, as in zone A, the mangrove will be pruned and thinned and in zone C, a path will also be created. Within a period of one year, the pruned and thinned mangroves will be compensated.
Planting new mangroves
The land will be cleaned up in consultation with Grupo 6, an alliance of several civil society organizations including the environmental movement Amigu di Tera. They strive to keep the area clean of mosquitoes and contaminated water and are always at the forefront of protecting the mangroves from wild logging and support its conservation. The area is also manually cleared of litter and completely refurbished. This includes looking at planting new mangroves within a one-year period in consultation with Carmabi, the Caribbean Biodiversity Research and Management Foundation and Amigu di Tera.
World heritage list
Certain areas of Curaçao have been on Unesco’s World Heritage List for over 20 years. These include Willemstad and the reef area in Otrabanda, rich in mangrove forests, seagrass beds and coral reefs. Mangrove forests are seriously threatened worldwide, but are of enormous importance for biodiversity, water purification, carbon sequestration and coastal protection.