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THE 1992 INTERNATIONAL OIL POLLUTION COMPENSATION FUND PROTOCOL IN FORCE At last the 1992 Protocol for the Oil Pollution Compensation (IOPC) Fund is in force for the Netherlands Antilles as of 21 December 2005. This fund provides compensation for cleanup and damages caused by oil spills from tankers that exceed the amount provided by the insurance of the tanker in accordance to the Civil Liabities Convention. The IOPC fund also compensates costs incurred by preventing oil spills. The Fund is fed by a small charge on all persistent oils imported over sea by any private or public entity that imports more than 150 000 tonnes of these oils per year. Although oil spills are never a nice experience and we hope none wil ever happen in our areas, at least we can sleep again at night, knowing that our country will not be broke if one would occur (at least not because of the spill). | |||||||||
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SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE (STAC) MEETING OF THE SPECIALLY PROTECTEE AREAS AND WILDLIFE (SPAW) PROTOCOL CONLUDED IN CARACAS See detailed report of this meeting October 13, 2005. On October 8 the 3rd meeting of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) of the Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) Protocol, was concluded in Caracas. Two delegates of the Netherlands Antilles participated in this technical meeting, Paul Hoetjes of MINA, technical focal point for the SPAW protocol, and Anouk Swakhoven as an observer from the Directorate of Foreign Relations (DBB). The main items for this meeting were the guidelines and criteria for listing of protected areas under the SPAW protocol, a draft Marine Mammal Action Plan for the Wider Caribbean, and the work plan for the SPAW program. The Protected Area guidelines and criteria were drafted by an electronic working group over the course of more than a year, and the resulting draft led to two days of very technical discussions, addressing ecological criteria such as connectivity, resilience, naturalness, ecological corridors, etc., management frameworks and what those should entail, cultural and socio-economic criteria. The meeting agreed that cooperation was the objective of a SPAW list of Protected Areas. The Netherlands Antilles highlighted our own DCNA as an example of a cooperative network of PAs, in our case intended to strengthen, build capacity, and fundraise; the strongest PAs helping the weakest. The meeting decided that this was indeed what a Caribbean network of PAs should also strive for. At the suggestion of the Netherlands Antilles a program will be developed to help PAs to comply with the conditions for listing. The Caribbean Conservation Association (CCA) will initiate work on this and also look for funding. The draft Marine Mammal Action Plan (MMAP) also led to long discussions by the meeting. This very comprehensive draft was prepared by an electronic steering group, and then further shaped by a workshop of experts in Barbados last July. It outlines necessary actions to address each of the issues that arise through human interaction with marine mammals and prioritizes them. Several countries however were not ready to accept this document, as they found it too comprehensive, where it should rather be more concise and address particular actions in a clearly defined time frame. They felt the present draft was more of a framework rather than an action plan. It was agreed that the working group should be expanded to include more country representatives, and should then continue its work along the lines discussed at this meeting. After some heated discussion on whether the working group should report back to the Conference of Parties (COP) next year, or to the STAC meeting in two years. In the end there was agreement that they could present a progress report to the COP. The workplan of the SPAW program is growing bigger and bigger as it develops and matures after the protocol came into force in 2000. The work is presently being done by the secretariat (forming part of the UN Environmental Program, UNEP) and the Regional Activity Center for the SPAW Protocol in Guadeloupe, sponsored by France. They work together with various regional and international organizations such as The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle conservation network (WIDECAST), and ICRAN, the International Coral Reef Action Network. As part of this last cooperation the Netherlands Antilles features prominently with the Bonaire National Marine Park chosen as an ICRAN demonstration site, and funding coming from UNEP for both St. Eustatius Marine Park and for a NACRI (Netherlands Antilles Coral Reef Intitiative) coral reef monitoring node, coordinated by MINA. Other work includes the Train the Trainers program for MPAs, the ICRAN Meso-American Reef alliance (MAR), and the Caribbean Marine Protected Area Managers network (CaMPAM), in cooperation with the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute (GCFI). Work is now ongoing to update the Caribbean MPA database and making it web accessible. The RAC has started with the development of guidelines to prevent species from becoming endangered, together with the Island Resource Foundation. The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) produced a legal review for the secretariat of an article of the SPAW protocol addressing exemptions from the species protection obligations of the protocol. It was decided that an electronic working group will be established to develop criteria and guidelines to decide when application of the exemption article is appropriate. Notable agreements of the meeting concerned the application of the reviewed criteria for listing of species on the SPAW annexes. Rather than focusing on species that might be listed while not complying with the criteria as was suggested by one country, the meeting decided to prioritize looking at species not on the list that should be. The meeting also agreed to support work by WIDECAST on organizing and training sea turtle trauma response teams for the region. The Netherlands Antilles could play an important role in this because of a relatively large number of veterinarians in our islands. Of particular interest to the Netherlands Antilles was a presentation by Juan Carlos Fernández of the Fundación Caribe Sur about the intent to propose the Southern Caribbean islands from Los Roques to Curaçao as a transboundary marine World Heritage Site under UNESCO. The Netherlands Antilles informed the meeting that they support this proposal and would welcome joint work on a Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) of the Aves archipelago, together with CI who are highly interested in such a survey, and have some funding for this. The presentation was welcomed by the Venezuelan delegation. They explained that they are ready to take the first step in this process, i.e. to declare Las Aves a national protected area, but would need more biodiversity information for this, thus they welcomed the cooperation proposal from the Netherlands Antilles and CI. The SPAW secretariat also offered technical and scientific assistance for this process. The official final report of the meeting including the recommendations will be available shortly from the CEP-UNEP website: http://www.cep.unep.org
NETHERLANDS ANTILLES PRESENT AT MEETING OF THE LAND-BASED SOURCES OF MARINE POLLUTION (LBS) PROTOCOL See full report by Frank van Slobbe Sep. 26, 2005. The third Interim Scientific and Advisory Committee (ISTAC) meeting for the LBS Protocol was held in Mexico from 22 to 26 August 2005. Paul Hoetjes of MINA was invited as the representative of the Netherlands Antilles and as the National Focal Point of the Caribbean Environment Programme (CEP). Additionally, MINA invited Frank van Slobbe to attend this meeting as representative of Bonaire. Frank van Slobbe recently started working as Policy Advisor at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Government of the Island Territory of Bonaire. Coinciding with the ISTAC meeting a workshop on National Plans of Action NPAs under the UNEP Global Plan of Action (GPA) for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities took place. Frank van Slobbe gave a presentation on the Sewerage and Sanitation System Project on Bonaire. This was a very general review of the design, scope and objectives of the project. This LBS/ISTAC meeting had the following objectives:
Status of the LBS
Protocol. One of the projects presented at the meeting relevant for the Netherlands Antilles is the Caribbean Aqua Net (CAN). This is a project to establish a long-term Water Quality Monitoring Programme for the Wider Carribbean Region to help in the implementation of NPAs regarding coastal environmental quality and ecosystem health. Realizing
this was the driving force that united the Southeast Environmental research
Centre (SERC) of Florida International University (FIU), under the umbrella
of the Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean (AMLC) and
the encouragement of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC)
to embark in the Caribbean Water Assessment Snap Shot (CarWASSH) by
developing links with interested institution and individuals in 21 Caribbean
countries or territories and successfully performing the First Snap
Shot in A total of 121 sites in thee designated ecosystem (coral reefs, seagrass beds and fringe mangrove forests) were sampled in 23 Caribbean countries or territories. Preliminary results were presented in Curacao in June 2005 and also during the ISTAC meeting in Mexico in August 2005. One of the proposed activities is to develop Environmental Quality Indexes for Caribbean coastal waters beginning with a nutrient based Water Quality Index, followed by those for anthropogenic stressors such as trace metals and organics (pesticides, herbicides, etc). Once the programme is well established, additional indexes may be developed for sediment, benthos, fish tissue, etc., Hence a holistic picture of each site may be drawn and incorporated to a GIS. Another proposed activity is to collect and analyze coastal water samples in the Wider Caribbean region periodically and supply the results of the investigations to regional governments and decision-making instances for the timely ratification of the LBS Protocol. The Netherlands Antilles has expressed its high interest in the programme (particularly in the collection of nutrient data along littoral zones) through discussions with Mr. Rudolf Jaffe (Director at the Southeast Environmental Research Centre). Mr. Rudolf has confirmed that it would be possible for them to assist with the programme by limited sampling kids. The limited samples collected can be analyzed free of charge at their laboratory. Conclusion For
the Netherlands Antilles the meeting also provided an update on the
course of action to be undertaken in order to ratify and eventually
accede the LBS protocol. As the Dutch Antilles are in the final phase
of passing legislation through parliament it is crucial that the LBS
protocol targets and guidelines are not disregarded. The latter is essential
when commencing new projects, particularly those projects which directly
or indirectly produce or influence land based sources of pollution.
As a whole, the passing through parliament will and should affect all
Island Territories of the Dutch Antilles. Therefore it is recommended
for the relevant departments (predominantly the environmental departments
but also NGO’s and the private sector) to further prepare and
assess implementation of aspects to the LBS protocol, including the
assessment of potential NPAs as these are recognized as mechanisms for
strengthening and facilitating the LBS Protocol.
NATURE PARKS WORK TOGETHER TO INCREASE EFFECTIVENESS September
20, 2005. Last week staff members of all the nature parks of the
Antillean islands plus Aruba came to-gether in Curaçao for training
in international methods of project management. The training, or-ganized
by the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) with funding from AMFO,
is part of a move towards further professionalization and increased
effectiveness of the joined park organi-zations. It familiarized the
park staff with standardized ways of managing projects, from the first
planning stage to controlling execution and ensuring The DCNA is an umbrella organization established only last year by the protected area manage-ment organizations – the nature park organizations – of all the Antillean islands and Aruba, after careful consideration and planning. Its objective is to support the islands’ park organizations, particularly in capacity building and finding badly needed additional funding sources. The train-ing in Curacao familiarized the parks’ staff members with the system of PRINCE2 (PRojects IN a Controlled Environment), a standardized method of project management that has been adopted by DCNA. This method, promoted by AMFO for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in general, is routinely used by companies in many countries to deal with their projects. The train-ing was given by Robbert Kroon, a consultant of the Galan Group, and was well received by the participants. As Roy Croes, director of the Parke Nacional Arikok in Aruba said: “This training to use sophisticated methods in dealing with nature conservation is an important step towards the further professionalization of our organization”. Kalli De Meyer, director of DCNA and former marine park manager on Bonaire was also satis-fied with the training. “It was a lot of work setting this up but now that I see the interest of all the participants, and their unflagging attention for two days in order to familiarize themselves with this system, I’m really confident that we will be able to use the funding we received from the Dutch Postal Code Lottery very effectively, and generate sufficient trust that they will consider us for further funding.”
Nicole Esteban, manager of St. Eustatius National Parks foundation (STENAPA),
and chair of DCNA added: “This training, and implementing what
we have learned here, will help us a great deal in building credibility
for our Dutch Caribbean nature conservation organizations and this will
definitely help us to ensure that we will be able to continue our essential
work in the future.” She went on to explain that DCNA is presently
working on establishing a “Trust Fund for nature conservation”
in the Dutch Caribbean, “Once this fund is established and sufficiently
large, its revenues will guarantee long term sufficient income for all
the parks to at least be able to main-tain a basic infrastructure for
their continued operations. This will ensure we will not see a repeat
of the 2003 situation when STENAPA was forced to close its doors for
two months for lack of funds, because we were unable to pay salaries.
Showing potential donors that we are professional and responsible organizations
even though we’re understaffed and underfunded, is the best way
to convince them that their money will be used wisely.”
NETHERLANDS ANTILLES ADOPTS CAPTIVE DOLPHINS POLICY August 30, 2005. As a consequence of the discussions and controversy around an intended dolphinarium in St. Maarten, and on the validity of exemptions under the SPAW Protocol for captive dolphin facilities, it was decided that a clear policy with regard to these issues would be beneficial. Last month the Minister of Public Health and Social Development presented a position paper to the council of ministers of the Netherlands Antilles which subsequently adopted this policy on captive dolphin facilities. Below is this short position paper, setting out how the government will deal with such facilities in the future.
Position Paper: Dolphins in Captivity Swimming with dolphins is a popular experience for many people, and over the past decade or so its therapeutic use for autistic children and children suffering from other handicaps has also caught on tremendously. Throughout the Caribbean operators are making use of this popularity by exploiting captive dolphins and establishing more and more facilities providing this opportunity to people. As a consequence there is now a general perception that such facilities are a necessary attraction for a Caribbean island in order to continue to compete effectively in the tourism area, giving rise to ever more captive dolphin facilities, raising the price of dolphins and further stimulating the capture of wild dolphins. The Netherlands Antilles are not immune to these developments and there is presently one such operation on the island of Curaçao and one operation in preparation on the island of St Maarten. At the same time the Netherlands Antilles are party to the Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) Protocol of the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region (Cartagena Convention). Article 11, paragraph 1 of the SPAW protocol obliges parties to fully protect (i.e., to prohibit the taking, possession, killing or trading) specimens of species listed on Annex II, and all Cetaceans—including all dolphins—are listed on this Annex. However, according to article 11, paragraph 2, parties can issue exemptions for educational, scientific and management purposes necessary to ensure the survival of the species. Such exemptions may not, however, jeopardize the species and have to be reported to the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) of the SPAW Protocol. The presently existing captive dolphin facility in Curaçao was established under such an exemption. It was given a permit to operate based on the fact that this dolphinarium would start a dolphin research program aimed at studying the wild dolphin populations around Curaçao, and it would provide a broad educational program aimed at increasing awareness of the needs of wild dolphins and the need to protect them. The obligation to do both is an essential part of the permit. The permit further prohibits the use of wild caught Caribbean dolphins except when they were caught pre-SPAW ratification, and not in Antillean waters. In addition the permit has strict animal welfare conditions, such as a large minimum volume of water per dolphin in combination with an average water depth of 4 m (13.3 ft), very strict hygienic and veterinary requirements, and strict conditions for the naturalness of the captive habitat. The exemption in this case was based on the fact that while wild dolphin populations would not be impacted, the establishment of this facility would lead to the very necessary systematical study of wild dolphin and other marine mammal populations around Curaçao of which nothing was known, as well as to more awareness in the general public about the need to protect wild dolphins and to protect their habitat, the ocean, from pollution. Properly done with a good educational programme, a dolphinarium making use of the charismatic aspects of dolphins can play a major role in creating more public support for the protection of wild dolphins, as well as for conservation of the marine environment in general. The invoking of an exemption according to article 11, par 2 of the protocol by the Netherlands Antilles for the captive dolphin facility on Curaçao under the conditions outlined above was unanimously condoned by the parties to the SPAW Protocol in 2002. Although there were some questions raised as to the validity of the arguments, the general feeling was that at least it established a precedent for the minimum requirements for such facilities in the Caribbean. Since then a second company approached the Netherlands Antilles government, requesting a permit to establish a captive dolphin facility, this time in St. Maarten, under the same exemption and conditions as given to the facility in Curaçao. Since the study of dolphin populations in the area of St. Maarten was as deficient as it was around Curaçao, there were at that time no valid grounds to refuse this request as long as the same very strict conditions were met. The company received an ‘in principle’ agreement that they would get a permit if they would meet the conditions. At the same time the government of the Netherlands Antilles is concerned about the continued proliferation of captive dolphin facilities in the Caribbean, which, although they can each have a positive impact on research and increased public support for conservation, as a whole they also provide an increased incentive to continue the capture of wild dolphins as the supply of captive bred dolphins runs out. In addition, the government noted that the development of the research program required by the permit for the facility in Curaçao was disappointingly slow, although it has now finally started and will be monitored closely as to its continuance. Given this, the government of the Netherlands Antilles feels that as long as the status of wild dolphin populations is still unclear in most parts of the Caribbean, and the impact of the capture of (even a few) wild dolphins is unknown, it is necessary to clearly state its position on the further proliferation of captive dolphin facilities and potential other requests for exemptions of the prohibition on possession of dolphins. This position is that further proliferation of captive dolphin facilities is undesirable, unwarranted, and will not be considered for the Netherlands Antilles. The objectives of the first exemption, and now the second, are or will be met by the two facilities mentioned. Further exemptions would not further serve the survival of the species, and in fact might indirectly contribute to harming the survival of the species, thus they will not be given. This position paper also seeks to answer the criticism that the invocation of exemptions for captive dolphin facilities does not comply with the basic requirement for exemptions, i.e., that they be necessary for the survival of the species. Although we agree that in the case of the exemptions already given there is no direct necessity for the survival of the species, they are in our view necessary means to arrive at a better knowledge of the actual status of the species, and increase the support for the continued protection of the species, both essential to ensure the continued survival of the species. So, as long as no wild-caught dolphins are used, these facilities are, perhaps not essential, but certainly very important to the survival of the species. In
summary, the Netherlands Antilles will continue to closely monitor the
existing facility in Curaçao and the facility being prepared
in St. Maarten to ensure that the conditions set for these facilities
are strictly adhered to, and that research into wild populations and
a proper educational program do indeed result from these facilities.
If this is indeed the case the Netherlands Antilles will
support optimal functioning of these facilities. Further requests for
permits for captive dolphin facilities on any of the islands of the
Netherlands Antilles under the exemption rule of the SPAW Protocol,
will no longer be considered by the Netherlands Antilles.
DCNA BOARD MEETING IN STATIA
June 22, 2005. The board of the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance met on St. Eustatius last week for it’s third meeting this year. Founded February 2005 DCNA is an umbrella organization for the Marine and Terrestrial Protected Areas (Parks) in St. Eustatius, Saba, St. Maarten, Bonaire and Curaçao. Aruba is contemplating to join forces with DCNA soon and sent Egbert Boerstra from Parke Nacional Arikok to the meeting as an observer. DCNA s’ main goal is to acquire funding for sustainable Park Management in order to ensure that the rich biodiversity of species in the Dutch Caribbean will be protected for the many years to come. At the same time, by having all park organizations represented on the board of DCNA a broad and knowledgeable platform is created which in turn will provide a healthy climate for working together, learning from each other’s organizations and ultimately finding the synergy that will have a huge payoff for Nature Conservation and Preservation in the Caribbean. The DCNA board also includes the Dutch Committee for IUCN (World Conservation Union), which provides a crucial link to Dutch nature conservation organizations. IUCN sent two representatives. Eric van Zadelhof, who joined IUCN recently and acted as board member on behalf of IUCN director Willem Ferwerda, who was unable to come, and IUCN’s new part-time staff member Johan van de Perk, appointed specifically by IUCN as direct contact for DCNA in the Netherlands, who attended the meeting as an observer. During this meeting a new DCNA board member was elected from nominations resulting from the Nature Forum meeting held in Bonaire in February 2005, From three nominations Uniek Curaçao representative Frensel Mercelina was selected to provide a voice for other organizations in the Netherlands Antilles actively involved with nature conservation Support from within the community It was a busy but constructive week for DCNA with non-stop meetings
on St. Eustatius with influential members of the community. Funding DCNA is currently involved in negotiations with the Dutch Ministery of Binnenlandse Zaken and Koninkrijksrelaties to get them involved in financing nature conservation in the Caribbean as follow-up to a motion to this effect adopted by Dutch Parliament last year. The Dutch Postcode Loterij (PCL) is presently DCNA s’ major contributor. With a 1.9 million Euros grant over three years from the PCL, the organization will be able to sponsor important nature projects in the Caribbean, like the sea turtle outreach project on Bonaire and the Windward islands, which was funded through DCNA last year by the Truus en Gerrit van Riemsdijk Foundation, a private foundation With Nature being one of the Caribbean s’ most important natural
resources DCNA is not only an asset to Nature itself but also to the
economic well being of all islands who thrive by the commercial exploitation
of Nature.
NEW ENVIRONMENTAL STAFF MEMBER AT DROB BONAIRE DROB, the Planning and Management Service of Bonaire has recently appointed a new staff member in its Section for Environment and Nature. Frank van Slobbe takes the place of Gijs van Hoorn who has left Bonaire. Frank van Slobbe was born and raised in Surinam and spent a large part of his youth in Brazil. He studied environmental science at the HTS in Utrecht and then worked as an environmental consultant for some time, among others in Central America. After completing his Master of Environmental Science in Australia, he worked there for a number of years as environmental consultant Since May 2005 he is working for the Section Environment and Nature of DROB in Bonaire. Welcome Frank.
NEW BONAIRE NATIONAL MARINE PARK MANAGER In August 2004 Ramon de Leon was been appointed as the new Manager of the Bonaire National Marine Park. Ramon is 42-year-old oceanographer and has been working in Bonaire’s dive industry for six years. He previously worked at Toucan Diving and Photo Tours. He is a master in deep dives, Nitrox and mixed gas. Like colleague park manager of St. Maarten, Andy Caballero, he is originally from Uruguay.
The management team of Stinapa. From left to right: director Elsmarie Beukenboom, Washington Slagbaai Park manager Fernando Simal, accounting manager Kerenza Rannou, NME officer Deby Wauben, and Marine Park manager Ramon de Leon.
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successful
completion of projects. This process of professionalization not only
helps the parks to achieve a greater efficiency in their tasks of protecting
the biodiversity of the islands, but also increases the credibility
of the parks in the eyes of international donor organizations, whose
support is essential if truly sustainable mechanisms to safeguard nature
conservation on the islands for the future are to be realized.
