last Thursday, the first flights were flown over St. Eustatius to take high-quality aerial photos of the island.

Several flights will be operated in December and January to take aerial photos and altitude measurements of St. Eustatius, Saba and Bonaire. The Public Entities and the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations took the initiative for this, to improve the registration of addresses and buildings on the islands. Together, they are working towards 1 central register for each island, in which addresses and buildings are registered.

Central Registry for Addresses and Buildings

In a central register, aerial photographs determine the precise location of an address or building on a map. By registering all the data of addresses and buildings only once in the system, the data becomes more reliable. It gives less doubt about, for example, a correct registration of the location, the house number, or the spelling of an address. In the future, governments will take a first step towards improving the data quality in the registrations with a central register.

Elevation maps

In addition to aerial photographs, elevation maps of the islands are also made. This provides the islands with a lot of extra information. For example, the Public Entity in St. Eustatius takes into account that elevation maps make historical buildings and objects visible that cannot be seen with the naked eye in areas with a lot of vegetation due to plants and shrubs.

More benefits

Aerial photographs are an important source of information for the islands for even more reasons. Cables and pipelines or entire nature reserves can be made visible on maps, making it easier for governments to decide, for example, whether to issue a permit for a location. And also where houses or roads are built and constructed on the islands. It also provides opportunities for entrepreneurs and researchers, for example, to conduct market research and study nature reserves.