Description

The Oyster Lagoon National Natural Park (PNN-LDH), an attractive natural space, is a reserve of marine and terrestrial biodiversity with an area of 9,640 hectares and a perimeter of 65 km². It is mainly composed of dry forest belonging to the municipalities of Belle-Anse and Grand-Gosier. Part of its continental platform reaches 200 meters below sea level where a large population of oysters lives. Declared a National Park on April 6, 2017, the area has several cultural and ecotourism sites such as the Pichón waterfall, the Oyster Lagoon and the Canga cave.  

The Oyster Lagoon National Park was inventoried by the National Agency for Protected Areas (ANAP) in 2004 for its ecological, tourist, cultural and scientific potential. 

Biodiversity

As one of the mains Haiti’s biodiversity hotspots, the Oyster Lagoon National Park, with its twenty-one lagoons, forms a particular ecosystem. The Pichón waterfall is made up of a dozen waterfalls, each one more impressive than the next. The flora and fauna of the park are very diverse, it is home to a dry forest dominated by long-thorn kiawe (Prosopis juliflora), many animal species such as the greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus), and the ricord’s ground iguana (Cyclura ricordi) that it is endemic to the island; in Laguna de la Ostra, its varieties of red (Rhizophora mangle), gray (Avicennia germinans) and white (Laguncularia racemosa) mangrove trees dominate; and the Pichon waterfall, home to the only stable spring in the city of Belle-Anse. The various natural areas of the Oyster Lagoon National Park serve as a refuge for about forty species of animals and plants classified on the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) such as: the ricord’s ground iguana (Cyclura ricordi), he greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus), the pigeon simple (Patagioena sinornata), semipalmated sandpiper (Calidris pusilla), white-necked crow (Corvus leucognaphalus) and the holywood (Guaiacum sanctum). 

Ecotourism potential

The Oyster Lagoon National Park has undeniable ecotourism potential. Whether through the spectacular parade of flamingos, its mangrove forest, its lagoons, the Pichon waterfall and its coastline, the park has something that attracts visitors. In the different spaces of the park, people organize endless socio-cultural activities such as the Pichon agro-artisanal fair, the fishing “madness” and the fun days traditionally organized at Laguna de la Ostra to attract the attention of visitors and offer economic opportunities for the local population.