It is an honour for St. Eustatius to host one of the island days of this important conference. Dutch Caribbean Research Week brings together researchers, policymakers, professionals, institutions, and communities from across the Dutch Caribbean, the wider Caribbean, the European Netherlands, and the diaspora. It gives us an opportunity to exchange knowledge, strengthen cooperation, and reflect on how research can better serve our islands.
For a small island like St. Eustatius, such a platform is not only welcome. It is necessary.
Our challenges are local, but they are also regional and global. Climate change, public health, infrastructure, governance, economic vulnerability, environmental protection, education, and resilience are not issues that any island can address alone.
We need knowledge.
We need cooperation.
And above all, we need action.
2. Keynote Theme: Research from Paper to Practice
Today, I would like to speak under the theme:
Research: From Paper to Practice.
For St. Eustatius, this theme is timely. It is relevant. And it is necessary.
Over the past decades, a great deal of research has been conducted on our island. Studies have been carried out. Reports have been written. Recommendations have been made. Much of this work has value, and we should recognize the knowledge, effort, and expertise behind it.
But we must also be honest.
Too much research has remained on paper.
Too often, research has described our challenges without leading to implementation. Too often, findings have contributed to reports, publications, and institutional objectives elsewhere, while the practical benefits for the island itself have been limited.
This does not mean that research is not important. It means that research must be better connected to the people and places it is meant to serve.
For St. Eustatius, research cannot only be about studying the island. It must help strengthen the island.
Reports can inform us.
Recommendations can guide us.
But only implementation can change lives.
That is why research must move from paper to practice.
3. Four Decades of Research and Implementation Backlogs
For more than four decades, research has helped us understand many of the issues facing St. Eustatius. In many areas, the challenge has not been the complete absence of knowledge. The greater challenge has been the lack of follow-through.
When knowledge is not acted upon, backlogs grow.
When recommendations are not implemented, risks increase.
When reports are not connected to budgets, policies, and institutions, opportunities are lost.
This has affected important areas of island life, including infrastructure, climate adaptation, spatial planning, erosion control, disaster preparedness, institutional capacity, education, and youth development.
These are not abstract topics. They touch the daily reality of our people.
They influence whether our infrastructure is safe.
Whether our coastline is protected.
Whether our institutions have the capacity to deliver.
Whether our young people see a future here.
Whether we are prepared for the next storm, the next crisis, or the next opportunity.
Research must help us close these gaps. It must help us make choices, set priorities, and take responsibility for implementation.
That is the difference between research that ends with a report and research that helps build a nation, an island, and a community.
4. Research, Governance, and Law
This is why the theme of this conference, and especially the connection between research, governance, and law, is so important.
Good governance requires good information. But information alone is not enough.
Governance is about choices.
Law is about responsibility.
Policy is about direction.
And implementation is where all of these are tested.
Laws, policies, permits, enforcement priorities, public investments, and emergency planning must be based on reliable evidence. But they must also be followed by the courage and discipline to act.
The real test is whether research becomes part of how we govern.
Does it help us set priorities?
Does it help us allocate budgets?
Does it help us draft better policies and laws?
Does it help us implement decisions?
Does it help us measure whether those decisions are working?
When the answer is yes, research becomes a tool for trust, accountability, development, and resilience.
When the answer is no, research remains a document on a shelf.
And St. Eustatius cannot afford for good knowledge to sit unused.
5. Practical Example: Harbour Breakwater and Critical Infrastructure
A clear example is the harbour breakwater.
For St. Eustatius, the harbour is one of our lifelines. Food, materials, fuel, equipment, construction supplies, and many essential goods come through the harbour. It supports our economy, our emergency preparedness, our food security, and the continuity of daily life.
Research and technical assessment have shown that the condition of the breakwater is worse than previously understood.
That finding matters. But its true value lies in what happens next.
If research tells us that critical infrastructure is more vulnerable than expected, then that knowledge must guide decisions. It must inform budgets. It must shape policy priorities. It must influence maintenance planning and long-term investment.
The question cannot only be:
“What is the condition of the breakwater?”
The question must also be:
“What must we do now to protect the island?”
Because when we protect the harbour, we protect more than infrastructure. We protect supply chains. We protect food security. We protect emergency response. We protect economic continuity. We protect the people of St. Eustatius.
That is research from paper to practice.
6. Public Health and Community Wellbeing
The same principle applies to public health.
In public health, reliable local data can help us move from reaction to prevention. It can help us identify risks earlier, prepare better, and design responses that fit the reality of our community.
On a small island, public health challenges can develop quickly and affect many people at once. That makes local knowledge essential. But again, research must not stop with identifying risks.
It must support better planning.
It must support stronger services.
It must support prevention and preparedness.
It must help protect the wellbeing of our people.
A report on public health should not only tell us what is wrong. It should help us decide what must be strengthened, who must be involved, and how we move forward.
That is the kind of research our island needs.
7. Nature, Environment, and Climate Adaptation
Research is also essential for our natural environment.
St. Eustatius has a unique natural heritage. Our coral reefs, coastal waters, the Quill, Boven, our hillsides, our coastline, and our biodiversity are part of who we are.
They are part of our identity.
They are part of our economy.
They are part of our safety.
They are part of our resilience.
When coral reefs decline, when invasive species spread, when erosion increases, or when coastal impacts become more severe, these are not only environmental problems. They are also social and economic problems.
They affect livelihoods.
They affect tourism.
They affect infrastructure.
They affect disaster risk.
They affect the beauty and character of our island.
Research helps us understand these changes. It supports coral reef monitoring and restoration, erosion control, invasive species management, biodiversity protection, and climate adaptation.
Through the work of local organizations, including STENAPA, government partners, and research institutions, science can be translated into practical work in the field.
But once again, the lesson is clear: research must lead to action.
If research shows that coastal erosion is increasing, then that knowledge must inform spatial planning and infrastructure decisions.
If research shows that invasive species are damaging ecosystems, then that knowledge must support management, enforcement, and long-term control.
If research shows that coral reefs are under pressure, then monitoring must be connected to restoration, protection, and investment.
Nature is not separate from development. On St. Eustatius, nature is part of our development. It is part of our future.
Protecting nature is therefore not only an environmental responsibility. It is an act of resilience.
8. Lessons from CNSI and Local Research Capacity
In this context, we must speak directly about local research capacity.
St. Eustatius has experienced the value of having a local research institution through the former Caribbean Netherlands Science Institute, CNSI.
CNSI connected researchers, students, government, and local organizations. It helped position St. Eustatius as a place of scientific importance and field-based learning. It created opportunities for knowledge exchange, training, and cooperation.
Its closure was a loss.
It showed us very clearly that research infrastructure on small islands is vulnerable when long-term support is not secured.
When research capacity disappears, we lose more than a building. We lose relationships. We lose continuity. We lose local knowledge. We lose training opportunities. We lose the ability to keep research connected to implementation over time.
That lesson should not be forgotten.
If we want research to truly benefit small islands, we need stable, locally embedded research capacity. We need structures that remain after individual projects end. We need knowledge to stay connected to the island. We need local people, institutions, and young professionals to be part of the research process.
Research should not only arrive on the island.
It should grow roots on the island.
9. New Opportunity: Kings Well National Parks Center
Looking ahead, the new Kings Well National Parks Center offers an important opportunity.
This center is a collaborative initiative made possible through cooperation between national government, local government, and local nature management. It has the potential to become a practical bridge between research and implementation.
At Kings Well, there are opportunities for coral restoration, innovative restoration techniques, biodiversity monitoring, education and outreach, visiting researchers, student training, and local capacity building.
It can become a place where science, conservation, education, and practical island resilience come together.
Most importantly, it can help ensure that research does not only take place on St. Eustatius, but also strengthens St. Eustatius.
That distinction is important.
A research project may visit an island.
But research capacity must remain with the island.
Kings Well can help us move in that direction.
10. Partnerships and Research That Benefits the Island
St. Eustatius should not only be a research location.
We should be a research partner.
We welcome researchers. We value cooperation with universities, institutes, government agencies, technical experts, and regional and international partners. We recognize the important work carried out with Dutch, Caribbean, and international research partners in areas such as nature, public health, heritage, and archaeology. These include long-standing collaborations with institutions such as Wageningen, Van Hall Larenstein, Leiden University, the University of Florida, and many others.
These partnerships matter. They bring expertise, technology, training, and knowledge. They connect St. Eustatius to regional and international networks. They help us see local challenges within a wider context.
But the strongest partnerships are those that are locally relevant and implementation-focused.
Research should be designed with the island in mind. It should respond to local priorities. It should involve local institutions. It should include local knowledge. It should share results back in language and formats that decision-makers, professionals, and communities can use.
The question should not only be:
“What can be studied on St. Eustatius?”
The question should also be:
“How will this research benefit St. Eustatius?”
Do not only study us.
Work with us.
Do not only write about us.
Help us build with the knowledge we create together.
This is not a rejection of academic research. Academic research has value. But for small islands with limited capacity and urgent needs, the relationship between research and implementation must be much stronger.
11. Moving Forward: Better Coordination and Practical Use
Moving forward, we need research that is better coordinated, more practical, and more connected to end users.
We need findings to be shared back with the island, not only through academic publications, but through clear summaries, presentations, policy advice, training, and implementation support.
We need research that helps government make decisions.
We need research that helps institutions plan.
We need research that helps local organizations act.
We need research that helps young people learn.
We need research that helps communities understand and prepare.
And above all, we need research that leaves something behind.
That may be stronger policy.
It may be better data.
It may be trained staff.
It may be improved infrastructure planning.
It may be restored ecosystems.
It may be better public health preparedness.
It may be young people inspired to study, work, and lead in areas that are important for the future of the island.
This is the real promise of research.
Not research for research alone.
Not research that ends when the funding ends.
Not research that leaves with the researcher.
But research that strengthens the place, the people, and the institutions it touches.
12. Closing: From Paper to Practice
Dutch Caribbean Research Week is therefore more than a conference.
It is an opportunity to ask how science can better serve our islands. It is an opportunity to connect research with governance, law, policy, and practice. It is an opportunity to strengthen cooperation between researchers and the communities their work is meant to benefit.
For St. Eustatius, the message is clear.
We welcome research.
We value knowledge.
We believe in cooperation.
But research must not stop at observation.
It must not stop at recommendations.
It must not remain on paper.
Let this be our shared commitment: that research on St. Eustatius moves from paper to practice.
That it strengthens our people.
That it strengthens our institutions.
That it protects our environment.
That it supports our young people.
That it improves our infrastructure and resilience.
And that it helps build a stronger future for the generations who will inherit this island after us.
That is the research we need.
That is the partnership we welcome.
That is the future we must build together.
