Kralendijk, Bonaire:--- The Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) will host its biannual board meeting from 16 November to 19 November on Bonaire. DCNA’s Board meetings provide an important platform for discussing and strategizing the most effective ways to support protected area management organizations (parks) to safeguard nature in Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, St. Eustatius, and St. Maarten. Besides, a presentation will be open to the public about research and monitoring in the Dutch Caribbean on Thursday 17th of November at 7 pm at Captain Don’s Habitat, Bonaire.
The DCNA conservation network provides support to the parks of all six islands of the Dutch Caribbean. Critical components which will be discussed during the Board Meeting are the DCNA 2030 strategy, disbursement of the Conservation Trust Fund, and fundraising strategy. Besides, updates will be given by the secretariat and DCNA working groups to improve research and monitoring efforts and youth participation. The DCNA board meeting is also an important opportunity for each of the parks to collaborate, share resources, and exchange information and ideas. Working together, each island can learn from the others, maximizing their successes and learning from the more challenging experiences.
The DCNA has had some exciting changes since its last board meeting. It was a heartfelt goodbye for their previous Director Tadzio Bervoets and a warm welcome for their new team members: Arno Verhoeven as the new Director and Frederique van Randwijck as a relationship manager. Aside from conservation managers and the various experts of the Board of DCNA, observers from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN-NL), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF–NL), BirdLife Netherlands, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV) also participate in DCNA Board Meetings.
Public Presentation
In addition, there will be a public presentation entitled “I see you: Research and Monitoring in the Dutch Caribbean” given by Diego Marquez who supports DCNA’s Research & Monitoring Working Group. Research and Monitoring in the Dutch Caribbean have many challenges associated with it. In his presentation, Mr. Marquez will elaborate on these challenges and by using bird research and monitoring as an example, introduce pragmatic solutions on how to better understand these natural systems. This presentation is open to the public and will be held on 17 November at 7 PM in the meeting room at Captain Don’s Habitat.
