Caribbean Science Institute officially opened

The Caribbean Netherlands Science Institute (CNSI) at St. Eustatius was officially opened at the former Talk of the Town building Wednesday with a symposium for partners and stakeholders. This reports The Daily Herald. CNSI is a research facility that supports basic, strategic, applied, social and policy-relevant research and education.
The institute was made possible by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Island Government of St. Eustatius, Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research NWO and Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research NIOZ, in close cooperation with the European and Caribbean Netherlands knowledge communities and stakeholders, including the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies KITLV, Naturalis Biodiversity Centre, Institute for Marine Resources and Ecosystem Studies IMARES in Wageningen and the Faculty of Archaeology of Leiden University.
CNSI aims to facilitate scientific curiosity in all fields of science, be it natural, technique, life, medical and social sciences and humanities, which addresses questions of relevance to the sustainability of tropical small island economies. It fosters the ambition to develop into an authoritative expert and facility centre acknowledged in the wider Caribbean region, positioned at the intersection of scientific research, education, management and governance. The mission of this knowledge centre is to realise a permanent scientific presence in the Caribbean Netherlands with research and outreach facilities, with accommodation for scientists.
This mission is based on the vision that the Caribbean and the Netherlands share a mutual responsibility for the sustainable development of Bonaire, Statia and Saba and their marine territories.
Working toward this goal requires an understanding of each other’s institutional organizations, historical and cultural backgrounds, management and development priorities and natural and societal resources, it was said. “
CNSI is therefore committed to multidisciplinary knowledge development and human and institutional capacity building by providing (nature) education for local schools, nature organisations and farmers, academic and professional education and training, and organising courses, workshops and meetings in cooperation with local organisations.
“It is clear that the sustainability of these small island economies cannot be regarded in isolation and should be addressed within the context of the greater Caribbean region as to encourage a sustainable socio-economic impulse in the region.”