Mangrove Park Development

The Curaçaoan government has taken a visible step towards converting the mangrove area near the Rif into a park. “The city center of Curaçao has an enormous cultural and historic value and the Rif area is part of this legacy. The construction of the Rif of the future dovetails into the move to create a healthy area for the community of Curaçao and the people who visit our country so they may all enjoy it even more. The Mangrove Park is being converted into an ecological park that local people and tourists can use for walking or canoeing,” the minister said.

The Mangrove Park is located north of the CPA cruise terminal, south of Courtyard Marriott, west of the Bennie Leito swimming pool and east of the Rif Stadium. At the moment the park is very polluted and is being cleaned to eliminate the foul smell hanging in the air and an ever-present plague of mosquitoes.

The work is being carried out in two phases. The first phase is cleaning up and dredging the Mangrove Park. The second phase follows immediately afterward; the necessary installations are put in place to build routes in the waters of the park where canoes can sail, and promenades where people can walk.

It must also be said that mangrove areas are extremely productive ecosystems that provide numerous goods and services to both the marine environment and people. Additionally, mangroves form an important coastal protection element against, for example, hurricanes. The Mangrove Park would, therefore, not only boost tourism in the area but would also form an important barrier for the island against natural disasters.