Haitian marine biologist received Goldman Environmental Foundation prize

Haitian Marine Biologist receives Environmental Protection Prize for Three Bays National Park

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Haitian Jean Wiener, a marine biologist and teacher, has been given a $175,000 prize from the Goldman Environmental Foundation (GEF) for creating Three Bays National Park along the northern coast of Haiti. As the first marine protected area in Haiti, it will stop over-fishing of the coastal bays of Limonade, Caracol, and Fort Liberté. The park, in existence since 2014, includes a very large mangrove area, sizeable barrier reef, and crucial-to-the-environment sea grass beds.

Wiener, one of six prize winners, was acknowledged by the Goldman Foundation for prevailing over Haiti's poor-nation status and political upheavals to make Three Bays National Park a reality. The park encloses 30,000 square miles that extends from Cap-Haitien to the Dominican Republic border. He has also created the Marine Biodiversity Protection Foundation (FoProBiM) that targets coastal and marine areas for preservation. The U.N. and the U.S. Agency for International Development are funding partners for FoProBiM. FoProBiM engages community organizations to protect Three Bays marine resources from over-fishing, dying coral populations, and destroyed mangrove forests used to make charcoal for cooking.

More needs to be done to effectively protect the northern coast, for although there are strict regulations in place they are not enforced. An inadequate coast guard to monitor Three Bays National Park hardly exists.

It is hoped that the international recognition received for Wiener's Three Bays National Park will encourage more government programs for natural resources protection, as well more environmentalists hired.

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