MINA newsletter

Letitia Buth, Paul Hoetjes, Eric Newton, Mario Kleinmoedig.
Dept. Environment & Nature (MINA) – Dir. Public Health, Santa Rosaweg 122, Curaçao, N.A.; tel: 09736-3530; fax: 09-736-3505;
E-mail: milvomil@cura.net

Here finally is our first newsletter of 2002. Due to the protracted illness of our editor Mario Kleinmoedig, this edition—originally intended for December last year—was much delayed. This means that some of the news you will find here will be relatively old. Nevertheless, we decided to leave it in, since a sustainable newsletter must give future generations a chance to reread all news, even though it is already old news for our present readers.

In this new year MINA has had to put several planned activities on hold due to the fact that we still do not have a decision on the financing of our new multiyear plan and resulting first year plan, even though the first quarter of the first year is rapidly passing. Nevertheless, we have found ways to keep busy as you'll see below.

One thing that will make our work more difficult is the imminent departure of Remko van Oijen, who is leaving us per March 1. We will be very sorry not to have him around anymore (to pile all that work on). Good luck Remko, we hope it won't be too hard to get used again to the Dutch way of working. PH.

As of January 1, the National Decree "New Government" came into force. As a consequence most ministries and departments were rearranged and/or renamed. MINA is no longer a "section" but has been promoted to a "department".

We are now the Department of Environment and Nature, of the Directorate of Public Health, of the Ministry of Public Health and Social Development. In Dutch: Afdeling Milieu en Natuur (MINA) van de Directie Volksgezondheid (DirVG), van het Ministerie van Volksgezondheid en Sociale Ontwikkeling (VSO).

It seems like only yesterday that I started working at MINA. In fact it was June and according to my contract that means I have to leave already. As you probably know I was on loan from the ministry of VROM. One of the nicest things of my job is that I can start a new project every 9 months. One of the saddest things is that I have to say goodbye every 9 months too. As much as I hate to do it, I want to try to write some words of thanks and consideration.

I really enjoyed my time here at MINA. If MINA were a human being I would describe her as warm, intelligent, hospitable, dedicated, sometimes naughty and lovable. Just the person you would miss if you go abroad. Needless to say that I feel that the job that MINA is trying to do is important. I too encountered the possibilities and difficulties in trying to fulfill this job. Sometimes things you thought would be easy, cost a lot of effort. Sometimes when you think the process is totally stuck, a chain of events suddenly pushes it in the right direction.

Regarding the projects I worked on you will find some news elsewhere in this newsletter. The waste management conference for instance was mostly (the two postponements being the exception) a real pleasure to organise, but it was even better to see all the people there together. As to the wastewater ordinance of Curaçao, I really hope that all the island departments involved will find the time to get it done. This is the time to thank Arthur Rodriquez, Tico Ras, Chris Winkel, Martha Pinedo, Urvin Batta, Ursul Cordilia and Sjandra Curiel for their kind cooperation.

Not reported on in this newsletter but one of my concerns, are the waste management plans of Saba and Sint Eustatius. Selikor is doing great work drafting the plans, and I’m pleased to see that Sint Eustatius made the necessary decisions to allow the work to continue. The waste management plans are in my opinion a good, if not the only, way to know and deal with the specific problems of the islands (so Bobby, just please send the draft to EC). It was a pleasure to make a contribution to the start of the car wreck implementation plan. On this subject I had one of the very first encounters with Selikor's Wesley Kook en John Amarica, two people I really enjoyed working with.

Of course when I started working in the Antilles, especially for the government, I was aware of all the stereotypes. And to be honest, many of them turned out to be true. But they simultaneously turned out to be false! The dedication of co-workers and volunteers. The creativity in dealing with the lack of money. The know-how you can find in all these organisations. Sometimes you wish all these organisations would put more effort in combining their strengths. And would focus a bit more on goals and results. But doing this should never affect that special Caribbean laid-back attitude which makes working and living in the Antilles the pleasure it is.

To conclude, many thanks go to the people that surrounded me these 9 months. People from the NGO’s, the waste management companies, the departments on the different islands, and the colleagues at VSO. But most of all I'd like to thank Letitia, Paul, Eric and Mario, for being MINA, the lady I described before. Thanks, goodbye and good luck to you all. RvO.

Last January the fourth waste conference took place. This time on Curaçao. MINA organised this conference in order to enhance the cooperation between the islands. Waste experts of all islands, including Aruba, were invited; only Saba and Sint Maarten were not able to attend the conference. Furthermore the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (VROM), the Dutch Representation in Willemstad (VNW) and Depos were represented. The program of the meeting consisted of presentations and discussions regarding: the status quo on the islands, enforcement, car wrecks, waste incineration and fermentation.

The traditional excursion this time consisted of a "Sushi Tour", organised by the Uniek Curaçao Foundation. Sushi is Papiamentu for garbage. Uniek Curacao's Theo van der Giessen led the participants past good and bad examples of waste management.

All in all it turned out to be a very fruitful conference. The participants had the opportunity to meet each other, to exchange ideas and information, and to present their intentions. Below are the main conclusions. The proceedings of the conference will be available in Dutch on March 8. A next meeting was set for 2003.

Waste experts from all islands of the Netherlands Antilles will start work this year to solve the car wreck problems on the islands. That is one of the most important results of the fourth waste conference for the Netherlands Antilles, which took place in Curaçao during the last week of January. The Ministry of Public Health and Social Development (VSO, formerly VOMIL) together with the Dutch ministry of VROM — accomodating an earlier request by the AMUST association (Asosiashon pa desaroyo di Maneho Uní di Shushi i Tèknología) — commissioned consultants Ecovision (Curaçao) and ARN (AutoRecycling Nederland) to prepare a car wreck implementation plan.

For the collection and processing of car wrecks the participants formulated the following conditions: Health risks must be alleviated, a legal basis must be present, it must be done in an environmentally friendly way, and it must have a sound financial basis. For each island the participants formulated an ideal situation. Ecovision and ARN will further develop this. In March this must lead to preferential models for each island. These models will be formulated in an implementation plan that will be completed in June of this year.

The conference also discussed the waste situation on the different islands. Looking at the basic level as defined in the Framework for Waste Policy, it was apparent that the waste collection is mostly in order everywhere. Sint Eustatius still has some material problems, but will take action by adopting a Solid Waste Management Plan before May 2002. In Aruba efforts are directed at increasing the frequency of waste collection.

It was concluded that the basic management of the land fills in Bonaire and Curaçao is under control. Nevertheless, further improvements are aspired to. In St. Eustatius and Aruba on the other hand, the situation is alarming. In both islands the land fill constitutes a risk to the environment and to public health. There is no recycling in Bonaire and Sint Eustatius, but there is in Curaçao and Aruba. These latter two islands would benefit however, from greater public awareness and involvement. All participants indicated that prevention of creating waste in the first place, is still very underexposed and in need of much more promotion and attention. It was further noted that the waste processing sector is plagued by numerous organizational and financial problems. It is important that all islands possess up-to-date waste action plans.

An important theme of the conference was enforcement, which is problematic in all islands. The participants identified a number of reasons, among which the main problem is the lack of sufficient personnel. What personnel there is, usually lacks the necessary knowhow. Adequate legislation is missing. Too little information is provided to the public. Communication between or within government services is problematic and legal procedures are slow. The participants also noted that the waste issue has up until now had a very low political priority. The possibilities to better deploy existing legislation were discussed. A number of islands need to adapt and supplement their legislation. The idea introduced in Bonaire to require a deposit sum from organizers of public activities to cover the costs of clean-up was considered to be quite useful by the participants. Better information of the public was generally considered crucial to tackle the problems of litter and illegal dumping.

Another important subject discussed during the conference was the need for a National Action Plan for Hazardous Waste for all the islands. Such a plan is necessary because as a modern society the Netherlands Antilles will be confronted more and more with the problems surrounding the transport and processing of this kind of waste. Selikor has already completed a comprehensive study on this subject, while knowhow about the required working methods is already available for the islands. MINA is presently working on the accession of the Netherlands Antilles to the Basel Convention which regulates the international transport of hazardous waste and materials.

Finally the priorities identified for the Netherlands Antilles as a whole were discussed. Formulating waste disposal plans is important, and is promoted in all islands that still lack them. MINA is planning to appoint a new staff member to draft environmental standards for the Netherlands Antilles, within the framework of the National Environmental Ordinance. The islands will be asked to participate actively in a working group to be established for this purpose. RvO.

Early this month MINA sent a small film crew to Saba to film the Saba Bank underwater, as well as the fishing activities taking place on the Bank. The footage will be edited and will result in a documentary of the Bank. This documentary is meant to give people in Saba—and elsewhere—a sense of what the Bank is. It will show them what the bank has to offer, both in spectacular and special nature values, as well as in resources for fisheries.

The film crew, consisting of underwater videographer Gordy Cox, second camera man St. Maarten Marine Park Manager Andy Caballero, liaison with the Saban fishermen Faisal Dilrosun, and Paul Hoetjes of MINA, spent one week on Saba, where they were joined by Saba Marine Park Manager David Kooistra who also took part as a camera man. A total of 10 dives were made on the Bank. We just missed seeing a Hammerhead shark, nor did we see any whales (but we heard them!). We did capture several nurse sharks and many lobsters, conch and even a stingray on video however.

The camera crew, considering the boat.

The Saban fishermen were very helpful. Elroy Peterson and Roland Levenstone chartered us their boats, sacrificing their income from regular fishing (and probably taking a loss for it). We were very happy with their comfortable boats (except for that one time the motor went dead in the middel of the ocean at eight o' clock at night! Luckily the Marine Park could be contacted and quickly arrived to tow us back to Saba).

The activities of the fishermen, fashioning their traps, pulling them from the sea and setting them back again, were also filmed. The material is now being edited and will result in a short (about 20 min) documentary that will be ready before April. It will be aired in Saba as well as made available to all other islands. It is also hoped that Dutch television stations might be interested in this documentary, especially with an eye to the upcoming world meeting of the Biodiversity Convention in The Hague. PH.


	Statia Park Manager Kay Lynn Plummer holding up oil covered flotsam with sargassum weed. In the background the Statia Responder trying to control the spill with its water cannon.

On Feb. 26 Statia was unpleasantly surprised by a big oil spill. The tanker Paulina, moored at the Statia Oil Terminal, had unwittingly been pumping out ballast water mixed with oil. Since it happened at night, it was not discovered until first light in the morning. By that time a big spill had already formed. As bad luck would have it the current was mostly south and west, spreading the spill all along the length of the island from the north all the way to white wall in the south. Yachts in the harbor, and the Marine Park moorings and ropes, were covered by the sticky mess. At around two o' clock the oil hit the shore.

The Statia Oil Terminal went into action quickly, trying to keep the oil away from shore, collecting it with booms and scooping it out of the water. The oil on shore was 'mopped' up with absorbent material.

Kay Lynn and Asst. Manager, Gershon Lopes, on board the Marine Park
dinghy used to collect oil spill samples.

The next day, Statia Park Manager, Kay Lynn Plummer, reports that everything appears to be more or less under control. The floating oil has disappeared and most of the shore has been cleaned by volunteers and crews from the Oil Terminal.

There is concern about what the results of this spill are or will be under water. The Marine Park is taking samples everywhere they can. Statia requested an oil spill expert from REMPEITC in Curaçao (Regional Marine Pollution Emergency, Information and Training Center of the IMO) to survey the situation but he was regrettably prevented from coming because there were no flights available to Statia at such short notice. The Statia Marine Park is in contact with a US scientist specialized in oil spill effects on coral reefs, to assess the situation and quantify the damage. The costs for this, and in fact a complete cost assessment including the renewal of the moorings and ropes, surveying costs and cleaning of the boat, etc. will be presented to the Oil Terminal. PH.

In November 2001 Sint Maarten passed the island wastewater ordinance. This ordinance is based on the "model" that was drafted during the wastewater legislation conference on Bonaire, February 2000. The passing of the ordinance gives the island of Sint Maarten the opportunity to really manage its wastewater. From now on for instance households located within a certain distance from a sewer have the obligation to connect to the sewer. Furthermore every industry needs a permit to discharge wastewater. The government sets standards to make sure that both the sewerage process and the environment cannot be harmed. For more information you can contact Louis Brown or Toon Buncamper on Sint Maarten.

Meanwhile in Curaçao, four island services and MINA combined forces to work on the wastewater ordinance for Curaçao as well. First of all it must be determined which wastewater disposal system is chosen when. The most important considerations here are the threat to the environment and the density of households. Secondly, standards have to be set for both the quality of the different environments (e.g. rural areas, coastal zone, sewerage) as well as the quality of the wastewater that is discharged in these environments. Based on these standards, measurements will be taken. The vacuum trucks need special attention, if not, it is uncertain who is responsible for the quality of the load. Plans are to get the ordinance to the executive council before the next island council elections. RvO.

The National Framework Ordinance for Environmental Management has finally gone through all the necessary checks and revisions, and has been double checked again by Legal Affairs. It is now ready to go into procedure, meaning it goes to the Council of Ministers, then to the Advisory Council, then back to the Council of Ministers, then will be discussed by Parliament and then, perhaps after some final small modifications, will hopefully be passed. PH.

As was announced in the last newsletter, more than 40 nature conservation and environmental projects, mostly from NGO’s, were channeled through MINA to apply for still available funding for 2001 from the aid budget of the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Affairs (BZK) targeted for the Antilles. Our original understanding was that projects were eligible if they started in 2001. Regretfully however, we were later told that only projects completed before April 1, 2002, were eligible. As a consequence many projects were refused. Still, out of the original 42 proposals, 27 were awarded for a total of NAƒ 668.355,00. Below is a list of the projects that will receive financing. Most of them are now well under way.

The projects not awarded funding by BZK are now being considered by the KNAP and MINA Funds. Some of the larger projects refused by BZK because of their duration, are now being proposed for funding from the year plan budget of MINA for 2002. PH.

MINA heads working group to review criteria for listing of species on the SPAW Protocol Annexes

During the first meeting of Contracting Parties of the SPAW Protocol (Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife Protocol of the Cartagena Convention), and of its Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC), held in Havana, Cuba, in September last year, it became clear that much discussion was needed before satisfactory criteria for the listing of species on the SPAW annexes could be agreed on.

The SPAW annexes list species that need special protection: Annex I lists plant species and Annex 2 animal species that must be protected completely, including their habitats (e.g. Bonairean Lora, Pelican, all Caribbean Cetaceans); Annex 3 lists animal and plant species that do not need complete protection but do need to be managed responsibly and protected from avoidable damage and unregulated harvesting or hunting (e.g. mangroves, seagrass, wayaca/lignum vitae, corals, black corals, gorgonians, conch, lobster, flamingos etc.).

Because signatory countries to the SPAW Protocol are required to provide species listed on the annexes the prescribed protection, if they occur in their territories, it is not always easy to get agreement on which species should be on the lists. During the meeting in Havana it was decided to establish a working group of experts to review the criteria for listing species. The Netherlands Antilles was designated to coordinate this working group. Aside from the contracting parties, i.e. the signatory countries to the SPAW protocol, observer countries and NGO’s were also invited to participate in the working group. In December 2001 a final selection was made from the nominated experts. The composition of the working group is as follows:

For the Kingdom of the Netherlands, MINA’s Eric Newton and Paul Hoetjes are participating in the working group. The Netherlands assigned herpetologist Marinus Hoogmoed of the Leiden Museum of Natural History, chairman of the CITES Animal Committee, and familiar with similar issues under CITES.

MINA has established an electronic discussion list for the working group and is now taking the lead in the discussions, which will hopefully lead to a generally accepted and useful set of criteria to decide whether a certain species does or does not belong on one or the other of the SPAW annexes. PH.

From 28-30 January 2002, the World Trade Organization (WTO) organized a regional seminar for some Caribbean countries to discuss Trade and Environment. In addition to the Caricom countries, the Netherlands Antilles too were invited by the WTO to this seminar. The Department of Economic Affairs asked MINA to also participate. Thus Paul Hoetjes together with Alex Rosaria of Economic Affairs attended the seminar in St. Lucia.

In a Ministerial Statement made at last year's general WTO meeting in Doha (Quatar), the WTO for the first time put much emphasis on environmental issues. The WTO committee on Trade & Environment now needs to implement this. The St. Lucia seminar, and other similar regional seminars, was aimed at clarifying the ramifications of the Ministerial statement, and identifying the areas of overlap between Trade and Environment. This mostly goes to so-called Multilateral Environmental Agreements (or MEA's) and the impacts they have on world trade.

The seminar was intended to familiarize the participants with the relevant MEA's in the region, and provided clear presentations about the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP), the Basel Convention (transportation of hazardous waste), CITES (animal and plant trade), and the Montreal Protocol (Ozone layer protection). The elaborate dispute settlement system within the WTO was also explained and illustrated with examples relevant to environmental issues (e.g. tuna vs dolphin issue, shrimp vs. sea turtles). Finally some issues illustrating potential conflicts with WTO rules were discussed, i.e. market access issues to do with eco-labeling, fisheries and agriculture subsidies.

Another important aim of the seminar was to establish better communications between the Trade sector and the Environment sector, both within countries and between countries. This was achieved first of all by bringing them together (all countries had been asked to send delegates from both sectors), and then by the ensuing discussions which helped to clarify and understand better the different mindsets in each sector. Chances are that the communication channels forged in this way will remain open in the future. PH.