The agreement being signed. Photo courtesy of the St. Eustatius government.
ST. EUSTATIUS--The St. Eustatius government last Friday signed a cooperation agreement with the Dutch environmental service ODNL for structured support to improve local permits, supervision and enforcement in the areas of environment, construction and nature.
“The agreement gives effect to the recommendation in the Inspection of Environment and Transport (ILT) report dated 1 June 2023, which calls for a durable partnership with an environmental service in the European Netherlands to strengthen execution in the Caribbean Netherlands,” the St. Eustatius government said.
The government said the aim is to bring local execution of permits, supervision and enforcement in line with existing laws and regulations.
Similar agreements were signed with the public entities of Bonaire and Saba.
St. Eustatius’ agreement was signed in The Hague by Island Governor Alida Francis and ODNL chairman Ruben Vlaander. The deal runs from January 2026 to the end of December 2027, and will be implemented through an annual work plan.
“The government of Statia retains the directing role, while ODNL provides advisory and specialist support on request, including support to strengthen execution quality and address complex dossiers,” the government said. “Operational coordination will include weekly consultations. ODNL will designate a project lead as the central point of contact for Statia. This is currently Roel van de Loo.”
ODNL will report every quarter on progress and expenditure, and the two parties will jointly prepare an annual report for the Island Secretary and Executive Council.
ODNL’s experts will act as independent specialists, and their advice will be issued with the ODNL logo. St. Eustatius may deviate from the advice with reasons.
The agreement, the government said, is on the condition that the Dutch Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations allocates funding for activities in the work plan.
