In October 2022, the State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management requested the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport, ILT) to conduct an inquiry into and to provide recommendations for a properly operating system for the granting of permits, supervision, and enforcement (vergunningverlening, toezicht en handhaving, VTH) on Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba.

A project team of the ILT and LNV is conducting the inquiry. At the end of November and mid-January, the project team will visit Bonaire for meetings and a file search. The Island Governor of Bonaire also requested the State Secretary to deploy the expertise of the ILT in addition to the already launched improvement plans within the Public Entity of Bonaire (OLB). In February and March 2023, the team will visit St. Eustatius and Saba.

The situation during the period from 2020 up to and including 2022 is analyzed and they will be looking ahead to legislation that comes into effect next year. The assessment framework of these inquiries is formed by the building and environmental law (Wet vrom BES) and nature conservation legislation (Wet grondslagen natuurbeheer- en bescherming).

The team sheds light on what is going well, what is going less well, and what is potentially still required to comply with the new legislation. The conclusions and recommendations that derive from this are included in a report that is presented to the State Secretary, the Executive Councils, the Central Government Commissioner, and the Island Councils.

RCN