Grotte Marie-Jeanne, in Port-à-Piment, Haiti, is recognized as the largest cave system in the country and has been the subject of great geological curiosity by numerous speleologists. It extends over 101 meters and is composed of various passages and chambers that, measured together, would reach close to two kilometers. These dimensions pertain only to the area that has been explored. Numerous unexplored passages and entrances may link it to other caves throughout the Port-à Piment plateau.
Protected for centuries by its geographic isolation, it could now become the greatest natural tourist attraction in southern Haiti because of the construction of a new road. Speleologists from the Hoffman Environmental Research Institute and Western Kentucky University have studied the cave system and provided recommendations for the possible use of the site as a tourist attraction. For security reasons, a large part of the cave would not be accessible to ordinary tourists, but the main gallery, which measures close to 14,300 square meters, may easily lend itself for supervised tours. Nevertheless, it must have the necessary structures in place for the safety of the visitors and to protect the cave from the irreparable harm that may be caused by human intervention to the cave system’s physical structure, its fauna and flora.
Grotte Marie-Jeanne’s geological and biological resources may justify declaring it as national park and placing it under the protection of an agency working jointly with the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of the Environment, and the Bureau of Ethnology in order to safeguard its fragile environment. But this is still under discussion. In his article, “Who Will Manage the Grotte Marie-Jeanne?,” Patrice-Manuel Lerebours expresses hope that the municipal authorities of Port-à-Piment and the government agencies dealing with development of tourism and environmental protection will promptly take the necessary steps for the promotion and conservation of Grotte Marie-Jeanne.
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