5 Legislation, Standardization and Enforcement

 

6 Cooperation

 

7 Funding

7.1 Introduction
7.2 Central Government
7.3 Dutch development cooperation funds
7.4 Other donor funds and external funding
7.5 Private sector
7.6 Total funding

8 Implementation

8.1 Input
8.2 Organization and implementation procedures
8.3 Time Planning
8.4 Budget
8.5 Relevant Government Measures
8.6 Schedule of activities

9 Monitoring and Evaluation
10 Footnotes
11 References
12 List of Acronyms

5 Legislation, Standardization and Enforcement

ACTIONS

Illegal discharge of sewage in the ocean

Through National Legislation of February 9, 1998, a new paragraph was added to the Island Regulation of the Netherlands Antilles (Eilanden-regeling Nederlandse Antillen, ERNA). In article 2, paragraph e, section 10 of the Island Regulation of the Netherlands Antilles (ERNA. 1998), the central government’s environmental task now reads as: “the management of the environment and the management and conservation of nature, as they derive from treaties.”

Based on this amendment of the relationship between island governments and central government, the National Environment Ordinance (Landsverordening Grondslagen Milieubeheer) and the National Nature Conservation Ordinance (Landsverordening Grondslagen Natuurbeheer) were drafted.
National Environment Ordinance.

To adequately deal with the management of the environment in the Netherlands Antilles, it is necessary to establish the framework within which activities impacting the environment are acceptable. Basic premise is that adequate environmental management and policy can only be possible as the result of a joint sense of responsibility of the central and the island governments. This means that policy as well as policy implementation should have broad administrative support.

Draft National Environmental Policy Plan

The National Environment Ordinance also implements several Conventions to which the Netherlands Antilles is party or which it is intending to ratify. These are:

The National Environment Ordinance is ready for approval by the legislature.

Continued development of en-vironmental standards and regulations

Promote drafting of island environmental policy plans and ordinances

Promote better enforcement of environmental legislation

• The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD, or Biodiversity Convention), with its objective of conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use thereof, and a fair and equitable sharing of the expertise and benefits coming from the use of genetic resources. It seeks furthermore to ensure access to genetic resources and the exchange of relevant technology. In addition this Convention has an important financial instrument for its implementation, which is the Global Environmental Facility.
• The Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES), Washington, United States, March 3, 1973 (Trb. 1975, 23). This Convention regulates the trade of species which are listed in its three appendices, using a strict system of permits as instrument.
• The Convention on Migratory Species, (CMS or Bonn Convention). Parties to this convention have agreed to protect endangered migrating species which are listed in its Appendix I. Regional Agreements should be established for species listed on Appendix II.
• The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention), seeking the protection of wetland areas of international importance, which are listed under the Convention. Ramsar areas can also be coral reef areas.
• The Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) Protocol of the Cartagena Convention, which regulates several regional nature management issues, such as the obligation to protect nature areas in the marine and coastal area and the protection of species.
• The Inter-American Convention for the Protection and conservation of Sea-Turtles (IAC) which strives for the protection, management and recovery of the populations of all sea-turtle species present in the surrounding waters of the American Continent.
  
  

Promote island’s compliance with national nature conservation ordinance

6 Co-operation

As a group of small islands sustainable development cannot be achieved without cooperation, whether it be internally, between the islands, or externally, within the region, within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, or globally. On the one hand, the small scale of the islands translates into a lack of capacity and/or funding that can only be addressed by cooperation. On the other hand, environmental problems are typically not bound by borders and cooperation is essential to address them adequately. In addition environmental and nature conservation policy should be optimally integrated with related policy fields.

 

Continued cooperation with island focal points

Maintain and foster the NANCIweb communication network

Working relationship with CARMABI

Continued cooperation with LNV and VROM

 Under the WW2BW initiative (see below) the Netherlands Antilles in 2004 entered into a partnership with the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management (V&W), which will assist MINA in preparing a proposal to the IMO to establish the Saba Bank as a PSSA.

Regionally, the Cartagena Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean is the only multilateral environmental agreement. It is an instrument of the Caribbean Environment Program (CEP), one of the Regional Seas Programs of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). In 1984 the Netherlands Antilles was only the second country (after the USA on month earlier) to ratify the Cartagena Convention; ever since it has continued to take a leading role in this regional cooperative agreement. There are three protocols under the convention, which each address a specific area of environmental concern: the Oil Spill Protocol, the Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) Protocol, and the Land Based Sources of Marine Pollution (LBS) Protocol.

Cooperation with the Dutch Ministry of V&W

 

Continued participation in Oil Spill RAC/REMPEITC Steering Group

Continued active participation in the SPAW activities

Continued active participation in the LBS Protocol

Continued active participation in the IAC

 Promote nomination of Southern Caribbean Island Group as WHS

 

Continued participation in the ICRI

Finally, the Netherlands Antilles is also party to a number of global treaties addressing various aspects of pollution, i.e. the Montreal Protocol or CFC protocol, The London Dumping Convention, and the Marine Pollution Protocol (Marpol).

 

Reporting to CMS and Ramsar

Continued implementation of CITES

7 Funding

7.1 Introduction

The financial, human, and information resources necessary to realize the objectives of this policy plan are only available to a limited degree. With external financial support and great effort by many, a lot has already been accomplished. Such support has proven to be indispensable and for the planning period of this document will continue to be necessary.

Considering the estimated budget available for environmental activities as part of the national Sustainable Economic Development (SED) Program activities, a strict selection of activities was made that is considered a bare minimum to be able to execute activities and meet the objectives and set targets.

The central government is in principle limited to activities that conform to the responsibilities set out in the Island Regulations Netherlands Antilles (ERNA), i.e. formulate nature conservation and environmental policy based on the requirements of multilateral environmental agreements or treaties, and inspect the compliance of the islands with such policies. The Dutch development cooperation funding correspondingly limits it’s funding to activities conforming to the tasks set out in the ERNA. Nevertheless, some of the environmental activities set out in this policy plan infringe on the tasks assigned to the island governments. These activities are considered part of the central government’s task to foster, direct, and coordinate island efforts. Without such activities to stimulate policy implementation, policy would be nothing more than words on paper. A case in point is the “National Exploration of the State of the Environment” described elsewhere in this policy plan. Although essential to identify gaps and priority attention areas, such an exploration necessarily consists of separate explorations on each of the islands, and as such it is an island task not eligible for funding from the National SED Program means.

7.2 Central Government

Sustainable development, hence environmental care and nature conservation, have achieved a more prominent position in government policies over the past years. Both central and island governments each have their own responsibilities with respect to environmental and nature conservation management and have duly allocated financial resources. The Netherlands Antilles has in the past afforded the subject a modest position in its budget, but in the present distribution of financial resources even those modest means have been reduced to a level where they are insufficient. Especially considering that there is still a lot of past neglect to overcome. The central gov-ernment does have a well-functioning, though understaffed, department of environment and nature conservation, indicating a willingness on the part of the Antillean government to address this issue. Alas, the budget of the central government with respect to environment and nature conservation has not developed according to the prognosis in the original Contours of Environmental and Nature Conservation Policy. Acknowledging the general urgency to limit spending, the activities resulting from this policy plan are planned under the assumption that the available budget will not change significantly over the coming period.

A small part (± NAƒ 100,000 yearly) of the budget of the Directorate of Public Health is available as budget for environmental and nature conservation policy. In addition the Directorate of Public Health provides for the fixed expenses, management, salaries, and maintenance costs of MINA, a total yearly amount of ± NAƒ 375,000. The total of central government funding for the coming four years is thus estimated to be NAƒ 1.9 million.

7.3 Dutch development cooperation funds

A major source of financial support will be the development cooperation funding of the Dutch Government, as part of the funding available for “sustainable economic development”.

This consists of the share of the Central Government of the available Dutch development funding that has to be ‘divided’ among the nature & environment policy plan and the economic development program. The anticipated donor funds from The Netherlands Government supporting both programs of the Central Government are derived from:

• The total available funds for development cooperation (annual some 40 million euro) in the coming four years;
• A 50% share for sustainable economic development;
• A division over the Island Territories and the Central Government as proposed in the Wijers-report;
• For the Central Government this share is 10%, which equals an estimated total of NAƒ 18 million for the coming four years;
• It needs to be taken into account, that costs of projects (supported by development funds and not included in this program) that are already in execution will form a part of the determined donor budget; these projects in general already contribute to the policy targets and effects of the program, but however limit the budget for new activities and will make the setting of further priorities necessary.

The current estimates for the anticipated Dutch donor funds are 9 million NAFL for the environmental program and 12.7 million NAFL for the economic program. For the difference between the total amount (21.7 million) and the available budget (18 million), extra efforts will be undertaken to find other sources.

It was however found desirable to agree upon an a-priori division of the available 18 million of Dutch development funds over the two programs. After exclusion of the budgets for the SENTER and credit insurance incentives (where these arrangements go directly to the private sector), 57% of the remaining Dutch Development funds will become available for the economic program and 43% for the nature and environment plan.

7.4 Other donor funds and external funding

On an international level (United Nations) it is acknowledged that developing countries lack sufficient means to care for their environment and nature conservation adequately. To furnish at least part of the necessary means a number of international funding agencies have been established, such as the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The Netherlands Antilles however, are not eligible for funding from such international sources, because globally the Netherlands Antilles, as part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, is considered to be a developed country. The United Kingdom, faced with a similar “sent from pillar to post” problem for their “neither fish nor fowl” overseas territories, subsequently established its own substitute fund specifically for environmental projects in its overseas territories based on socalled ‘environmental charters’ with each territory. A similar approach might well be worth considering for the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Other possible sources of financing include EU funding mechanisms (average annual flow of European Development Fund to the Netherlands Antilles between 1986 and 1999 was NAƒ 7.2 million) and some international organizations. There are several funding sources available for projects implemented by NGOs or private sector. Two ‘funding handbooks’ were published by MINA to provide an overview of such sources^31,32. MINA will continue to alert the network of environmental organizations when funding opportunities arise. In addition the KNAP and MINA Funds can fund small environmental projects

The islands remain responsible for funding their own environmental activities and should allocate sufficient funds for that on their budgets. The islands too however, are constrained by lack of means. This makes it even more important that the priority themes in this policy plan, which have been carefully selected in close cooperation with the islands, are reflected where possible in the island budgets, so that both island and central government spending on environment is directed in unison. Development policy in the Netherlands Antilles also requires any projects applying for funding from the cooperative means to be evaluated on whether they fit in the national framework.

Where possible and relevant, MINA will undertake joint activities with the islands and accordingly contribute financially. Such activities will be reflected in the year plans, which specify in detail the activities to be started each year, including detailed budgets. MINA can also provide assistance in the drafting of plans, legislation and corresponding budgets for environment or nature conservation.

The amount of anticipated funds from other donors and external funding (estimated NAƒ 665,000 for four years) consist of the following sources:

• International funding organizations, i.e. the US National Fish & Wildlife Fund (NFWF) and the International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN) that support coral reef conservation programs;
• Dutch ‘sister’ ministries, i.e. Agriculture, Nature Conservation and Food Safety (LNV), and Public Housing, Planning and environment (VROM) that support nature conservation and environmental incentive programs, in this case the KNAP and the MINA Funds
• Private sector and NGO sponsoring for volunteer coral reef monitoring programs

7.5 Private sector

For some activities a user or a polluter will be charged directly or indirectly by way of a levy system, to support the necessary management system. This not only refers to fees for entrance to nature areas, for waste disposal, or for CITES permits, but also, for instance, to environmental inspections of large or complicated companies. Revenues generated with such mechanisms must then again benefit the environment or nature conservation.

Over the period covered by this NEP Plan no specific levies or funding from private sector parties is foreseen. Fees for CITES permits , expected to be levied by the Central Government during the coming period, will all go to the general means.
As part of the efforts of increasing public support and cooperation with partners from society, subsidies can be granted in the future. To prevent long term dependency of subsidized organizations and to insure we “get our money’s worth”, subsidy policy will be result oriented, requiring tangible results and a project-based approach. Subsidy policy will be formulated in close consultation with the Directorate of Finance, and other departments, services and research organizations

8 Implementation

8.1 Input

The inputs that are needed for each of the activities within the scope of this environmental and nature conservation policy plan are indi-cated in the various policy documents and white papers addressing specific themes. Four policy advisors work together to implement the tasks set in this policy plan. A small part (± NAƒ 100,000 yearly) of the budget of the Directorate of Public Health is available as budget for environmental and nature conservation policy. In addi-tion the Directorate of Public Health provides for the fixed expenses, management, salaries, and maintenance costs for MINA, a total yearly amount of ± NAƒ 375,000.

There are two incentive funds: the Fund for Small Nature Conserva-tion Projects Netherlands Antilles (KNAP Fund), and the Environ-mental Fund Netherlands Antilles (MINA Fund) that provide grants for environmental and nature conservation organizations, neighbor-hood organizations, private sector, etc. to implement projects of their own conception that fit within the scope of this policy plan.

Implementation of this policy plan will be in cooperation with cen-tral and island government departments/services, NGO’s, private nature conservation organizations, related Dutch ministries, the pri-vate sector, the educational sector, the media, and neighborhood or-ganizations.

A source of some concern for the future is the extremely limited lo-cal availability of capacity for the many tasks in the field of envi-ronmental and nature conservation. Various islands have had diffi-culty in filling vacancies for academically qualified professionals in their environmental departments. NGOs also find it difficult or even impossible to find qualified local applicants for positions such as Park Manager. There appears to be a paucity of academic level edu-cated Antilleans with expertise or affinity for environmental areas. Nor does it seem that there is a next generation of such professionals coming. This is a dangerous situation if the islands are to achieve sustainable development. In the present situation there is already insufficient capacity to deal with all the environmental issues that need attention; any additional vacancy in the environmental de-partments of either the central government or the islands, would be quite serious. An effort must be made to promote environmental studies more, to stimulate students to specialize in environmental fields, and subsequently to stimulate them to practice their profes-sion in the Netherlands Antilles. MINA can play a small role in this by coaching interns within the limits of its capacity, but at present there seems to be no local interest in such internships.

8.2 Organization and implementation procedures

For the implementation of the first Policy Plan, “Contours of Envi-ronmental and Nature Conservation Policy” a coordinating mecha-nism was set up for the spending of the cooperative means of BVK, the so-called BOM team (Bestedingen Overleg Milieu—Environment Spending Consultation). This operating procedure, tailored on the principle that bureaucracy should be reduced to a minimum—though not at the expense of financial transparency—proved to be an effective tool. It would seem obvious then to continue this proce-dure in the new planning period, and a similar mechanism is strongly recommended.

8.3 Time Planning

A tentative outline of the planning of the main themes and subjects is provided in the table on page 44. The activities listed are general, providing room for sub activities that will be specified in detail in the year plans. Every year the activities will be evaluated and a de-tailed schedule and budget of the activities for the upcoming year will be prepared

8.4 Budget

A detailed budget with an exact listing of activities over a four year period is difficult to predict and calculate with any exactness. Con-sequently the activity schedule on the next page is only indicative of the costs. For activities falling under ‘implementation of the Nature Policy Plan’, the estimates have been taken from the Nature Policy Plan when available. Other estimates have been based on experience from the implementation of previous policy plans.

This schedule should not be seen as any more than a general indica-tion of the total budget with a rough indication of intended activi-ties. Every year an activity plan will be made with a detailed list of specific activities tuned to the available capacity and tailored to most effectively achieve the goals for each of the priority themes of this four-year Environmental and Nature Conservation Policy Plan. A corresponding, more detailed budget will be presented for each of those activities where possible. When the activity is actually ready to start the costs will be carefully actualized.

The cost indications in this schedule only comprise direct costs, i.e. not including salaries and overhead costs provided by the Director-ate of Public Health.

8.5 Relevant Government Measures

The Government is working on the structural implementation or the intentions of the Environment and Nature Conservation Policy Plan. Draft legislation and policy plans are being formulated, some of which have already been passed. Where possible the principle of ‘the polluter pays’ is taken into account. Thus, the models for island waste management ordinances and waste water ordinances provide mechanisms to charge for public services. The National Environ-ment Ordinance, now in the final stages of procedure before it can be passed, like the National Nature Conservation Ordinance, pro-vides time limits within which the islands must pass required island legislation and establish island policy plans.

8.6 Schedule of Activities

9 Monitoring and Evaluation

This four-year environmental policy plan sets down the intentions of the central government for the coming four years. Year plans will be prepared every year that will include the activities of the central government, and if available of the island governments as well. As the year plan is prepared the progress of the various ongoing or con-cluded activities that year will also be reported.

In order to accurately measure the actual progress achieved by pro-jects, output and effect indicators are necessary. It is however, not always possible to formulate precise effect indicators where effects are often qualitative changes in awareness for instance, instead of readily quantifiable entities. In this four-year environment plan that often does not discuss specific activities but rather presents the framework within which activities are further specified each year, we were unable to define effect indicators everywhere. In the year plans however, where possible, effect indicators will be defined for each project or activity, or derivative effect indicators will be substi-tuted that can provide a measure of the true effect.

One of the difficulties in defining effect indicators is often the lack of exact data about the existing, or baseline, situation. When, for exam-ple, it is unknown what percentage of the population is actually supportive of environmental conservation and why, or what per-centage of eutrophied groundwater is polluting the sea, it is of course impossible to say that an activity will improve either existing situation by so many percentage points. First it is necessary to estab-lish a baseline, and that requires a major survey. Such a ‘State of the Environment’ survey will be started in the coming period and will provide a quantitative overview of the present state of the environ-ment in the Netherlands Antilles as well as provide quantitative data on how people perceive the environment. It will be preceded by the drafting of detailed terms of reference. The first year plan stem-ming from this policy plan will describe this survey in more detail.

10 Footnotes

31. “Handboek Fondsen voor Natuur Nederlandse Antillen.” Section Environment and Nature Conservation, Dept. Public Health and Environmental Hygiene, March 1999;

32. “Handboek Fondsen voor Milieu en Energie Nederlandse Antillen.” Section Environment and Nature Conservation, Dept. Public Health and Environmental Hygiene, March 1999.

11 References

The following documents are all available at the Dept. of Environment and Nature Conservation of the Directorate of Public Health.

 

Begroting en Financieringsplan voor de beheerskosten van belangrijke natuurgebieden

van de Nederlandse Antillen. Report of the working group established at the National Nature Forum 2000, December 2000.

Contouren van het Milieu- en Natuurbeleid Nederlandse Antillen, 1996–2000.

Department of Public Health and Environmental Hygiene, Wil-lemstad, September 1996.

Living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic, Vol. 1. FAO Species

dentification Guides for Fishery Purposes. FAO, 2002

Handboek fondsen voor milieu en energie Nederlandse Antillen. Department of Public

Health and Environmental Hygiene, Willemstad, March 1999.

Handboek fondsen voor natuur Nederlandse Antillen. Department of Public Health

and Environmental Hygiene, Willemstad, March 1999.

Monitoring the Saba Bank Fishery. Department of Public Health and Environmental

Hygiene, Willemstad, Oktober 2000.

Myers et al, 2000. Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities,

Nature Vol. 403

Natuurbeleid van de Nederlandse Antillen – Aan de dageraad van een nieuw

millennium, 2001-2005. Department of Public Health and Envi-ronmental Hygiene, Willemstad februari 2000.

Nota Duurzaam Toerisme voor de Nederlandse Antillen. Department of Public Health

and Environmental Hygiene, Willemstad augustus 1998.

Raamwerk van het Afvalbeleid van de Nederlandse Antillen. Department of Public

Health and Environmental Hygiene, Willemstad oktober 1997.

Verslag Nationale workshop Duurzame Ontwikkeling. Department of Public Health

and Environmental Hygiene, Willemstad November 1999.

Voortgangsrapportage van de Contouren van het Milieu- en Natuurbeleid

Nederlandse Antillen, 1996 – 2000. Department of Public Health and Environmental Hygiene, Willemstad april 1999.

12 List of Acronyms

AMUST: Joint Waste Management and Technology Association [Asosashon

Maneho Uni di Sushi i Tecnologia]

BOM: Environmental Spending consultation [Bestedingen Overleg Milieu]
BVK: Dutch Ministry of Government Reform and Kingdom Relations

[Ministerie voor Bestuurlijke Vernieuwing en Koninkrijksrelaties]

CARMABI: Caribbean Research and Management of Biodiversity Institute
CBD: Convention on Biological Diversity
CEP: Caribbean Environment Program
CFC: Chloro-Fluoro-Carbon [Chloor Fluor Koolstof - CFK]
CLC: Civil Liabilities Convention
CO2: Carbon Dioxide
DCNA: Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance
ERNA: Eilandenregeling Nederlandse Antillen

[Island Regulation Netherlands Antilles

FAO: Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
FAPE: Antillean Foundation for Energy [Fundashon Antiyano Pa Energia]
GCRMN: Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network
GEF: Global Environment Facility
IAC: Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea-Turtles
ICRI: International coral Reef Initiative
IMO: International Maritime Organization
IUU: Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported
KNAP Fund: Fund for Small Nature Projects [Fonds voor Kleine NAtuurProjecten]
LBS: Land-Based Sources of Marine Pollution
LNV: Dutch Ministry of Agriculture and Nature Conservation

[Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit]

MARPOL 73/78: International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from

Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto

MINA: Dept. of Enviroment & Nature Conservation [Afdeling Milieu & Natuur]
MINA Fund: Environmental Fund Netherlands Antilles

[Milieufonds Nederlandse Antillen]

MPA: Marine Protected Area
NACRI: Netherlands Antilles Coral Reef Initiative
NEP: Nature & Environment Policy
NGO: Non-Governmental Organization
OPRC: Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation
PSSA: Particularly Sensitive Sea Area
RAC: Regional Activity Center
Ramsar: Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance
REMPEITC: Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Information and Training

Center of the IMO

SIDS: Small Island Development States
SPAW: Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife
STAC: Scientific and Technical Advisory committee
STIRANA: National Foundation for Disaster Preparedness

[Stichting Rampenbestrijding Nederlandse Antillen, 22
Trb: Tractatenboek

UNCED: United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
UNEP: United Nations Environment Program
UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
V&W: Transport, Public Works and Water Management [Verkeer en Waterstaat]
VROM: Public Housing, Planning and environment

[Volkshuisvesting, Ruimtelijke Ordening en Milieu], (Ministry of)

VSO: Ministry of Public Health and Social Development of the

Netherlands Antilles [Volksgezondheid en Sociale Ontwikkeling]

WHS: World Heritage Site,
WSSD: World Summit on Sustainable Development (Rio plus 10)
WW2BW: White Water to Blue Water