Schools from both sides of the island will be visiting the exhibition and attending lectures. According to media reports, St. Maarten Pride Foundation's Jadira Veen reportedly said that six schools from the Dutch side with a total of 201 children will be visiting.
The Pride Foundation will be sharing a stand with EPIC. Symposium coordinator is Nicole Piper. The theme of the event is "forests".
The symposium is open from 8.45am to 12.30pm. Conferences in French and English will be held from 9.00am to 11.30am.
According to the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Forestry Department, forests are part of the natural infrastructure of any country and are essential to the water cycle. Forests reduce the effects of floods, prevent soil erosion, regulate the water table and assure a high quality water supply for people, industry and agriculture.
"The UN General Assembly has proclaimed 2011 the International Year of Forests. Even though our island nation does not have any forests, our green hillsides are still very important and serve a purpose to our eco-system. As individuals we have a collective responsibility to plant more trees in our immediate surroundings.
"The Enviro Symposium provides a unique opportunity to raise awareness among the nation's youth and public from the North and South sides of the island.
"The youth of both sides are the future leaders of our island nation and I totally agree that we need to put into the school curriculum a subject solely dedicated to environmental preservation.
"This is needed now more than ever especially when we take into consideration global climate changes. I will work with our Hon. Minister of Education Rhoda Arrindell to move this issue forward," Hon. President of Parliament Gracita Arrindell said on Wednesday.
Forests are in most cases an optimal land covers for catchments supplying drinking water, and forest watersheds supply a high proportion of water for ecological needs in countries across the globe.
