From January 2, 2026, and for at least two years, Céline Frémaux holds the position of curator of the Saint-Martin National Nature Reserve (RNN)A position that, at first glance, might seem far removed from her initial career path. A graduate in humanities and holder of a doctorate in architectural historyshe begins her career at CNRS and inventoried the cultural heritage of several French regions. In 2010, she moved to French Guiana, where she stayed for ten years.
“My career path is quite atypical,” she admits. Yet, listening to her, a common thread emerges: the history and protection of territories. In GuyanaHer work on heritage led her to take an interest in the traces left by populations since pre-Columbian times. She then turned to the management of protected areas, with a conviction that would never leave her:Protecting nature also means protecting the traces and history of ancestral populations.".
In the Guiana National Reserve, the third largest in France, she works as a curator at better integrate the history of populations who have lived there for centuries, in order to make certain regulations more acceptable.
A new territory, new challenges
In Saint-Martin, the scenery changes. A smaller reserveCertainly, but primarily maritime, one of Céline Frémaux's passions, who spent five years sailing alone, island-hopping in the Caribbean. Her first major project will be theten-year evaluation of the reserve management planimplemented in 2018, before the next plan is drawn up, who must to come into effect in 2028. A task she has already undertaken in French Guiana and which will have to be done with the reserve teams, but also with the inhabitants, maritime professionals, associations and institutions.
The issues that weigh on protected areas the responsibilities of Saint-Martin extend well beyond the sole competences of the RNN. Water sanitation, waste management or grounding of Sargassum: complex situations that depend on different actors and require collective work to limit their impact on the reserve. Actions already undertaken include the development of a nursery to promote mangrove restoration in the Salines d'Orient, a collaboration with Verde Sxm to replant local species on the edge of the landfill of Grandes Cayes, or even the Upcoming deployment of the new mooring park to protect the seagrass beds.
Ambitions for the next two years
For Céline Frémaux, two ecosystems must be protected as a priority in Saint-Martin: the mangrove and the coral reefBoth play a vital role in protecting the territory from storm surges and the effects of climate change. She states: “Protecting these ecosystems means protecting humans.”
In two years, at the end of her contract, she hopes to have successfully implemented the reserve's new management plan, with a simple ambition: to make nature conservation a project more widely shared by those who live in the area. _DR
Info: https://reservenaturelle-saint-martin.com
