Oostpunt (also Land van Maal) is a geozone (''region'') on the island of

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

. It is located on the easternmost point of the island. Since the 1870s, the area is private property of the Maal family, and most of the area is off-limits with the exception of the villages of Oostpunt, Sint Joris, and Santa Catharina. The geozone of Oostpunt covers about 10 percent of the island.

History

Plantation Klein Sint Joris (also ''San Juan'') was founded in 1662 by Matthias Beck and is one of the oldest plantations on Curaçao. Around 1840, Oostpunt was inhabited by 150 to 200 people, most of whom were slaves. The Maal family, army officers from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, arrived in Curaçao in the late 18th century and had acquired five plantations by the 1870s. The plantations were used for agriculture, livestock, and mining, however, the vast majority of land is pristine wilderness. The

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Co ...

s in Oostpunt are considered one of the best preserved reefs of the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

Settlements

The village of Oostpunt is only inhabited by Willy Maal and his mother. Sint Joris consists of a collection of houses across Landhuis Klein Sint Joris, and is mainly inhabited by locals who have been born there. Santa Catharina is a recent addition which started to develop in the 1960s, and has attracted many Dutch citizens. There are paved roads to Sint Joris and Santa Catharina. , the remainder of Oostpunt can only be accessed via unpaved paths with large holes.

National Park and Curaçao Marine Park

In 1987, the

Government of Curaçao The government of Curaçao, a "constituent country" ( nl, land) of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic country, whereby the prime minister is the head of government, and of a mul ...

approached the Maal family to develop a conservation plan, and discuss the proposed development of a tourist resort in Oostpunt. In 1993, an area of was unilaterally declared a

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

in which no development was possible. Along the coast, the Curaçao Marine Park was announced to protect the coral reef. The Maal family responded by suing the government for ƒ100 million (~US$56 million) for breach of contract. A long legal battle followed, and the resort was built in

the Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

instead. On 7 June 1999, the Government of Curaçao was ordered to allow development in 50 percent of the area, and pay the Maal family ƒ20 million plus interest in damages. In 2010, the development plans of the Maal family were approved by the States of Curaçao. The battle is not over, because CARMABI, the national institute for protected areas, wants to prevent any development, and is backed by the International Coral Reef Society,

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

, and others. In April 2016, an attempt was made to stop the development plans using an outdated map which resulted in a threat from the Maal family to resume litigation. In December 2016, the development plans were once again approved by the States.

References

Bibliography

* {{commons category, position=left Populated places in Curaçao