AMELAND- For the second year in a row, the island Council member of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba have paid a visit to one of the Wadden islands in The Netherlands.

Statia’s Island Governor Alida Francis considers the visit both intresting and of importance. “I am pleased to have participated in an educational tour of the Wadden Islands for the second year in a row. This time to Ameland, an eco island with a population of 3800 inhabitants, 400 more than St. Eustatius. Although the population is relatively small, there is a thriving seasonal tourism economy with 650.000 visitors annually. We have much to learn from and share with each other”, said Francis.

“The BES islands are not part of a province and fall directly under several ministries. We already notice that ministries sometimes feel distant from an (island) municipality in terms of policies and regulations that come our way from The Hague”, says Vlieland’s mayor Michiel Schrier.

Multiple hats

Another similarity accordinng to Schrier is the challenges when it comes to Governance. “In these small island communities, there are often more instances of people wearing multiple hats, and conflicts of interest can easily arise. We discussed independent oversight by our environmental service, how we manage supervisors, and whether they can live on the island. This led to interesting discussions about integrity, which we, as Vlieland, also see and feel”.

According to Schrier it may be interesting for the Wadden Islands, like Ameland and Vlieland to put up a sounding board with other Wadden islands and the BES islands to discuss these challenges and learn from one another.