SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY) — Sint Maarten natural resource manager, marine conservationist and author Tadzio Bervoets, MSc, highlighted the connections between coral reef protection, public health and climate resilience at the Climate and One Health Conference in Barbados, held on October 27–28, 2026.
Bervoets serves as Chair of the UNESCO Ocean Decade Task Force for Latin America and the Caribbean, Caribbean Regional Lead for the Coral Restoration Consortium’s Caribbean Coral Emergency Response Plan, and Executive Director of the Alligator Head Foundation. He also serves on the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network’s Caribbean Steering Committee and the United Nations Caribbean Environment Programme’s Protected Area Working Group.
Organised by Ross University School of Medicine, the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine and Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, the conference examined the connections between climate change and human, animal and environmental health.
In his presentation, “Healthy Oceans, Healthy People: Coral Reefs, Climate and the Future of Caribbean Wellbeing,” Bervoets explained how reef degradation affects food security, coastal safety, livelihoods, water quality and mental wellbeing. Coral bleaching and habitat loss can create pressures extending into household income, nutrition, access to care and community identity.
Drawing on work in Jamaica and Sint Maarten, he described how reef monitoring, coral restoration, fish sanctuary management and community participation can strengthen resilience. Examples included the Alligator Head Foundation’s programmes in Portland and the contribution of traditional fishers’ knowledge to planning Sint Maarten’s Man of War Shoal Marine Park.
Bervoets emphasised climate justice, calling for vulnerable communities to be placed at the centre of adaptation. He connected these concerns to regional coral emergency response planning, highlighting the need for agreed warning thresholds, clear responsibilities, coordinated communication and financing secured before emergencies occur.
His recommendations included connecting environmental and health information, incorporating reef decline into disaster preparedness, and funding prevention and recovery. The presentation also examined blue bonds, debt conversion and parametric insurance as financing approaches.
Bervoets’ wider roles include Caribbean Coordinator for Yacht Aid Global, environmental policy and marine science consultant with Beneath the Waves, and co-founder of the Caribbean Shark Coalition. He is an advisory group member of Rise Up for the Oceans and a member of The Explorers Club. He previously directed the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance and the St. Maarten Nature Foundation, and served as Technical Officer and Project Leader for the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund’s BluEFin Project.
The presentation concluded: “Protecting the reef is preventive care for the Caribbean.”
