Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance optimistic
about Nature Trust Fund

Executive Director Kalli De Meyer(at left) and the first Board of DCNA. From left to right: Paul Hoetjes (MINA, non-voting), Janine LeSueur (Saba Conservation Foundation), Nicole Pozas Esteban, Chairperson (STENAPA), Wòti Bakhuis, Vice-chair, (Carmabi), Andy Caballero, Secretary (St. Maarten Nature Foundation) Willem Ferwerda (IUCN-NL). Not in the picture is Elsmarie Beukenboom, Treasurer (STINAPA Bonaire).

Curacao, 21 February 2005 -- Friday February 25 will see the first full board meeting of the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA). DCNA is an alliance of nature conservation and park management organizations of all Antillean islands assisted by the Environment and Nature Department (MINA) of the Ministry of Health and Social Development. The formal launching of the DCNA will also mean that negotiations with the Netherlands government and other potential donors on assuring the future of terrestrial and marine based nature conservations parks in the islands can now go full ahead. DCNA will be establishing a Nature Trust Fund for the Dutch Caribbean, which will consolidate the financial operations of at least one terrestrial and one marine park on each of the islands.

This month representatives of the member organizations of DCNA meeting in Curacao learned that recently a NC-IUCN proposed grant of 1.9 million Euro has been approved for a period of three years for financing the DCNA secretariat and various joint projects of its members. The grant is essential in insuring that DCNA and its members will be able to play a leading role in the Trust Fund negotiations, after Dutch Parliament November last year approved a motion by D66’s Boris Dittrich urging government to support such an initiative. In January DCNA representatives held talks on Curacao with Dutch Minister Thom de Graaf of Kingdom Affairs who promised he would carry out the Dittrich motion. This would consolidate the necessary funding to effectively establish the Trust Fund, while looking for a diverse group of other donors.

A group of consultants has been hired to do a study on the available options for establishing the Trust Fund, which is now in its final stages. According to these consultants finding some local donors will be essential in giving the right signals to the international donors. It was decided by the pre-board meeting that the Trust Fund will be incorporated by the DCNA and that future Trust Fund revenues will be almost equally distributed over the islands according to the following norms: Bonaire and Curacao 21.4 %, Saba and Statia 17.3 % and St. Martin 11.3 %, as long as, contrary to the other islands, it does not establish a land park. The distribution will be recalculated the moment St. Martin establishes a land park, and in the case of Aruba officially joining DCNA. Finally DCNA will soon launch its own website presenting its projects to the larger public.