decree of biotype protection (Grande Anse beach, Îlet à Cabrit, Morel hill). At the request of the municipality and the Departmental Council, the bays of Pompierre and Pain de Sucre were classified by a French law of 2 May 1930 (relative to the protection of the natural monuments and the sites of artistic, historic, scientific, legendary or picturesque character). The Conservatoire du littoral agency has acquired several areas, in particular Grand Ilet and Chameau hill, under the framework of the national program of protection of natural spaces. On 31 December 2010, the open-air garbage dump, an environmental problem for the archipelago for a long time, was closed and replaced by waste sorting. Now, waste is compacted and sent by boat to Guadeloupe to be recycled. Moreover, plastic bags have disappeared from grocers' shops and other businesses on the archipelago. Each municipality helped its inhabitants to change their habits by distributing reusable shopping bags. With these new political measures, les Saintes is more committed to the protection of the environment and its heritage. Terre-de-Haut, created its local Agenda 21. In May 2011, anchorage buoys were installed in the bay of Terre-de-Haut to regulate sailing and decrease uncontrolled anchorages which damage the sea bed. Special guy-wired wind turbines, which could be laid on the ground within forty-five minutes when a hurricane or storm comes, were installed on Terre-de-Bas. In 2007, these seven machines could produce three million kWh a year, allowing Terre-de-Bas, and all the archipelago of les Saintes to be surplus in electricity. Thanks to this, les Saintes can supply electricity to the south of Basse-Terre (Guadeloupe). Demographics The inhospitable relief and the low precipitation do not allow the establishment of agriculture. Few slaves were brought onto these islands. The population is constituted historically by Bretons, Normans and Poitevins who settled on the islands to fish, rather than establish plantation slavery, as elsewhere in the Caribbean. This explains the largely European origin of the Saintois , as islanders are called. In 2017, the population of les Saintes was established as: Terre-de-Haut: 1,532 inhabitants, with a density of population of 255 inhabitants / km2. The number of households is 676. Terre-de-Bas: 1,046 inhabitants, with a density of population of 154 inhabitants / km2. The number of households is 429. The life expectancy is 75 years for men and to 82 years for women. The average number of children per woman is 2.32.