On October 16 and 17, an emergency meeting of the protected area management organizations of all the islands was called to discuss the financial situations of the organizations, particularly of St. Maarten and St. Eustatius, the latter having closed from lack of income as of October 1, and St. Maarten on the brink of closing per Nov. 1 from lack of salaries. Delegates from the major nature management organizations of each of the islands, St. Eustatius National Parks Foundation (STENAPA), the Nature Foundation of St. Maarten, the Saba Conservation Foundation, Bonaire’s National Park Foundation STINAPA, and Carmabi (formerly STINAPA) of Curaçao, were present at the meeting.

The meeting discussed the present status, and possible ways of securing external funding, since local funding and revenues are clearly insufficient in all islands, and particularly so in the small islands. For at least a decade now the local situation on all of the islands has been one of general cutbacks and lack of money for everything, and priorities have of necessity been focused on immediate human needs, with nature conservation left outside the sphere of attention. Although perhaps understandable, this is of course a great mistake considering the urgency of preserving the main, if not only, resource of the islands for a sustainable future. It is left to the nature conservation organizations to somehow address the imperative need to find a way to keep nature conservation and the management of protected areas alive. The meeting discussed the current status of the study to establish a Trust Fund for Antillean nature conservation. At the moment additional funding is sought to commission the study since the cost is much higher than originally anticipated. The tendering process has been concluded and a consultant with ample expertise in these matters has been selected, and is ready to start the moment the necessary funding is realized. Regrettably Conservation International, originally having indicated that they would be willing to support the study, just denied the funding proposal. MINA is now waiting for a positive decision of Stichting DOEN and the Dutch Government. The management organizations were unanimous in cautioning that when a trustfund is eventually established, any management criteria set for disbursement of funds must be in accordance with the ‘Budget and Financing Plan for management of important Nature Areas of the Netherlands Antilles’ produced after the Nature Forum of 2000, and must not be dictated solely by potential donors.

It will take time however to establish and capitalize a trust fund, in all probability at least two more years. In the meantime an alternative solution to the present emergency financial situation must be found. Emergency help from the central government of the Netherlands Antilles using cooperative funding from Holland has now run out, and further aid from this source is looking bleak. Positive sounds have come from major Dutch organizations that have indicated they would be willing to help Antillean nature conservation. For this to be realized however, a central receiving organization must come into existence to distribute the funding to the different islands. Although the Antillean nature conservation organizations have been working together closely, regularly meeting in the Nature Forums, this cooperation must be formalized and established as a legal entity. Everyone present at the meeting agreed to this and the objectives and board of such a legal entity, for now named Conservation Initiative Netherlands Antilles (CINA), were then discussed extensively. There was agreement that the organization should only assist the island organizations and not itself be involved in any management activities. Any moneys distributed through the organization would naturally be subject to accepted standards of accountability, something all the island management organizations are familiar with. Basis for any distribution of funds would be the standards as established in the ‘Budget and Financing Plan for management of important Nature Areas of the Netherlands Antilles [in Dutch]’ produced after the Nature Forum of 2000. Additionally it was stipulated that at least 75% of any funding realized by CINA would be used directly for nature management purposes, the remaining 25% to be used for nature conservation in general and a small part for overhead. MINA was mandated by all to take the necessary steps to establish such a foundation. The meeting then unanimously adopted a final declaration to that effect.

Having all the park managers present, the meeting then also discussed the ongoing activities in the parks. It was once more apparent that considering the dire financial situation of St. Eustatius and St. Maarten and the restrictions in staff they face, they are amazingly active and creative in the face of adversity. St. Eustatius established a volunteer program almost two years ago now, which is running exceedingly successful, bringing in volunteers from other countries that pay for the privilege of being allowed to help the park. An impressive list of activities could thus be presented by STENAPA. The Nature Foundation in St. Maarten, unable to deploy a similar volunteer program due to restrictions in lodging possibilities and working space, nevertheless also presented an astounding list of activities. Saba has followed Statia’s example and has also established ties with the “Working Abroad” volunteer program, enabling them to enhance activities. Bonaire’s Stinapa, still relatively secure financially, although also seeing alarming reductions of income, continues to be an example to the region in the management of the Bonaire National Marine Park. Taking the lead in the cooperative efforts of the management organizations it proposed to organize a training meeting for the managers. Carmabi had some questions about the volunteer programs as these bring in a lot of outside help but run the risk of alienating the local population. Statia and Saba replied that they are mindful of this and actively introduce the volunteers to the local community, explaining their work and also involving the local community as much as possible in activities. It does not appear to be a problem in these two islands. Of course it was acknowledged that in Curaçao and Bonaire there is an added barrier of language with Papiamento spoken locally.

The meeting closed in a spirit of optimism, and everyone was very glad to have had a chance to consult with the others again. The situation is bad, and everyone is keeping their fingers crossed for a potential short term solution to be found in Holland, but the spirit of cooperation kept despair at bay.