Three Bays Protected Area (''Aire Protégée de Ressources Naturelles Gérées des Trois Baies''), also known as Three Bays National Park, is a protected area in northeastern
Haiti. It protects coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangrove forests, and dry forests.
Geography
The Three Bays Protected Area has a boundary perimeter of approximately encompassing over . It is the second largest declared protected area in Haiti after the Port Salut/Aquin Protected Area (''Aire Protégée de Ressources Naturelles Gérées de Port Salut/Aquin'').
The east–west boundary of the Three Bays Protected Area extends for over from
Massacre River (bordering the Dominican Republic, where it is known as
Dajabón River) to the
Grande-Rivière-du-Nord to the west. The north–south boundary extends from the territorial sea limit inland to the 10-m topographic contour line. The western boundary is near
Cap-Haïtien
Cap-Haïtien (; ht, Kap Ayisyen; "Haitian Cape"), typically spelled Cape Haitien in English and often locally referred to as or , is a commune of about 190,000 people on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the department of Nord. Previousl ...
, Haiti's second largest city and capital of the
Nord (Haitian department)
Nord (French) or Nò (Haitian Creole; both meaning "North") is one of the ten departments of Haiti and located in northern Haiti. It has an area of and a population of 1,067,177 (2015). Its capital is Cap-Haïtien.
History Taino Period
The depa ...
, served by
Hugo Chávez International Airport
Hugo or HUGO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese
* Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback
* Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on a ...
and the
Port international du Cap-Haïtien. The eastern boundary includes
Fort Liberté, the capital of the
Nord-Est (department)
Nord-Est ( French) or Nodès ( Haitian Creole; both meaning "North-East") is one of the ten departments of Haiti, located in northern Haiti. It has an area of , making it the smallest of all the departments. It had an estimated population of 393,9 ...
, which is one of the oldest cities in the country and where Haiti's independence was proclaimed. The protected area is also directly adjacent to the 'Parque Nacional Manglares de Estero Balsa' in the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
, near the city of '
San Fernando de Monte Cristi
San Fernando de Monte Cristi is the capital town of Monte Cristi Province in the Dominican Republic. It is located in the northwest region of the country in a coastal area above the border with Haiti.
History
Monte Cristi was founded by Nicolà ...
', as well as national parks 'Parque Nacional Submarino de Monte Cristi', Parque Nacional el Morro'. marine refuge 'Cayos Sietes Hermanos' and wildlife refuge 'Laguna Saladilla'.
Ecology
The area contains some of the most extensive and healthiest
fringing and barrier
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.
C ...
s,
seagrass beds, and
mangrove forests in the country, which provide critical coastal protection and
ecosystem services
Ecosystem services are the many and varied benefits to humans provided by the natural environment and healthy ecosystems. Such ecosystems include, for example, agroecosystems, forest ecosystem, grassland ecosystems, and aquatic ecosystems. ...
for its seaside communities. The area is biologically productive but extremely overfished by many regional communities. The adjoining coastal plains are known for their diverse aquatic and brackish water habitats and
dry tropical forests.
History
The region is also of historical importance having witnessed centuries of human history dating from pre-Columbian times and indigenous
Taino occupations, to the arrival of
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
* lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo
* es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón
* pt, Cristóvão Colombo
* ca, Cristòfor (or )
* la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
and the sequence of world-altering events through Spanish and French colonization and the
Haitian Revolution. The mountaintop fortress of the
Citadelle Laferrière
The Citadelle Henry Christophe , or simply the Citadelle ( en, Citadel), is a large early 19th-century fortress situated on the Bonnet à l'Evêque mountaintop in Nord, Haiti. The imposing structure is located approximately south of the city of ...
, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
located approximately southwest, provides a birds-eye view of the Three Bays Protected Area.
Conservation
This
IUCN Category IV — Habitat/Species Management Area was created by Presidential Decree on March 21 (2014) to protect its unique marine complex of fringing and barrier coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangrove forests, and adjacent deep ocean and coastal plain.
[ It is the first protected area in the country to be co-managed between the ''Agence Nationale des Aires Protégées'' (ANAP) of the Ministry of the Environment and the non-governmental/non-profit organization ''Fondation pour la Protection de la Biodiversité Marine'' (FoProBiM).
File:Le Moniteur (21 Mars 2014)- Creation Aire Protegee des Trois Baies.pdf, Le Moniteur (21 Mars 2014)- Creation Aire Protegee des Trois Baies
File:Sun-dried fish in Caracol.jpg, Sun-dried fish in Caracol, Nord-Est
File:Three Bays Protected Area on the horizon.jpg, Three Bays Protected Area on the horizon (from ]Citadelle Laferrière
The Citadelle Henry Christophe , or simply the Citadelle ( en, Citadel), is a large early 19th-century fortress situated on the Bonnet à l'Evêque mountaintop in Nord, Haiti. The imposing structure is located approximately south of the city of ...
)
References
{{Reflist
External links
* Henwood W.D., Aucoin, S., and Turner M. (2017) The Protected Area of Managed Natural Resources of the Three Bays. Management Plan 2017–2027
Fondation pour la Protection de la Biodiversité Marine (FoProBiM)
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US.
Founded in 1951, The Nat ...
(TNC) and The National Agency of Protected Areas (ANAP), Haiti. 155 p.
National parks of Haiti
Marine protected areas