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Back in April of 2020, it was now-former Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality Carola Schouten who presented the “Natuur- en milieubeleidplan Caribisch Nederland 2020-2030” (or the Nature and Environmental Policy Plan, NEPP) to the Dutch House of Representatives for the protection of nature in the Caribbean Netherlands. This month, a bit under two years later, budgets have been approved and the plans have been included in the new cabinet’s governmental term. On top of a structural annual budget of €30 million a year, over €35 million will additionally be made available for the implementation of the NEPP over the coming years.
Good news for nature and environment
Naturally, the allocation of these considerable budgets and amounts to the protection of the natural environment of the Dutch Caribbean region has been applauded by local and international organizations. Both the Dutch Caribbean Nature Foundation (DCNA), the non-profit organization in charge of national parks on all six Dutch Caribbean islands, and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-NL) are pleased with the news, as nature on the Dutch Caribbean islands has been hit hard over the past years and decades.
“We are extremely grateful that ten million has been reserved in the budget for strengthening the management of nature parks on Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius,” said Tadzio Bervoets, director of Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance, in reaction to the news, “This shows once again the importance that parks have in preserving nature on and around our islands. Hopefully this will lead to a long-term and structural reinforcement of the nature parks, not only in the Caribbean Netherlands, but also in the future for Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten.”
On land and under water
The inclusion of the Nature and Environmental Policy Plan 2020-2030 in the total budget for the coming governmental term of the recently installed cabinet Rutte IV in the European Netherlands is a major step in the right direction as far as nature preservation in the Caribbean Netherlands is concerned. Over the years, the islands’ natural environment has been suffering due to a multitude of pressures, from land erosion and increased construction to reef decline as a result of pollution and climate change. Considering the importance of a healthy natural environment for the human and economic wellbeing on the islands in the Dutch Caribbean, the approval of the NEPP did not come a moment too soon.
“With this money, serious steps can be taken to protect vulnerable biodiversity,” says Arjan de Groene, Landscape Coordinator of the Caribbean Netherlands, for WWF-NL, “We are happy to work with the Minister and the local administrators and organizations on a proper implementation of this budget. It would be great if we can have a conversation about this in the short term.”
The basis for this article was originally published on www.divecuracao.info in February 2022.
