From Data to Decision-Making and More: Why the Climate Impact Atlas Matters for St. Martin

𝘈𝘯 𝘖𝘱-𝘌𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦’𝘴 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘋𝘳. 𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘰 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘢 𝘉á𝘦𝘻, 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘜𝘚𝘔

The University of St. Martin (USM) welcomes and sincerely thanks MP Sarah Wescot-Williams for her public engagement and thoughtful questions regarding the Climate Impact Atlas and its role in national planning. Such scrutiny is not only appropriate, but also essential. Climate resilience cannot be built behind closed doors, nor can it succeed without informed debate among policymakers, practitioners, and the public.

The Climate Impact Atlas is not an abstract academic exercise. It is a practical, open-access tool co-created by Sint Maarteners, for Sint Maarten, through a partnership between the University of St. Martin (USM), the Ministry of VROMI, the International Panel on Deltas, Coastal Areas and Islands (IPDC), the Prefecture of Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthelemy, the Collectivité de Saint-Martin and Climate Adaptation Services (CAS) in the Netherlands. Its purpose is simple but ambitious: to translate climate data into actionable knowledge that supports better decisions, by government, by communities, and by future generations.

At its core, the Atlas provides evidence-based insights into climate risks facing our island, while also offering a growing database of adaptation options. These options are not prescriptions; they are starting points. They are meant to be studied, debated, refined, and contextualized by stakeholders, community leaders, planners, educators, and elected officials. In this sense, the Atlas, which includes heat and flood risk maps, is a living document, scheduled to be updated regularly and improved for ease of access and usability as new data, local knowledge, and policy priorities emerge.

One of the most significant achievements of the Climate Impact Atlas is that it is open access and multilingual, available in English, Spanish, and French, reflecting the linguistic and cultural reality of St. Martin, both North and South. Equally important, USM deliberately worked with local talent to develop the narratives and stories within the Atlas, ensuring that the science is grounded in lived experience and local context. This is the first open-access climate database produced by Sint Maarteners with USM as a central partner, and that distinction matters.

The question raised by MP Wescot-Williams, how the Atlas will be used in planning, points to a broader opportunity. Tools alone do not create change; institutions and political will do. This is where Parliament and Government have a critical role to play. With formal endorsement from Members of Parliament and the Government of St. Martin, the Climate Impact Atlas can be systematically disseminated across all high schools, science programs, and vocational and tertiary education pathways. Doing so would embed climate literacy and data-driven thinking at the heart of national development.

More broadly, this moment invites a renewed recognition of the University of St. Martin as a key development partner for the entire island—North and South. Universities are not ivory towers; they are engines of socio-economic, scientific, and cultural development. USM and its research center have demonstrated that they can convene local and international expertise, generate policy-relevant data, and translate global knowledge into locally grounded solutions—not only for climate adaptation, but for challenges ranging from disaster risk reduction and environmental management to public health, education, and sustainable economic development.

Government does not need to look abroad first for solutions. Increasingly, it can look to USM.

This local capacity becomes even more important in light of recent developments within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The landmark legal victory of Greenpeace and the people of Bonaire against the Dutch state underscores a growing legal and moral obligation: the Netherlands must become more proactive in securing a climate-proof future for residents of the entire Caribbean part of the Kingdom. That responsibility cannot be fulfilled without credible local data, regional collaboration, and strong institutions on the ground. The Climate Impact Atlas positions Sint Maarten to be part of that broader conversation—not as a passive recipient of policy, but as a contributor of knowledge.

For this reason, Parliament, Government, and the press should pay closer attention to what is being produced at the University of St. Martin. Too often, locally generated research remains underutilized, while external consultants are engaged at great cost to tell us what our own scholars and communities already know. The Climate Impact Atlas demonstrates what becomes possible when trust is placed in local institutions and when partnerships are built on mutual respect.

USM stands ready to continue this work—updating the Atlas, expanding the adaptation database, supporting stakeholder engagement, and strengthening climate education across the island. What is needed now is sustained political support, cross-sector collaboration, and a shared commitment to evidence-based governance.

The Climate Impact Atlas is not the end of the conversation. It is the beginning. And with the engagement of Parliament, Government, educators, and communities, it can become a cornerstone of a more resilient, informed, and sustainable future for St. Martin.

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