Eight islands discuss cooperation on Texel

Representatives from the Caribbean pub­lic entities of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba (BES) and the five Wadden Is­lands Texel, Vlieland, Ter­schelling, Ameland and Schiermonnikoog gathered on Texel on October 1 and 2 for a two-day work pro­gramme.

These eight islands are united in the so-called E8 partnership. E8 serves as the collective voice of the Dutch island communi­ties in dealings with gov­ernment and the political establishment. The group also meets regularly to exchange knowledge and work on shared issues.

The programme began at the TESO ferry terminal in Den Helder, where officials were met by King’s Com­missioner for North Hol­land Arthur van Dijk, be­fore travelling to Texel. On arrival, the delegation was welcomed by Texel Mayor Mark Pol.

The first day included a presentation and a visit to “De Zoete Toekomst” (The Sweet Future), an innova­tive approach to freshwater storage for agriculture on Texel. Participants learned about the challenges and opportunities associated with sustainable freshwater management for islands.

The programme contin­ued with a thematic ses­sion on integrity and good island governance, led by Van Dijk. Representatives from the Wadden and Ca­ribbean islands exchanged experiences regarding ad­ministrative resilience, sub­versive crime, transparent and reliable elections, and the governance of founda­tions and semi-public or­ganisations.

During the session Joc­elyn Levenstone, Island Governor of Saba, also gave a presentation on the upcoming 2027 elections and the use of proxy voting, followed by an exchange of experiences and viewpoints among the participants. John Soliano, Island Gov­ernor of Bonaire, gave a presentation on good gov­ernance within public and semi-public organisations. He addressed the complex environment in which these organisations operate, the role of the government as a shareholder, and the various roles and responsi­bilities within these organ­isations. The presentation highlighted how good gov­ernance can support organ­isations in achieving their objectives.

On October 2, the pro­gramme continued with an excursion to De Slufter, organised in collaboration with the Texel Bird Infor­mation Centre and Staats­bosbeheer (State Forestry Service). The excursion covered Texel’s approach to nature management and the protection of vulner­able coastal areas.

This was followed by an E8 working meeting, intro­duced by Michiel Schrier, Mayor of Vlieland and Chair of the E8. Represen­tatives from the Wadden and Caribbean islands re­flected on the partnership and discussed the substan­tive topics on which the E8 will collaborate in the com­ing year.

Subsequently, the E8 welcomed members of the Dutch House of Represen­tatives, including members of the Standing Commit­tees on Infrastructure and Water Management and on Kingdom Relations.

In her address, Statia Is­land Governor Alida Fran­cis outlined three key pri­orities that emerged from the E8 discussions: equal investment, stronger local implementation capacity, and increased climate ac­tion. She emphasised that equal treatment should not mean the uniform applica­tion of mainland policies to the islands; rather, fair outcomes must be achieved that take into account their unique size, logistical reali­ties and cost structures.

Francis also highlighted challenges facing small is­land administrations — such as limited staffing and ac­cess to specialised expertise — and stressed the need to strengthen their capacity to implement policies effec­tively. Regarding climate resilience, she called for greater focus on implemen­tation, underscoring the need to look beyond strat­egies and “turn paper into practice”.

To reinforce these shared priorities, Pol and Francis presented Member of Par­liament Heera Dijk with a board displaying the E8’s three key messages. She accepted the joint message on behalf of the delega­tion, along with colleagues Marieke Vellinga-Beem­sterboer, Luciënne Boels­ma-Hoekstra and Bjorn Schutz, thereby formally presenting the E8’s shared priorities to the House of Representatives.

Schiermonnikoog Mayor Henri Meendering then ad­dressed the topic of water safety, including the role of natural systems — such as salt marshes — in coastal protection. The discus­sions also touched on the connection between the functions of coral reefs in the Caribbean and coastal protection measures on the Wadden Islands.

The two-day programme concluded with a visit to De Schorren, led by nature con­servation organisation Natu­urmonumenten, after which the participants left Texel to travel back to Den Helder.

The Daily Herald.