The Netherlands takes Giant Step in St. Eustatius on Environmental Protecion

St Eustatius
Avatar of Juergen T Steinmetz

Statia –  has taken one giant step toward environmental preservation with a commitment to developing critical environmental protection rules.

St. Eustatius is a small island Caribbean and part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

It’s dominated by the Quill, a dormant volcano. Quill National Park has hiking trails along the ocean and around the volcano, which features a rainforest and many species of orchid. Surrounding the island are narrow beaches of volcanic sand. Offshore, St. Eustatius National Marine Park’s dive sites range from coral reefs to shipwrecks. 

As directed by the central Dutch Government in the capital city The Hague, the Island of St. Eustatius shall include legislation directing businesses to take the necessary steps to protect the environment in the three BES islands. The directive also applies to the rest of the Dutch Caribbean Islands of Saba, and Bonaire, together known as the BES islands.

In response, the island, also as Statia –  has taken one giant step toward environmental preservation with a commitment to developing critical environmental protection rules.

The local Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management has signed a letter of intent to work together to effectively implement the environmental legislation, thus contributing to sustainable economic growth on the island.

“Today, we take one small step for the environment, one giant leap for Statia,” said Deputy Government Commissioner Claudia Toet, mirroring the words of the American astronaut, Neil Armstrong, when he landed on the moon in 1969.

“With the stroke of a pen we continue the journey to a true commitment to our environment, which is in keeping with our vision for a green Statia,” added the Deputy Government Commissioner, who signed on behalf of the Public Entity St. Eustatius.

Director-General of Environmental and International Affairs Roald Lapperre signed on behalf of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.

The Public Entity and the Ministry have concluded that careful implementation of The Hague decree  – which is scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2023 – is important to protect the environment on St. Eustatius, an 8.1 square-mile island in the Caribbean Netherlands. Therefore, they have agreed on an implementation plan aimed at:

a.         supporting the development of defining environmental rules in an Island Ordinance to ensure that environmental goals are compatible with the local situation;

b.         ensuring capacity building within the relevant government departments;

c.         achieving a sustainable level of knowledge transfer on the main tasks required to implement the environmental legislation.

            They have also determined that the business community on Statia must be well informed about the environmental regulations and must be adequately prepared to comply with the rules.   

In this regard, the two sides have also signed a two-year cooperation agreement to establish a system to share information about the environmental legislation with local companies.

It will consist of an information desk and a web portal to provide easily accessible details and advice on the environmental regulations to the businesses.

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management will contribute €50,000 towards the operational costs of the information system and will also contribute to the implementation plan agreed upon in the letter of intent.

About the author

Avatar of Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen Thomas Steinmetz has continuously worked in the travel and tourism industry since he was a teenager in Germany (1977).
He founded eTurboNews in 1999 as the first online newsletter for the global travel tourism industry.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x
Share to...