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LOCAL Wednesday 16 september 2020

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These issues have brought to light the need for The objective of creating an emergency re-
a rigorous emergency response plan which sponse plan is to ensure that Park Manage-
Park Management Organizations can use in ment Organizations on all six Dutch Caribbean
order to safeguard their staff and visitors which islands are comfortable recognizing issues and
may visit the protected areas they manage. reacting appropriately, especially under pres-

With this in mind DCNA has just released its sure. With pandemics, time is often the most
Pandemic Response Management Letter to important factor with an immediate response
serve as a framework for each Park Manage- potentially saving lives and limiting the spread
ment Organization to design their own, tai- of a contagion. The blueprints of a pandemic
lored emergency response plan. response can also be useful in a variety of oth-
er emergency situations so having clear, well
COVID-19 has been unique in how widespread thought out protocols can be an important
and devastating the infection has been. The asset in both current and future emergency
uncertainty surrounding this virus has led to the response.
need for social distancing and minimization of
travel. This drop in tourism has been difficult, Exchanging knowledge and experiences be-
especially for the Dutch Caribbean. Interac- tween the nature parks of the Dutch Carib- fore, it is also important to promote community
tions between the public and staff of Park bean is very valuable and one of the ways involvement to optimize local knowledge, ex-
Management Organizations varies between DCNA is assisting to strengthen their activities. pertise, resources and networks.
the six Dutch Caribbean islands, however, with Together as a network Park Management Or-
the implementation of safety protocols and ganizations are stronger in the common goal To stay up to date on this and various other
procedures, risks can be minimized. of safeguarding nature in the Dutch Caribbe- activities related to nature conservation in
an. Lessons learned by the parks have been the Dutch Caribbean please follow along on
The Pandemic Response Management Letter incorporated within Pandemic Response Man- the websites and social media accounts for
will provide each island with the tools needed agement. your local national park authorities as well as
to properly recognize and respond in emer- DCNA. When in doubt, please don’t hesitate
gency situations. Each outbreak will have its It is recommended that each Park Manage- to contact your local park authority for the lat-
own unique set of conditions, so the guidelines ment Organization take these recommenda- est updates.
provided will need to be tailored appropriate- tions into consideration and use them to draft a
ly. The key to an effective response is for a plan more specific to their situation. Pandemic For more information, please find the full report
timely acknowledgment of the problem and preparedness is not a quick process as it will re- here: https://www.dcnanature.org/wp-con-
to react as swiftly and efficiently as possible. quire careful planning between all stakehold- tent/uploads/2020/09/DCNA-PandemicRe-
ers and will involve community buy in. There- sponse.pdf.q