The island's native flora is varied, and better equipped to withstand the dry forest climate and its low rainfall. The island's fauna is also fully dependent on these plant species. It is therefore essential to encourage our native plants to preserve the island's floral and animal biodiversity.
This flora is, however, under threat from the island's roaming goats (around 2,000 to date), which are among the invasive exotic species, each eating up to 15 kg of plant material a day and having up to 8 young a year.
In addition, the introduction of exogenous plants*, often imported from Florida by boat, is also having an impact on our native plant species. On the one hand, some were invasive, and on the other, plant imports introduce numerous exogenous species to the island, some of which are also invasive.
These exogenous plants create the landscape of an imaginary tropical island, lined with palm trees, aloe vera or Central American plants... which in no way reflects our local biodiversity.
ATE has set up its nursery to support local biodiversity and help degraded habitats come back to life.
Through seed collections, we germinate and grow native species in the nursery. Once grown, these seedlings are used to reinforce plant cover or diversify species in weakened ecosystems, during nature workcamps where we need volunteers.
This mission also enables us to improve our knowledge of some of the island's native plant species, which are threatened with extinction (due to their limited distribution over the territory) and hitherto very difficult to germinate, and to develop the best germination methods with a view to their conservation.
Read more: Newsletter N°17 June 2023: P. 9 Article on the germination project, the Crescentia linearifolia.
To highlight native floral species, their characteristics and their strengths, we invite you to download the following documents :
This is a projection of the ideal garden in Saint-Barthélemy, featuring only native plants. Selected according to the needs of a home (shade, physical and visual barrier, wall cladding, green roof, path creation...), they can be used on all types of building.
The species suggested vary according to the location of the building (seaside, limestone, clay), so we suggest the species best suited to these environments.
The ATE offers you this tool to embellish your outdoor spaces with native species, adapted to the island's dry, cyclonic climate. It's also an opportunity to showcase the island's characteristic plants, which tend to be forgotten...
This PDF details the island's native plants and their scientific names, so that you can import them if you need to. We have also used pictograms to highlight the strong points of these species, which are adapted to local climatic conditions: low maintenance, abundant flowering, able to withstand proximity to the sea, exposure to sun or half-shade, evergreen foliage, etc.
It complements the document “Mon Jardin Saint Barth” by providing more details and a wider range of species that can embellish your green spaces.
Would you like to import plants to the island? In order to protect the island's native flora, authorization is required for the import of certain plant species, which are prohibited from entering Saint-Barthélemy. To simplify your collection from port customs, please fill in this form before placing your order.
To find out more: Consult the list of protected plant species.
One of ATE's missions is to issue opinions on land-clearing permit applications. In natural zones and on plots of land in building zones that are still planted with vegetation, ATE agents visit the site, carry out an inventory, geolocate protected species and provide elected representatives with an opinion enabling them to grant or refuse authorization, the aim being to promote native flora wherever possible.
The following are subject to environmental authorization:
Any clearing or felling operation carried out on a plot of land or part of a plot with little or no construction (Annex to Article 24-4 of the French Environment Code);
Any clearing or felling operation carried out in a natural zone delimited by the town planning map.
The following must be declared:
All brushwood clearing operations carried out in a natural zone delimited by the town planning map, or on one of the parcels or parts of parcels shown on the map mentioned in the fourth paragraph of article 24-4, must be declared to the Territorial Environment Agency, unless they involve land less than thirty meters from the dwelling.
These notices aim to limit soil erosion and protect the biological balance of the territory, from the point of view of conserving ecosystems and the animal and plant species they support;
If you have any questions or wish to report pollution, landfill or any other type of nuisance, please contact the Territorial Police using the following form: Environmental nuisance claim form
