WWF-NL Kirsten Schuijt speaks with STENAPA staff and interns.
ST. EUSTATIUS--World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Netherlands Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kirsten Schuijt visited St. Eustatius National Parks Foundation Stenapa this week to share the mission with the foundation and to learn how the organisation can help St. Eustatius.
Having arrived on the island while a high-level Dutch delegation was visiting, Schuijt spoke directly to the government representatives about conservation issues on Statia.
Schuijt shared her organisation’s conservation efforts and the role of interested individuals in the funding of past and future projects, said Achsah Mitchell, Stenapa Education and Outreach Officer.
Schuijt, Marine Park Manager Jessica Berkel and WWF-NL advisor Arjan de Groene toured the island. The tour highlighted issues with rainwater run-off and the subsequent sediment deposits on coral reefs, the island's first line of defence against hurricanes.
A resilient coral reef is a rich resource that even the land above sea-level can benefit from, Mitchell said.
The stop at the Botanical Garden brought into focus the potential for interaction with people and nature.
Travelling north to Zeelandia Beach allowed Schuijt to see the nature of the eastern shore. Schuijt focused on the difference in the composition and health of the reefs on the eastern side, having healthier and more diverse corals than on the western side’s more traversed coast.
