Kralendijk, Bonaire:--- Last week, the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) hosted its biannual board meeting on Bonaire. The DCNA board meeting provided an important platform for discussing and strategizing the most effective ways to support protected area management organizations (parks) in the Dutch Caribbean and exchanging knowledge and experiences. With a united voice, the DCNA aims to safeguard nature throughout the region.
The DCNA is a non-profit conservation network that provides support to the parks of all six islands of the Dutch Caribbean. The DCNA board meeting created an important opportunity for each of the parks to collaborate, share resources, and exchange information and ideas. By working together, each island can learn from the other islands, maximizing their successes and learning from the more challenging experiences.
Critical components which were discussed during the Board Meeting were the DCNA 2030 strategy, the disbursement of the DCNA Conservation Trust Fund, and the fundraising strategy. In the coming years, DCNA will increase its fundraising efforts to secure sustainable sources of funding for nature conservation. During the meeting, DCNA’s first draft of its project portfolio was presented, based on project wishes by the parks which will help search for targeted project funding.
Furthermore, updates were provided by the secretariat and DCNA working groups set up to improve research and monitoring efforts and youth participation. Also, presentations were given by major donor Blue Marine Foundation, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF–NL), and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV). Aside from conservation managers and the various experts of the DCNA Board, these organizations joined as observers together with BirdLife Netherlands.
On the last day of the Board meeting, the participants went on a field trip with the Mangrove Maniacs. They learned about the impressive mangrove restoration work of Mangrove Maniacs in Lac Bay and helped widen the channel. Valuable lessons have been learned and are taken back to the other Dutch Caribbean islands.
The next DCNA Board Meeting is planned from the 12th-16th of April 2023, on St Eustatius.
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