~Governors of Bonaire and Sint Maarten to Deliver Remarks~
The Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) will be organizing and leading sessions focusing on highlighting the need to increase support conservation actions in the Dutch Caribbean at the IUCN World Conservation Congress next week.
Held once every four years, the IUCN World Conservation Congress brings together several thousand leaders and decision-makers from government, civil society, indigenous peoples, business, and academia, with the goal of conserving the environment and harnessing the solutions nature offers to global challenges.
Through its membership of both IUCN Netherlands and the IUCN Caribbean Committee, DCNA will aim to highlight that, despite being the biodiversity hotspot of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, (for the Dutch Caribbean) very little attention is placed on the preservation and conservation of nature, particularly as it relates to the pending impacts of climate change.
“We appreciate the opportunity to present the Dutch Caribbean at the World Conservation Congress, one of the largest conservation meetings on the global calendar. Although we have six park management organizations in the Dutch Caribbean doing excellent work, that work is not often enough highlighted. Another area we also aim to highlight during the meeting is the impacts climate change is having on our islands; all six of our islands are at the forefront of the climate crises and there should be more done by Governments both inside and outside of the region in terms of making the islands more resilient to the impacts of a changing climate.,” commented Tadzio Bervoets, Director of the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance.
The Congress aims to improve how we manage our natural environment for human, social, and economic development, but this cannot be achieved by conservationists alone. The IUCN Congress is the place to put aside differences and work together to create good environmental governance, engaging all parts of society to share both the responsibilities and the benefits of conservation. At the Dutch Caribbean-specific event organized by DCNA, Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance Honorary Patron Governor Holiday of Sint Maarten as well as the Lt. Governor Mr. Edison Rijna will also be giving remarks.
