DCNA Launches Dutch Caribbean Climate Action Plan
May 16th 2022- Today the DCNA launches a Climate Action Plan for the Dutch Caribbean. This plan provide concrete recommendations for all our islands on both climate adaptation and mitigation strategies to combat climate change effects.
Photo credit: A.O. Debrot
Caribbean islands are at the forefront of the climate crisis, with effects already starting to become noticeable in the region. Experts have warned, including in the recently released IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, that we have just ten years left to avert the worst climate impacts but that this will require decisive action, both in terms of adaptation and mitigation strategies.
The Dutch Caribbean islands are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts. People’s lives and livelihoods as well as most economic activities are located near coastal areas while the region’s unique nature is already under pressure from human impacts. This is compounded by the fact that, due to the island’s small geographic area and limited human capacity, the resilience to recover from disastrous events is low.
As stewards of nature in the Dutch Caribbean the parks united in the DCNA see first-hand how the changing climate is already affecting the islands. We see it as vital for all the governments, both in the Netherlands and in the Dutch Caribbean, to embrace this plan and collaborate with local stakeholders on the implementation of a climate smart future for our beautiful islands and their communities.
As the impacts of climate change worsen, it is essential that greater efforts are placed on enhancing the implementation of mitigation and adaptation strategies in the Dutch Caribbean. Sustainable development and combating climate change require an integrated approach that prioritises, protection of nature, energy independence, sustainable tourism industry, and a diverse blue economy. But most importantly this needs to be a joint effort where countries work together to strengthen each other’s effort and resolve.
Read the Dutch Caribbean Climate Action Plan in English.
Or in Dutch.
Published in BioNews 54