Representatives of the Caribbean public entities of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba, and the five Wadden Islands (Waddeneilanden) Texel, Vlieland, Terschelling, Ameland, and Schiermonnikoog, gathered in Texel on October 1 and 2 for a two-day work program.
These eight islands are united in the so-called E8 Collaboration. The E8 is the joint voice of the Dutch island communities regarding governance and politics. The E8 also meets regularly to exchange knowledge and work on common issues.
The Two-Day Work Program
The program began with the arrival of officials at the TESO ferry terminal in Den Helder, where the King’s Commissioner of North Holland, Arthur van Dijk, welcomed them before they traveled to Texel. Upon their arrival, Mayor (burgemeester) Mark Pol of Texel welcomed them.
The first day included a presentation and a visit to De Zoete Toekomst, an innovative approach to freshwater storage for agriculture in Texel. Participants learned about the challenges and opportunities related to sustainable freshwater management for an island.
The program continued with a thematic session on integrity and good island governance, led by King’s Commissioner Arthur van Dijk. Representatives from the Wadden Islands and the Caribbean islands exchanged experiences on administrative resilience, destabilization, transparent and reliable elections, and the board management of foundations and semi-public organizations.
During the session, Jocelyn Levenstone, Island Governor (gezaghèber) of Saba, also gave a presentation on the upcoming 2027 elections and the use of proxy voting, followed by an exchange of experiences and views among the participants.
John Soliano, Island Governor of Bonaire, gave a presentation on good governance of government and semi-public organizations. He spoke about the complex environment in which these organizations operate, the role of government as a shareholder, and the different roles and responsibilities within these organizations. The presentation highlighted how good governance can support organizations in achieving their goals.
Second Day
On October 2, the program continued with an excursion to De Slufter, organized in collaboration with the Vogelinformatiecentrum Texel and Staatsbosbeheer. During the excursion, Texel’s approach to nature management and the protection of vulnerable coastal areas was highlighted.
Subsequently, the E8 welcomed members of the House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer), including members of the standing committees for Infrastructure and Water Management, and Kingdom Relations. In her speech, Island Governor Alida Francis outlined three key priorities resulting from the E8 deliberations: equal investment, stronger local execution capacity, and more climate action. She emphasized that equal treatment must not mean applying mainland policy uniformly to the islands, but rather achieving fair outcomes that account for their size, logistical reality, and unique cost structure. Governor Francis also pointed out the challenges faced by small island governments, including limited staffing resources and access to specialized expertise, emphasizing the need to strengthen their capacity to execute policy effectively. Regarding climate resilience, she called for more focus on execution, stressing that one must look beyond strategy: “turn paper into practice”.
To reinforce these joint priorities, Mayor Mark Pol of Texel and Governor Francis presented a board to House of Representatives member Heera Dijk, displaying the three core messages of the E8. Dijk received the joint message on behalf of the delegation, alongside colleagues Marieke Vellinga-Beemsterboer, Luciënne Boelsma-Hoekstra, and Björn Schutz, formally submitting the E8’s joint priorities to the House of Representatives.
The Mayor of Schiermonnikoog, Henri Meendering, then spoke on the topic of water security, including the role of natural systems like salt marshes (kwelder) for coastal protection. During the discussion, they also touched upon the relationship between the functions of coral reefs in the Caribbean and coastal protection measures on the Wadden Islands.
The two-day program concluded with a visit to De Schorren, guided by Natuurmonumenten, after which participants left Texel to travel back to Den Helder.
